1. John Cooper is Bothered

Last month John Cooper announced that Next (a sorry title, the French have Un Certain Regard, Sundance has Next?), the new low budget sidebar at Sundance 2010, was created to quote Indiewire "came from an internal frustration that the event excluded worthy films in recent years". "I was bothered by that", Cooper says.

What has been bothering Cooper is that great low budget films have been playing across Main Rd road at Slamdance since 1995. Films like Monteith Macollums Hybrid, Kevin Dinovis's Surrender Dorothy, Frank Novak's Good House Keeping, Chris Nolan's Following, Soderbergh's Schizopolis, Greg Kohs Song Sung Blue, Susan Buice and Arin Crumley's Four Eyed Monsters, Seth Gordon's King of Kong, Mark Moskowitz's Stone Reader, Oren Pelli's Paranormal Activity, among a list of dozens of great underground, no budget films down the decade that shows Slamdance and Chicago Underground as the true pioneers and advocates of the underground guerrilla movement since NY Underground folded last year.

Tucked away in the Hernandez article Cooper explains that The Sundance Film Festival won’t be expanding the total number of films it programs to accomodate the change, rather the new section will be carved out of the existing program, probably resulting in a smaller Spectrum section. Um, say what?

To sidebar low budget films for their lack of finance makes them look like Special Olympics kids not competing in the big show. I have suggested to Slamdance a new sidebar, (if programming space allows) called Asylum. You get into Sundance Next and if feeling sidebarred and desiring defection like the proverbial Cuban pole vaulter, we will take you in and process you with official Slamdance Asylum refugee status.

So why did John "bothered by that" Cooper suddenly get the low budget religion? Why the sudden declaration of love for the cinematically challenged?

Did he recently reread the same Filmmaker magazine article as me that influenced me to make my no budget guerrilla Slamdance flick The Bible and Gun Club back in 1997? The articles I am referring to is Peter Broderick's series from Filmmaker magazine in 1992 to 2002 entitled The ABC's of No-Budget Film-making that influenced a new generation. Back in '92 it was somewhat tough to get any information about the indie scene with the exception of Filmmaker magazine.

Picking up Filmmaker at the Fairfax news stand on the walk back to my shit hole on Spaulding Ave and reading about Haynes, Linklater, Maddin and Araki, Broderick's article detailed the budgets and case studied The Living End, Laws of Gravity and El Mariachi. It was the Laws of Gravity NY indie new wave film that made me seize upon Nick Gomez budget and set about planning my own.

The basics of Broderick's ABC of No-Budget film-making remain unchanged over the years.

“We are looking for creativity born of limitations,” Cooper says in closing his indiewire epiphany.

And there it is dear filmmakers, my pal Cooper says the smartest thing a Festival programmer has said in years.

Limit your your films in economy and story will emerge. Get back to film-making basics, slash your budgets, simplify the technology but get technical - shoot with what you need, not what you want. Be creative in casting and it will free yourself from the tyranny of the agents and casting directors. Authenticity is the key to the low budget film. From the Italian Neo-Realists to the Romanian New Wave it's about who is in front of your camera that shapes the story and film. Remember being part of Off-Off Hollywood is a business in itself. Rewrite for budget, location, actors and format. Call up enthusiastic old pals, hire students (with discount ID's), get the band back together and hit the road. Get professional and organized and you will make a better movie.

Daniel J. Harris

Filmmaker living in South Africa, cutting his sister-in-laws wedding video four years after the fact and in post on a documentary about blood called Blood Club: Adventures in Haematology.

Slamdance Two Day Guerrilla Low Budget Film School at www.slamdanceafricafilmschool.wordpress.com