Long Live Film Arts
Katy
I am basically the oldest staff person at Arts Engine (and let me clarify: it’s not that I’m so old — it’s that everyone here is so young!), and so I feel it is incumbent upon me to rhapsodize from time to time about the Old Days. And to point out things from back in the day that have stuck around and are still worthwhile. One of these things is the Film Arts Foundation (FAF). At a time when independent media arts organizations are struggling to survive, it is worth noting the staying power and continuing effectiveness of the San Francisco-based FAF. In addition to supporting a generation of filmmakers through its key activities such as fiscal sponsorship and equipment rental, FAF also publishes the magazine Film Arts, which is great to read and easy on the eyes. Designed with panache and distinguished by its editorial edginess, Film Arts is one of the few glossies arriving on my desk which I actually look forward to reading. In fact, I find it to be the perfect complement to the guilty pleasure offered by Entertainment Weekly and commercial trade mags like Variety. While it’s true that countless articles about the world of independent filmmaking can be found online these days, there’s still something very satisfying about a real-life, honest-to-goodness magazine. You can carry it in your bag and read on the subway, look at the photos, fold down the page on the article you like. And it comes to me without requiring me to search for it online. It’s like a deluxe hard-copy version of an RSS feed, that arrives all in one piece. Okay, maybe I’m sounding old now. But the magazine is also important to me because the need for intelligent independent journalism and editorials on the world of indie filmmaking is only GROWING, not shrinking. I find that a lot of the magazine and websites targeting the independent filmmaker spend most of their time promoting the latest gadgets and software more than they address the practical and aesthetic concerns of the budget-minded filmmaker. Which is all to say, long live Film Arts! They are in the midst of a critical fundraising drive right now, so if you have it in your heart and pocketbook to lend them a hand, now is the time.
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