Indie

So I'm a little late to the game on this one, but Geoffrey Gilmore announced on Monday that he is leaving Sundance for Tribeca...offical March 1.

It's an announcement that has left the independent film community reeling (pun intended), as the Sundance Film Festival chief is as synonymous with Sundance as Robert Redford.  Naturally, the fact that Gilmore is departing the non-profit Sundance for the for-profit Tribeca is leaving people scratching their heads...everyone's wondering what it means.

But let's not kid ourselves, Gilmore has been dropping hints that he was growing restless with independent film.  Before last month's Sundance festival, Gilmore wrote,

"Is the independent arena creatively moribund and/or has the audience itself changed either because of a generational shift or simply a transformation in pubic taste?"

He continued in the piece for indieWire, "It's difficult to say whether a new generation will continue to harbour the passion for film that we had.  Independent film has broken a lot of ground and had a lof of success in the last two decades.  But what was innovative then is now familiar."

Okay, I get it Gilmore.  You're disillusioned with independent film, but why the move to Tribeca then? Which has some indie content but is far more commercial than Sundance.  Gilmore's "defection" is certainly unleashing speculation about the widening rivalry between the two festivals.  The two festivals stir up an East Coast vs. West Coast, Tupac and Biggie-like battle for the film world, and people are definitely wondering if Gilmore's departure is representative of something more. 

I'm sorry to see Gilmore leave Sundance, as I've always prefered it over Tribeca.  That said, I wish him the best, and I hope that Gilmore's move east will end up being the opportunity he's looking for.

Portable Film Festival has just made its official call for entries for the Portable Film Festival 2009.

A couple of weeks ago, I shared with you a few of my favorite films from the 2008 Portable Film Festival.

I love a good film festival, but Portable does it a little differently.  There's no cinema, no queue, no tickets.  I'll be the first to defend the romanticism of watching a great film in the darkness of an old, musty theatre, but I have to say that I really appreciate what Portable is doing.

Consumers want to be able to sonsume content when, where, and how they want it, and technology is certainly allowing them to do so.  It was only a matter of time before someone on the film festival circuit got the hint, allowing would-be festival goers to watch these films on their own terms...online and downloadable to iPods PSPs, or 3G mobile phones.

For the past three years, Portable Film Festival has done just that-combining great film with the ease of online viewing.  Portable is now gearing up for it's fourth festival, accepting entries through April 30, 2009.

I encourage you to check out more from previous Portable festivals, and check back here for more updates.