We’re hosting a Q&A on September 1, 2010 to talk about the FilmShop and seek out potential members.

Come say hi, learn about us, see our work, meet current members (we’ll be having a happy hour at a local bar afterwards) and apply for membership.

Are you interested in joining?

Come to our Q&A and meet current members
WHEN : Sept 1 at 8pm
WHERE : The Change You Want to See – Williamsburg, Brooklyn
84 Havemeyer Street, Storefront
Brooklyn, NY 11211 (Google Map)
If you cannot attend, please fill in your information and we will contact you when the application is available.

But… what is the FilmShop?!

The FilmShop is a group of independent filmmakers and media producers dedicated to developing new, groundbreaking work through collaboration and collective development. FilmShop members are a diverse bunch – from experimental documentary producers to animators to music video directors. Members have produced work for Al Jazeera, the Wall Street Journal, History Channel, Aol., Travel Channel, New York Times, and have been featured in prominent film festivals around the world.

Together we workshop new productions, incubate collaborative project, share gigs, present distribution opportunities and build partnerships with local and international organizations.

What type of members do we look for?

We are seeking skilled content producers and creative storytellers who are actively working on projects.  Potential members are expected to be active contributors, give honest critical feedback and thrive in collaborative spaces. We are not limited to independent fiction filmmakers, but welcome anyone in the visual media field.  Narrative filmmakers, documentary filmmakers, video journalists, animators, experimental film producers, film public relations professionals, motion graphics, and others are all welcome to apply.  Potential members should be looking to grow and expand their work and talents, as well as those who surround them.  Potential members are selected by the following criteria – quality of previous work, willingness to collaborate and contribute, attendance, and must have an active project to workshop.

To receive membership information, please visit – http://thefilmshop.org/about/membership/ and fill out the form.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqaVcruvZjY[/youtube]

Remember those summers when Kurt Cobain sang about the smell of teen spirit and the Digital Underground’s “Humpty Dance” was all the rage? Well put on your flannels and break out those neon shades because the FilmShop is flashing back to 90s for one unforgettable night of film and music.

On Thursday, August 19th, Public Assembly screens SALUTE YOUR SHORTS, a series of 2 minute films by members of the FILMSHOP based around the theme of summer nostalgia. Varied in style and genre, these shorts present a wide response to the earnestness of summers past. More than just a film screening, the night also features a live performance by The Rassle and a 90s dance party to follow.

WHEN: Thursday, August 19th, 2010
Doors open at 8 PM
9:00pm – Short film screening with performance by The Rassle and
dance party to follow

WHERE: Public Assembly, 70 North Sixth St. (between Kent and Wythe Ave.)
Brooklyn, NY. Take the L train to Bedford Ave.
Google Map

COST: $10

Give a shout to us on Twitter if you’re coming!  @thefilmshop

Filmmaker Joe Berlinger will be back in court next month, defending himself against a move by Chevron to gain access to 600+ hours of footage he used to make “Crude: The Real Price of Oil,” a documentary about the oil company that debuted at last year’s Sundance Film Festival. The company is hoping to use the documentary outtakes to defend itself against the class action lawsuit depicted in the film itself.

This is the media vs. the corporation at its biggest, toughest and most controversial – and reinforces how important the documentary is in today’s world of corporate interests and ugly cover-ups.   ABC TV, the Associated Press, CBS TV, the Daily News, the DGA, the Dow Jones Company, the Gannell Company, the Hearst Corporation, HBO, the IDA, NBC Universal, the New York Times Company, and the Washington Post all signed onto an amicus brief penned by Floyd Abrams in support of Berlinger’s cause.  We’re behind him too.

via IndieWire

Making it all the more difficult to build a vibrant community of filmmakers in the 5 Boroughs, The Mayor’s Office of Film, Theater and Broadcasting in New York City has proposed a new $300 fee for applications to help “ease the city’s budget difficulties”.  For projects that are operating on very low budgets, there may be some relief: The Mayor’s office will waive the new project application fee in cases of “unreasonable hardship.”  Either way, the proposed fee just creates another hoop to jump through for both established and emerging filmmakers in this city like us.

The proposed bill has been in review for 30 days.  TODAY a hearing will take place at 125 Worth Street, 2nd floor auditorium at 2PM at which members of the public may testify. So if you’re in the neighborhood, stop by and let ‘em know that their proposed fee will only serve to lose them time and money spent processing our fee-waiver paperwork!

Watch the Trailer

Watch the Film

A woman decides to leave her old life behind.

Today’s the day Angie’s going to leave her man, but not before one last showdown…and one big payoff.

Principal Crew

• Anthony Nero (Writer/Director)
• Allison White (Producer)
• Jamie Urman (Cinematographer)

Principal Actors

• Jessica Michelle Moore
• Arnie Pagan

IMDb
TRT: 9 min

Watch the Film

couple fights on pretty nights

broken necks and TV sets

Principal Crew

Chris King – Director, Animator, Music

TRT: 2:50

Watch the Film

A first look at Afghanistan in 2010 through the window of a bulletproof car.

When a Western woman takes a camera to the streets of Kabul, Afghanistan, she finds herself in a unique passenger seat, separated from the world around her by a sheet of bulletproof glass.

Principal Crew

Kate Cook, Writer/Director/Editor

Principal Characters

Melissa Beuoy as herself

TRT: 00:02:24

Watch the Film

A father fails to pay up his gambling debt.

‘Bluffing’ tells the story of a father with a gambling problem, who loses a big sum playing Chinese poker with a triad gangster. As he fails to pay up, the gangsters kidnap his son. But little do they know how much this son is actually worth.

The film is a parody on gangster genre films and deals with Hong Kong’s superficial idea of status and worth. The storyline builds tension, the characters are archetypal ruffians, but as the film comes to its denouement the audience is left with a farcical resolution.

Principal Crew

• Director: Lam Thuy Vo
• Producers: Lam Thuy Vo and Catherine Tai
• Writers: Kieran O’Hare and Lam Thuy Vo
• Editing: Lam Thuy Vo
• Directors of Photography: Darren Hayward, Nora Tejada
• Sound Design: Tristan Ahtone, Emile Denichaud
• Stylist and location scout: Catherine Tai
• Music: Onra
• Production Assistants Thomas Derpinghaus; Steven Case
• Special Thanks: Tim O’Roarke; David Chan

Principal Actors

• Son: Joshua Wolper
• Father: Andrew Ng
• Gangster 1: Reggie Ho
• Gangster 2: Jackie Chow
• Gangster 3: Anna Li
• Father’s Girlfriend: Sompor Wannapat Suranant

Official Site

TRT: 3:30

Watch the Film

…it’s jumping that’s hard.

A short film about the harrows of taking that initial leap.

Principal Crew

Chris King – writer, director, animator

TRT: 2:15

Watch the Film

User follows a homeless prostitute as she walks the streets of Sydney’s red light district and the parallel story of a Health Educator who works with her.

User is a hybrid of documentary and experimental film, using sophisticated re-enactments and filtered, re-framed visuals. Through a constantly shifting perspective User examines the differences between the two women, revealing surprising moments of divergence and intersection.

Principal Crew

• Producer, Director, Writer, Editor: Sally O’Grady
• Online Editor: Luciana Fernandes
• Story Consultant: Rachel Blackman

Principal Actors

• Rachel Blackman
• Robbie McGregor
• Tamara Lovatt-Smith

Official site
TRT: 7minutes 56 seconds