workshop by Linda O. Olszewski / June, 20-22, Arc, The Palace

Film is a powerful medium which can engage the audience, generate awareness of topical and interesting social awareness issues and inspire action to compel change.

With today's accessible filmmaking toolset and various online and off-line distribution outlets, the possibilities are endless to reach an audience. Personal documentaries and narratives have made it possible for filmmakers to intimately address often marginalized questions. At its best, the personal film can reach deep into the larger issues of life, and the personal becomes universal.

These stories can shape our lives, however how does one entertain and engage an audience to participate after the screening? How can independent filmmakers create campaigns for their films to give a voice to the issues being evoked in their film before they have launched their release and after their audiences have left the cinema or finished watching on VOD or iTunes? How can one create a legacy film and truly make a difference in at least one person's life with your movie?

In this workshop we will discuss:

• Do's and Don'ts on how to make a successful film or animation
• Crowd funding
• Fan base building
• Keeping your seed of inspiration in focus as you navigate all aspects of production, post, festivals and distribution
• Festival strategy
• How to qualify your film for Academy Award consideration
• Distribution strategy in today's ever-changing marketplace
• Delivery requirements for 2010 and the new digital distribution
• Where the marketplace is heading globally
• How to create a legacy film

We will interact with attending filmmakers regarding their film production and festival road trip stories and brainstorm on issues surrounding the POWER OF FILM.

APPLY FOR PARTICIPATION HERE

Linda O. Olszewski – Head Acquisition Executive for Oscar Shorts theatrical, iTunes, VOD, TV and airline releases for the Academy Award nominated short films.

Linda O. Olszewski co-heads world acquisitions of Shorts International Ltd. – the largest company distributing short films and for ShortsHDTV, Shorts on iTunes, Oscar Shorts.

She has an extensive studio feature and doc production background (Shrek, The Road To El Dorado, Prince of Egypt, Last Images of War, Los Voladores de Ueuetla, The Life of David Gale, car-ma, Cannes or Bust, Reality Bites, Cohen and Tate).

She has participated in numerous global film festival juries and panels, where she has made it her mission to explain the ins and outs of the short film world, the path to Oscar and the rules on how to qualify a short for consideration for the Oscar short film live-action, animation and documentary categories.

Linda O. Olszewski has served as senior programmer of the Palm Springs Short Film Festival, Programmer for the Newport Beach Film Festival and also as a feature, doc and shorts screener for the Sundance Film Festival.

She's also a photographer, so if she has her camera with her - be ready to be in a picture.