AJ Schnack wrote a wonderful article on the state of Film Festivals and how an independent filmmaker can navigate that journey. He is the documentary filmmaker behind such great films as Gigantic, about the music band They Might Be Giants, and Kurt Cobain: About A Son. If you are a filmmaker preparing to head down the festival road, it's a worthwhile read.
However, I am beginning to think more and more about the necessity of doing the whole film festival and traditional distribution model. If you are trying to appeal to a younger audience, or a more tech savvy audience, it may be more worthwhile to just put it out there for free on the internet and build an audience virally like the Loose Change filmmakers are doing. It's certainly something to think about. With new technology and new media, are the old established models necessary?
Unfortunately, the dirty secret that no one seems to be mentioning is that very few people are making any money on the internet with filmed entertainment, with the exception of porn. So the question is whether an internet/new media film can make enough money to justify the cost of making a film. I guess if you are making low-budget, digitally shot, personal films that have a built in and dedicated audience, you may be able to sustain yourself by using new media. But ultimately, the numbers still haven't yet caught up with the amount of money you would get from a single television sale or DVD release.
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