Silver Linings Playbook, written/directed by David O. Russell

Life doesn’t always go according to plan… Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper) has lost everything — his house, his job, and his wife. He now finds himself living back with his mother (Jacki Weaver) and father (Robert DeNiro) after spending eight months in a state institution on a plea bargain. Pat is determined to rebuild his life, remain positive and reunite with his wife, despite the challenging circumstances of their separation.

All Pat’s parents want is for him to get back on his feet — and to share their family’s obsession with the Philadelphia Eagles football team. When Pat meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a mysterious girl with problems of her own, things get complicated. Tiffany offers to help Pat reconnect with his wife, but only if he’ll do something very important for her in return. As their deal plays out, an unexpected bond begins to form between them, and silver linings appear in both of their lives.

The Weinstein Company presents Silver Linings Playbook, a family drama, comedy and love story based on the bestselling novel by Matthew Quick, written and directed by David O. Russell (The Fighter, Flirting with Disaster). Starring Bradley Cooper (The Hangover, Limiteless), Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games, X-Men: First Class), Robert De Niro (Limitless, Meet the Parents) and Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom).

At age 24, John Singleton was the youngest individual and first ever African-American to be nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Director. His first feature film, Boyz N the Hood, landed him Oscar® nominations for Best Director and Original Screenplay. Other films as a writer/director/producer include: Poetic Justice, Higher Learning, Shaft and Baby Boy. He also directed Rosewood, 2 Fast 2 Furious and Four Brothers. Through his New Deal Productions, he produced the independent films Hustle & Flow, Black Snake Moan and Illegal Tender.

In recent years, the common wisdom has been that the mid-range indie feature has been squeezed out. Movies that were once made in the $3 million to $8 million range, we are told, are a thing of the past, replaced by micro-budgeted films or big-budget studio films. While it’s true that making a film as economically as possible makes enormous sense, it’s not true that films in that higher budget range are gone – or always a bad idea. Learn strategies for aiming higher and thinking bigger from filmmakers who have done just that.

From cable and public television to niche organizations and foundations, documentary funders often go far beyond just writing a check to become invested in projects that they’re passionate about and fulfill their mission. How can you find out about these funding opportunities? What makes doc funders tick? And how can you get them involved in your project? A diverse group of doc funders reveal their “truth in funding.”

Film industry professionals host tables for lunch and candid conversation.

Know who you’re talking to. Find out how your project matches the needs, interests and concerns of the financing partners you’re seeking to involve. Each potential financier speaks a different language, and you should tailor your pitch to them. In this financing clinic we assemble sales agents, financiers, producers and distributors to provide tips on the dos and don’ts when trying to involve them. We put their advice to the test with Film Independent fellows who will pitch their projects to this panel. Will they buy them?

Participating Film Independent Fellows:
Jennifer Deaton and Lucy Mukerjee, Jack of the Red Hearts
Casey Fenton and Casey Cooper Johnson, Unmanned
Rebecca Green and Laura Smith, And Then I Go
Elena Greenlee and Márcia Nunes, Manos Sucias

From the personal to the political, documentaries tread on an unfolding reality filled with surprises, unpredictable circumstances, occasionally uncooperative subjects, and often, explosive situations. Accomplished documentary filmmakers discuss the current climate for docs and explore their recent experiences circumventing some of the perils of documentary filmmaking.

After getting a lot of “NOs,” these filmmakers decided to take things into their own hands and produce their difficult passion projects with raging success. What did it take to get their films off the ground and into the marketplace?

What does it take to follow a developing story with no clear end in sight? How can you budget, schedule, and fundraise at the same time you’re having to grab your camera to document a pivotal moment in the story you are following? With years in the making and constantly evolving situations, documentary productions require a flexible approach, patience, and creativity to manage a complex production strategy. From development to distribution, hear the behind-the-scenes stories of how some of the most important break-through documentaries of the year came to be.

With years of experience in independent film combined, both on the creative and business side, Howard Cohen and Eric d’Arbeloff have established themselves as one of the most successful distributors of independent film. They work with filmmakers to create unique campaigns and innovative release strategies tailored to each film they roll out. Join us as they share their insight on the current state of distribution and their experiences bringing their “Roadside Attractions” to diverse audiences.

An exclusive opportunity to see documentary works-in-progress from Film Independent’s Documentary Lab, and to hear the filmmakers talk about their projects’ inception, financing and production. The Documentary Lab is a highly selective program designed to help documentary filmmakers who are in post-production on their feature length documentaries.

Sponsored by Latino Public Broadcasting, the 2012 Documentary Lab Projects being screened include: American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs, Billy Mize & the Bakersfield Sound, Boone, Dancing in Jaffa, Gore, Vidal: The United States of Amnesia, Journey Into Africa, Now En Espanol

In a candid off-the-record discussion, filmmakers share their decision making process when it comes to selling and figuring out the right strategy to distribute their films. Their experiences will provide a panoramic view of the many roads to distribution today: from traditional theatrical to innovative hybrid models involving multiple platforms.

These days everyone is excited about creating original content for the Web. As YouTube, Hulu, and other outlets are tapping into independent filmmakers to create fresh new series and Webisodes, we begin to see more clearly what the business model for web could be, and concrete opportunities for content creators. Join us as independent filmmakers reveal their experiences creating original web content for new online channels.

Video on demand is poised to be one of the most lucrative platforms available to distribute an indie film. But at the moment there seems to be more questions than answers: Who gets to keep the money? And how much is trickling down from the distributors to the content creators? How can filmmakers leverage this platform when the hard numbers behind VOD remain unclear? Why are the different platforms so difficult to navigate and how are the major players accounting for revenue? Filmmakers who have experiences (positive and not so positive) with VOD demystify this business model for you and discuss the benefits and challenges of releasing your film on VOD.

Film industry professionals host tables for lunch and candid conversation.

Is there a market for financing American independents abroad? If so, what films are likely to succeed getting international financing and reaching a global audience, and in which territories? Where are those deals being made? Drawing from their recent experiences financing and selling American independent films, international sales agents give specific examples of what they can and can’t sell in the international marketplace, and how to package and promote a film for international appeal.

In the current marketplace there is no “one size fits all” approach to releasing a movie. A marketing and distribution strategy starts before you call the first shot. How do you identify and establish a meaningful dialogue with your audience? What skills, tools and people can help you build this bridge? Leading experts in this rapidly changing field discuss innovative ways to reach the audience of two specific films as they analyze and offer advice to Film Independent Fellows on their soon to be released projects.

What digital tools would you want a group of tech developers to create to help your movies find audiences and audiences find your movies? We are excited to announce that for the first time, Film Independent has reached out to the tech community for a unique collaboration at the Forum where, with a wish list gathered from filmmakers, a group of coders will embark on a 40-hour hackathon to create unique tools and applications aimed directly at indie filmmakers. Join us in this session to see what happens when you put the most creative coders together in competition to deliver on the wishes of independent filmmakers like you. A panel of technology experts and filmmakers will choose three winners.

As technology rapidly evolves, archiving, accessing and preserving content has become a big puzzle for filmmakers to solve. In which format should you store your film? How many backups should you have? How often should you update these stored assets? How long is the life of our digital images? And how will they age? These questions represent not only a small concern for individual filmmakers and distributors, but a big predicament for the future of the moving image. We invite experts in the technology and preservation field to help us answer some of these questions and prepare for the future.

New independent voices discuss how they leveraged their passion-driven solo projects into a career directing more complex studio gigs.

Reception hosted by Renwood Winery and Icelandic Glacial Natural Spring Water.