2012 Film Independent Forum Delivers Apps, Opportunities and a Memorable Keynote Address From Academy Award®-nominated Director John Singleton

LOS ANGELES, CA (October 22, 2012) – Film Independent, the nonprofit arts organization that produces the Film Independent Spirit Awards and Los Angeles Film Festival, brought its annual Film Independent Forum for 2012 to a close this past weekend. In addition to providing aspiring filmmakers with its wide array of panels and networking opportunities, it continued its tradition on delivering an always-memorable keynote address.

This year’s speaker was Academy Award®-nominated director John Singleton (Boyz N the Hood, Abduction, Four Brothers) who took the stage to bestow his knowledge on the crowd of Forum attendees. Taking his cue from past years’ speakers, Singleton took the opportunity to drop knowledge and expletives in what can only be described as a “real” point of view of his experiences and understanding of how the industry works.

To check highlights from the speech as well as his exclusive interview with Film Independent visit filmindependent.org or YouTube youtu.be/0HYUtkrq1Xg

The 2012 Forum also introduced the first ever “MOVIE HACKATHON” (zefrhackathon.com) hosted by ZEFR and sponsored by Co.Create from Fast Company. The event, which took place at ZEFR’s headquarters in Venice, brought the film and technology communities together to create new tools and apps for filmmakers and film lovers. After 41 hours of coding, the top three were selected with each receiving a cash prize.

The winning teams and apps were:

1st Prize – Team: Deutsch LA Junior Varsity Team
Pop Over
A host your own movie party app that allows you to invite as many Facebook friends as you like while limiting the number of RSVPs to the actual capacity of your living room. Friends can sign up to bring drinks and snacks, as well as allowing the user to purchase the selected movie directly from the app via existing digital retail channels like Amazon etc.

2nd Prize – Team: Bio Digital Jazz
Cin Fes
Film Festivals are amazing platforms to launch a new movie, Film Festival websites…not so much. CinFes is a movie first application with an elegant user interface that positions the movie poster as the key element for interactivity. Bios, bylines, and synopses are deftly concealed to celebrate the key movie-marketing asset – a killer poster. Festival attendees can indicate which fest film they’re going to check out and invite their friends to tag along via social media.

3rd Prize – Team: Code Frat
Act Roulette
Tapping the popular social phenomenon, Chat Roulette, Act Roulette allows fans and actors hoping to beef up on delivering their favorite movie lines to interact with each other via a live video chat feature. Famous clips containing famous quotes form the structure of the chat rooms and users can sign up to pop into those rooms to go head-to-head with other performers. An engaging way to bring movies to life, and maximize your acting chops anonymously.

Additionally, this past weekend’s Forum provided attendees one-on-one networking opportunities with key film industry executives as well as informative panels that covered all aspects of independent film production, marketing, distribution and more. Panelist highlights included, filmmaker Jay Duplass (Jeff, Who Lives At Home, Cyrus), producer/director Rory Kennedy (Ethel, Ghosts of Abu Ghraib) writer/director Sheldon Candis (LUV), producer Kevin Iwashina (Jiro Dreams of Sushi), director/producer Ondi Timoner (We Live In Public, Dig!), writer/director Lynn Shelton (Your Sister’s Sister, Humpday), producer Ram Bergman (Looper, Brick) and more.

Images from the 2012 Film Independent Forum can be found on WireImage at the following link: http://www.wireimage.com/search/#events?q=film%20independent%20forum%202012&s=1

The 2012 Film Independent Forum was presented by Indiewire, the leading news, information and networking site for independent-minded filmmakers, the industry and moviegoers alike. Additional sponsors include Premier Sponsors SAGIndie/Screen Actors Guild, Directors Guild of America, IMDbPro and Principal Sponsors Universal Studios, Montana Film Office, Korean Film Council (KOFIC), PUMit from UbicMedia, ZEFR and Co.Create from Fast Company. Icelandic Glacial Natural Spring Water is the Official Water and Renwood Winery is the Official Wine for the Film Independent Forum.

About Film Independent
Film Independent is a nonprofit arts organization that champions independent film and supports a community of artists who embody diversity, innovation, and uniqueness of vision. Film Independent helps filmmakers make their movies, builds an audience for their projects and works to diversify the film industry. Film Independent’s Board of Directors, filmmakers, staff, and constituents, is comprised of an inclusive community of individuals across ability, age, ethnicity, gender, race and sexual orientation. Anyone passionate about film can become a member, whether you are a filmmaker, industry professional or a film lover.

Film Independent produces the Spirit Awards, the annual celebration honoring artist-driven films and recognizing the finest achievements of American independent filmmakers. Film Independent also produces the Los Angeles Film Festival, showcasing the best of American and international cinema and the Film Independent at LACMA Film Series, a year-round, weekly program that offers unique cinematic experiences for the Los Angeles creative community and the general public.

With over 250 annual screenings and events, Film Independent provides access to a network of like-minded artists who are driving creativity in the film industry. Film Independent’s Artist Development program offers free Labs for selected writers, directors, producers and documentary filmmakers and presents year-round networking opportunities. Project Involve is Film Independent’s signature program dedicated to fostering the careers of talented filmmakers from communities traditionally underrepresented in the film industry. For more information or to become a member, visit filmindependent.org.

For more information, contact:

Greg Longstreet
glongstreet@filmindependent.org
310.432.1287

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