The producer credited with helping to launch the careers of Vincent Ward and Jane Campion says he would sell his films for $2 on the internet if it would get them to fans when they wanted them.

John Maynard wants New Zealand to pioneer an iTunes-like system for movies - getting films out quickly and cheaply on the internet to stop people turning to illegal downloads.

The Australasian producer, who has worked on two movies each by Ward and Campion, said the growth of iTunes had slowed illegal downloads of music. This week he told the Screen Production and Development Association (Spada) conference New Zealand could lead the world by adopting a similar model for films.

"It could happen in New Zealand - it's one of the few places in the world I know that can change very, very quickly culturally," he said. "I would rather sell my movies for $2 a download and make it available to its audience" than have people steal them.

In April, the Motion Pictures Association representative in New Zealand - Tony Eaton of the New Zealand Federation Against Copyright Theft - recommended Hollywood studios create a New Zealand website for legally downloading movies to reduce internet piracy.

Yesterday, Mr Eaton told the Spada conference that more than a third of the $6 billion film studios lost to piracy in 2005 was from illegal internet downloads.

He said the new James Bond film Quantum of Solace had been illegally downloaded 3.2 million times - before its New Zealand release.

Until recently, the federation's focus has been on pirated DVDs. Demand for movie downloads in New Zealand has been stunted by slow broadband speeds. But it is expected to increase when broadband gets faster.

Sony Pictures New Zealand general manager Andrew Cornwell said music downloads were easier to sell because they downloaded much faster than films.

There is a huge battle brewing between film producers, ISP's, Copyright Law and the consumer. Hopefully, the consumer will win.

A growth in infrastructure is also fueling the acceptance of small budget films
Written by Gouri Shah

Walk into any multiplex today and chances are, a majority of the films being played out on those screens are small budget films featuring new talent. Whether it is the hilarious comedy about non-resident Indians called Loins of Punjab, thriller Johnny Gaddaar featuring newcomer Neil Nitin Mukesh, films such as Bheja Fry and Life in a Metro, or internationally acclaimed films such as The Namesake—industry experts say it is clear that audiences are developing a sensibility for small, independent films.

The box-office takings aren’t bad either: Madhur Bhandarkar’s Traffic Signal, which cost Rs5 crore to produce, made Rs15 crore at the box office, says an industry analyst. Right on cue, some film production houses are setting up separate divisions or companies under the parent brand to work on small budget projects. These have budgets less than Rs5 crore, and are generally less dependent on commercial success than mainstream Bollywood films.

“Today, production houses don’t have a choice but to start looking at small budget films or independent films. With actors turning producers, producers are now looking at lesser known names and smaller projects as an effective way to keep the ball rolling,” said Taran Adarsh, trade analyst, and editor of Trade Guide, a film business weekly. Top Bollywood actors such as Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, Aamir Khan, Arjun Rampal, Ajay Devgan and wife Kajol have set up film production houses of their own. But why would studios set up separate divisions for budget films? Industry experts say there are several reasons ranging from de-risking their portfolio and clarity in brand strategy, a shift to large studio formats, to ensuring the inflow of new talent. They are also using high-content “art” films as an inroad to the international awards scene and markets beyond non-resident Indians.

“Today, with multiplexes, these small budget films can actually be made, and can be given a theatrical release to audiences with a growing sensibility for such work,” said Siddharth Roy Kapur, executive vice-president, marketing, UTV Motion Pictures.

These projects have a longer shelf life compared with bigbudget films, where the opening week is extremely crucial. “So, you could release a few prints first and the perception created by running full house for the first few weeks is extremely effective. Buzz is built purely on word-of-mouth,” said Navin Shah, chief executive officer, P9 Integrated Pvt. Ltd, which has a separate unit, P9 Searchlight, for small budget films.When it comes to selling an independent or small budget film, it’s vital to work smart. “You are catering to a discerning audience and, more often than not, (are on) a modest marketing budget,” said Shah. His company, which was responsible for marketing Traffic Signal, sponsored T-shirts with the logo ‘Traffic Signal’ for a large group of traffic cops running the Mumbai Marathon early this year.

There are two revenue streams for both big and small budget films: theatrical—through the number of prints sold—and non-theatrical—comprising home DVDs, satellite rights, DD telecast rights, etc. The only difference is that the territories and rights for big budget films are much larger. They also have additional streams of revenue comprising music rights, downloadable properties such as wallpapers, ringtones, music and international releases which are very rare for small budget films. Still, small is clearly getting big in filmdom.

This November 14-15th marks the tenth anniversary of the Melbourne Independent Filmmakers Festival and it is sure to be a crowd-pleaser! This year's fund-raising festivities will be held at the beautiful

Premiere Theaters Oaks Stadium 10 and will feature new cutting edge international films, independent films from Florida and international filmmakers, the winners of the Florida Today's annual filmmaking contest, and a special engagement of a film that is being called independent filmmaking world's Cinderella story, Touching Home starring four time Oscar nominee, Ed Harris.

The Melbourne Film Fest prides itself on bringing some the finest independent film work to an enthusiastic local audience and this year is no exception. This year's festival line-up will feature 2 Previews, 44 short films and 3 features.
There are plans for an exclusive wine-tasting and silent auction on Friday night sponsored by Von Strasser wines and the Yellow Dog Cafe and it is set to co-incide with the premiere of the new James Bond movie, The Quantum of Solace. There will be a Friday night comedy program at 7:00 pm and a horror program at 9:30 pm which will also feature selections of some of the best genre movies from this year's entries and the MIFF's past ten years.

On Saturday at 10:00 am, the matinee program begins featuring Florida made films, Florida Today 90 Seconds to Fame winners and 2 features. This will culminate in an opportunity to me the filmmakers at a roundtable forum for a Q& A session. At 3 pm, award-winning filmmaker Alex Ferrari will teach his seminar "Guerilla Marketing and Self Distribution for Your Indie Film" for the discounted price of $50 (All sales to support charity).

At 6 pm, the red carpet reception begins at the Premiere Theaters Oaks Stadium 10 and the 90 second winner of the Florida Today's film contest will be shown followed by the Miller Brothers' feature film, Touching Home. The Miller brothers will be in attendance and there will be a VIP courtyard reception following the screening sponsored by Florida Beer and many local restaurants including Chart House, La Placita, Meg O' Malley's, Miyako's, Mustard's Last Stand and many more. Live entertainment by Robin & Eddy and an awards ceremony will follow.

For more info on ticket sales go to
www.oaks10.com
Exclusive Wine-tasting Friday Nov 14th $100.00
Friday Comedy Program $10.00
Friday Horror Program $10.00
Saturday matinee & Meet the filmmakers $10.00
Seminar- Alex Ferrari "Guerilla Marketing and Self Distribution for Your Indie Film" $50.00
VIPparty, Red Carpet & "Touching Home" $50.00
ALL PASS $65.00(Does not include Wine-tasting and Alex Ferrari's Seminar)

For more info on the Melbourne Film Fest go to
www.3boysproductions.com
www.myspace.com/melbfilmfest

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