Film School of the Week: FatFreeFilm

by MovieMaker Staff | Published May 14, 2007

Those who say you need to spend tens of thousands of dollars to get a decent moviemaking education are clearly living in the Stone Age. These days, all you need is Internet access and the willingness to listen to some good advice. With FatFreeFilm, this type of DIY film school is just a mouse click away!

Founded by independent moviemakers Joel Marshall and Kamala Lopez-Dawson, FatFreeFilm is essentially a series of in-depth interviews with members of the moviemaking community. Over the course of the episode, interviewees--including Henry Jaglom and Peter Bogdanovich--weigh in on how to make it in the indie film world, and provide some choice anecdotes while they’re at it.

But FatFreeFilm doesn’t simply focus on the typical interview subjects like actors and directors; they also go behind the scenes to talk to editors, distributors, costume designers and many other underappreciated but essential members of the film world. FatFreeFilm’s ultimate goal, Marshall notes, is to create a virtual moviemaking community. “The beauty of our show is that it reaches places where there are no film schools--places where our listeners may be the only person in his or her town or village who has any interest in the art of filmmaking,” he says. “Trying to break into filmmaking can be a very daunting and isolating experience and what we are trying to do with FatFreeFilm is reach out to each other, share our stories, help each other and create a network of people with similar interests and goals who can support each other.”

For more information, or to listen to episodes of FatFreeFilm, visit www.fatfreefilm.com.

Sound Off: How much do you think anecdotes and advice from professional moviemakers add to one’s moviemaking education? Have you ever applied something you’ve heard in an interview to your own career? Talk back in the comments section!

--Jennifer Straus