Thin Line Fest 2017: A Festival Where "Run, Don’t Walk" Takes on a Literal Dimension
When I learned my documentary What Happened in Vegas, about police corruption in Las Vegas, had gotten accepted to the Newport Beach Film Festival, I...
Moonlight Co-Editor Nat Sanders Talks Quitting Your Day Job, Disagreeing With Directors and That Awkward Oscars Moment
Though his nomination for a Best Editing Oscar for Moonlight wasn’t as monumental as his co-editor Joi McMillon’s—she was the first African-American to receive a nod for the...
Festival Wrap: Big-Wave Surfing and an Ocean of International Selections Glisten at Newport Beach Film Festival
Newport Beach Film Festival’s 18th annual run has come to a close, marking another year that the SoCal luxury spot has fostered the growth of Orange County’s regional...
First We Take Sedona: A Festival Run is All About Leverage, Says the Director of Stevie D
My wife and I had just settled into a quiet evening at a friend’s house when I saw a call coming in from Sedona on...
Starring Ol’ Blue: Casting a 43-Year Old Ford Pickup Truck in Reparation
This is a story about how I nearly fired one of the lead actors in our film the day before principal photography began. Oh, and…...
50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee, 2015
Was it worth it? Indie film, by definition, resides on the margins. It’s a medium of miracles, of squeezing so much from so little, of...
Best Of: 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee, 2014
Feast your eyes on MovieMaker‘s complete list of the 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee in 2014. Despite original plan to publish the list...
How They Did It: Documentary, Los Aldeanos
Los Aldeanos is an underground rap duo based in Havana whose lyrics challenge the status quo of Cuba’s dictatorship. Filmmaker Jesse Acevedo went to Cuba...
Newport Beach Film Festival: Bringing the Best in Film to Orange County
I first got involved with the Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) back in 2009 with my film Spooner. Even then the festival was large, but...
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Inside the Issue: Best Of
The Best Film Schools in the U.S. and Canada 2017: Film Programs to Shape You Into the Next Moviemaking All-Star
Perhaps you’re someone who dreams of a career in moviemaking, and has come to the realization that the discipline, experimentation and personal relationships that flourish in an academic setting are...
8Inside the Issue: Cinematography
What’s in Your Kit? The Underwater Gear Used in Jeff Orlowski’s Gorgeous Environmental Doc Chasing Coral
How do you show irrefutable proof that the world’s coral reefs are rapidly dying due to climate change? Director Jeff Orlowski’s feature Chasing Coral follows an impassioned team of...
Inside the Issue: Directing
Of Bad Apes and Twisted Revenge: Matt Reeves, Steve Zahn, Weta Digital and Others on War for the Planet of the Apes
Actor Steve Zahn—known for his roles in That Thing You Do, Riding in Cars With Boys, and Dallas Buyers Club—once stumbled onto an online post about his role in...