Photo via Devin Faraci’s TwitPic

The formula for a productive, engaging debate on the state of indie film? Take a festival founder and a controversial filmmaker, throw them in a boxing ring, and add a hundred or so hecklers and a lot of cheap booze. Also, a stars and stripes unitard wouldn’t hurt. And, voila — the circular indie film apocalypse conversation finally gets interesting.

On Monday evening, Fantastic Fest commandeered the South Austin Gym (conveniently located in the same mini-mall as the festival’s two key venues, the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar and the new Highball, a former Salvation Army store converted into a bar/bowling alley/event venue by Alamo mastermind Tim League) to throw a throwdown featuring battles of both “body and spirit” between various friends of the festival. The basic format seemed to change with every bout, but the basic concept was simple: the opponents would first take the stage to debate a given topic ostensibly of interest to the Fantastic masses, and a winner for the brains portion of the battle would be declared via audience applause. Then, each debater would step out from behind their podium, install a mouth guard, and box two rounds so that a champion could be declared based on brawn (or, more likely, luck). The first three rounds, featuring an assortment of online critics and Austin favorites were well received, but the main event was worth waiting for: League, the co-founder and guiding spirit of Fantastic Fest, vs much-maligned filmmaker and experienced boxer Uwe Boll. The debate topic: Independent film is dying and/or dead.

The imbalance of the physical match between slight-of-stature League and trained killing machine Boll was its key selling point. The hypeman/ref ran down Boll’s list of qualifications: “He’s rumored to have a PhD in everything! It’s rumored that he’s the reason Germany reunited! He’s rumored to be making Miss Pacman this fall! He’s also trained as a fighter, which is more than I can say for his opponent!” The fight, it was said, “will later be known as The Timothy League Memorial Debate.”

Out marched League, dressed in an American flag-patterned unitard cut down to his navel. The crowd started chanting “USA!” The night’s alternate battle cry was “Chaos Reigns!”, thus proving that Antichrist may have a popular appeal to an extent that the Cannes haters couldn’t have dreamed.

Before the debate portion of the showdown got under way, Boll complained about the format — or at least, how it had been interpreted by the previous fighters, who mostly seemed intent on roasting one another. “I got bad information,” he said in his thick accent. ”I thought we do 50 minutes debate, then we fight. Now we do three minutes debate. I’m not prepared to say funny things.”

So League agreed to throw out whatever rules had governed the previous face offs. Opening argument went first went to Boll, who was to argue the “independent film is dead/dying” resolution in the affirmative.

The director of Postal and BloodRayne 1-3 started by offering his services as a world sales broker to the filmmakers in attendance. This was met with a light smattering of boos and a cry of “Nazi gold!” (Boll has claimed/confessed that he financed his first films through gold laundered for him by his grandfather, a German concentration camp guard) Boll nodded. “This helps from time to time.”

He went on to discuss the impact of piracy on the international DVD market. “In Spain there is no DVD store still existing, in France all the rental stores are closed, in Russia they have all my movies but on the same shelf is the pirate copy for half the price. So I say to the guy [behind the counter], ‘What the fuck?’ He says if they don’t have the pirated copy, the people won’t shop there at all. This is a very bad subject matter. It’s not funny. I was prepared to bring people to tears here.”

The USA chanters changed their tune: “Uwe Boll!” Flattery did not get them anywhere with the auteur behind Alone in the Dark. He insisted the huddled masses acknowledge their own responsibility. “Everyone here tells me how great Rampage is, but then I go on IMDb and it’s like [rated] 1.8!”

“Dr. Boll saddens me,” began League’s argument. Though he acknowledged that he’s seen the tumbleweeds floating through the international film markets over the past year, League positioned the current state of things not as a catastrophe, but as a correction. “Does that mean that independent film is dead? Nooooooo. Independent film has gone through a period of time, we’re gonna look back in twenty years and say, ‘This was the time when independent film was fat, and self-absorbed, and didn’t know what it was doing.’ Now we’re getting back on track. We’ve got the fat out of our system, we’re a lean fucking fighting machine.”

The spoils of the “fat,” League argued, have been replaced by “alternative platforms. We have gained VOD, iTunes, we have gained platforms where independent filmmakers who are making films on very low budgets can get their films out to the public and make money. There are anecdotal cases in the last year of filmmakers who have gone out and released their own films or gone through a VOD deal, and have made many times the budget of their film. Right now, I say to you people, this is the glory days of independent film!” League went on to suggest a game plan to make the most of these new opportunities: “If you’re an independent filmmaker, you keep your budgets low, you maximize the tax subsidies, you take a good VOD deal, and you’re gonna be a goddamn champion.”

The crowd erupted, led by Tom Quinn of VOD-centric distributor Magnolia, who rose to his feet, punched the air, and cried, “Uwe Boll, suck on that!”

Boll chose not to suck on it, and instead dismissed the earning potential of VOD. “You will not be the champ, you will only be digging yourself a little higher up, because you’re deep in the pit.” He cited The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus as an example of the impossibility of recouping investor expenditures in a climate where films are not being bought for large sums of money by studios.”I always get beat to the ground with ‘Nazi gold!’ or whatever, but the reality is, somebody pays. The normal independent movie made for 1 million, 2 million bucks remains unsold in 90% of the territories. I saw The Informant! today, I had a blast watching Matt Damon be really fucking stupid, but look what that movie finally makes. And they spent twenty, thirty million to release it. The reality is, the studios are spending absurd amounts to get the movies out, and the independent films are not in that circle anymore. Of course, there are always exemptions, and of course there are surprising movies that turn out to be big. But is Juno a surprising movie, or is it a Fox movie?”

“The first thing I want to do is define independent,” announced League at the opening of his rebuttal. “I love Juno…but independent to me feels more like the movies that are here at Fantastic Fest. There’s deals here to be made. The films that Dr. Boll is talking about are above what I’m calling independent. The ten, thirty million dollar films — these films are the problem. This is the market that’s dropped out of the system. I feel the smaller films, the smart films, the really quality films from young independent filmmakers have an option.” Citing festival buzz, blogging and social networking, League claimed “It’s so easy right now to spread the word about a piece of quality entertainment.” Again, he stumped for VOD, appealing to the notion of artist integrity. “Yes, you do not get the $10 million that you have to recoup from P&A, but to me, that is not independent. What independent is, you put your heart and soul into a movie, you spent everything you had. If the movie is dope, if you have a great campaign, then you can get $400,000, $500,000. $600,000 out of a VOD deal.”

In addition to Anvil! and Let the Right One In, as evidence to support his case League cited The Mutant Chronicles. “No offense Tom Quinn, but it’s not a very good movie.” Quinn shouted back, “I agree!” Nevertheless, said League, “There was a momentum built around this movie though select marketing techniques, and people are curious about the film. What did it do? It did over a million dollars on VOD. It was a huge, huge hit. This is the fucking golden age, ladies and gentlemen.”

With that, the debate was over, and it was almost time to fight. Boll offered to take it easy on his opponent. “Tim convinced me, I have hope for the future,” he said. “I’ll box only with my left hand the first round.” League took the opening to butter up his foe, praising Boll’s Fantastic Fest selection Rampage for its “guerilla tactics” and concluding, “I think you can play in this independent arena, because you, sir, are an excellent filmmaker.”

As the boxers retreated to their corners, a new chant rose from the crowd: “Remember the Alamo!” In the end, it wasn’t the bloodbath the spectators hoped for/feared; Leegue and Boll each got a in couple of solid hits, but both men remained standing after two rounds. The ref called it: “Absolute tie!”

Even if our bloodlust wasn’t sated, I’d be surprised if anyone left the gym unsatisfied. People gathered on the sidewalk afterwards, in awe that Boll and League had managed to have a real, informed debate whilst wearing boxing gloves and preparing to pummel each other. The consensus was that we need more like this. “That’s what a festival panel should be,” said sales agent/festival programmer/filmmaker Michael Lerman. “People who are really passionate about what they’re talking about. Not people who are hungover at 11 in the morning, who don’t care.” Tom Quinn, obviously not an impartial party to the proceedings, put it this way on Twitter: “Uwe Boll and Tim League said more abt the state of indie film in unitards and boxing gloves than whole THE FILM SUMMIT.”