As the gap widens between the hundreds of features that play the festival circuit every year and the ever smaller handful of films bought and sold by the studio-dependent indie arms, certain overlaps become readily apparent between the inevitable day-todays of the young indie filmmakers who might have been inspired by a book like John Pierson’s Spike Mike Slackers and Dykes, and the indie rock kids who might have been inspired by a book like Michael Azzerad’s This Band Could Be Your Life. For one thing, both the record business and the film business (particularly as it concerns small films, mid-size non-genre films, and virtually anything without franchise potential) have, in the past few years, entered into periods of reckoning which has made it ever more important for emerging artists to take charge of their own marches towards destiny. Last night AFI Dallas assembled a varied panel to answer the question, WHAT LESSONS CAN INDIE FILMMAKERS LEARN FROM INDIE BANDS? To hear the panelists tell it, those lessons break down into two categories: taking advantage of the inroads made by bands to sell themelves (in ways easily monetized and otherwise) online; and taking the old school model of the DIY band on the run and using it to take advantage of brick-and-mortar institutions in financial crisis.

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Matt Tynauer’s doc Valentino: The Last Emperor (see our Toronto coverage here) has been scheduled for a NY premiere at Film Forum since December, but now indieWIRE is reporting that the film will have a further theatrical rollout via Magnolia’s Truly Indie asissted self-distribution model.

This is interesting timing, because in the context of a conversation about self-distribution the other day, somebody asked me if Truly Indie was still running, and I couldn’t remember the last film I knew for sure that they helped to release. When the Valentino news broke, I went on Truly Indie’s website, and saw that they have been involved recently with the release of films I’ve either covered (Boogie Man) or at least heard of (Lake City, starring Sissy Spacek). It’s interesting that some of these releases would make news and others wouldn’t — I don’t know what it means, exactly, but it’s interesting.

Another independent film conference, another major missive diagnosing the state of the industry and the drastic need for filmmakers and distributors to shift gears in order to follow the changing needs of consumers. The above chart is attached to part one of a report at indieWIRE by distribution consultant Peter Broderick, published today to coincide wit the launch of Independent Film Week here in New York. Broderick says Mark Gill (the man responsible for associating the current trend of indie film hand-wringing with the phrase “the sky is falling”) was looking at the state of the industry “from the perspective of a seasoned Old World executive.” Broderick says he comes instead “from the filmmaker’s perspective,” and proceeds to layout ten binary oppositions between the Old World and New World of film distribution.

I’m already buried so deep in conversations online video, alternative marketing, the new self-distribution, etc, that much of what Broderick says seems so obvious that I really can’t come up with an immediate response. So: look at the chart, read the story, and tell me what I’m supposed to think. Thank you.

We’ve spent the past three weeks previewing films that are going to be premiering at SXSW, but the festival also has a conference component, with four days packed full of panels. Karina (that’s me) will be speaking on the Blogs, Buzz and Buddy lists panel on Sunday at 3:30. I’ll also be moderating a panel at 1pm on Monday called Deal or No Deal: The Road to Self-Distribution.

As far as panels that don’t actually require me to operate a microphone are concerned, I’m really excited about the Jeffrey Tambor Acting Workshop. Yes, George (and Oscar) Bluth himself is going to let us in on his “process.” Even cooler, he’s gonna do it by coaching Hannah Takes the Stairs stars Greta Gerwig and Kent Osbourne through a reading of an excerpt of John Patrick Shanley’s The Dreamer Examines His Pillow. Yes, seriously. The magic happens at 1pm on Sunday.

There are tons of other great events going on and no one can attend them all, but after the jump you’ll find a list of a few I have my eye on. If you’re on a panel or have panels you’re particularly excited about, let us know in the comments.

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