It's not too late to say you were there when it started

The NonDē Film Movement is taking off. Are you part of it?

Every so often I have to call myself on my own bs.

That happened earlier this week when a neon sign flashed over my head and I realized I was moving too slow. I know it’s January in New England. I know the snow banks are bigger than both my kids stacked on top of each other. I know for all intents and purposes the world should be hibernating and it may be spiritually intelligent to follow the rhythms of the universe and come alive in March with the thaw.

But the world and its challenges won’t wait.

And when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone shift the paradigm of a culture, you want the rest of your life that paradigmatic shift to start as soon as possible.¹

So, perhaps a bit hair-on-fire-y, I’m here today with the beginning of a series about the politics, strategies, and culture-changing mandate of the NonDē Film Movement as I see it.

Over the course of several (many?) essays, I’m going to break down my thoughts on:

• why you should make films non-dependently

• why you should invest in films made this way

• how to harness the power of this movement (even if you aren’t a filmmaker)

• why non-dependent filmmaking is a democracy-encouraging act we all need to get behind in a BIG way

• why NonDē is the only real possibility for a better future

• how the NonDē 50 Films Project works to organize the movement

• how we can use ND50 to create the ecosystem faster and more ambitiously

• why this is a political project as much as an artistic or entrepreneurial one

• how NonDē will be good for business

• more things as they come, they always do!

Edit notes in my NonDē script for Kinsley Vs.

As you see, there’s a lot to talk about. I don’t have the time to pontificate on how dead-ended the traditional industry paths are because we’re now at the point when I’d rather spend time writing about where we’re going.

Besides it’s all very well-accounted for, from people who have lived it from the inside out and understand it on a cellular level.

Barbara Twist writes an illustrative breakdown of why traditional distribution deals limit a film’s prospects, cede its audience data to Big Tech, and yield less financial possibilities than a filmmaker-led dynamic distribution model.

Ted Hope consistently educates us on how the industry’s infrastructure has failed filmmakers at every turn for the past 40 years and it’s past time to do something about it.

Richard Rushfield artfully demonstrates the depressing current end game of succeeding in Hollywood, which is… seeing your over/under on a screen at the Golden Globes?? and an alternative success route for filmmakers.

Joshua Smith crystallizes the insidious ways the system operates.

And Sean Rappleyea’s bottom lines with Sundance analysis just this week…

Study what these and other thinkers/artists are writing about in the past few years, and you’ll see the same pattern emerge that I do:

The system worked. Its aim was maximal profit for the few.

So bravo, it accomplished that.

It consolidated power into the hands of the few, and left the many to get fully shut out of industry participation because how on earth do you break through when the baseline for acquisition is to raise $10 million dollars for a “small” “indie” film with four big name celebrities and a pre-packaged A24 distribution deal?

No shade to Olivia Wilde, truly, good for her. It’s just that this latest example isn’t evidence the system values independent film. The system values extraction. And it doesn’t matter how small or famous or beloved you are, it’ll take you for all you’re worth. And then brainwash you to internalize any exclusion as “The industry responds to greatness, so I guess I don’t have the chops”.²

The system worked. But it didn’t work for us because it wasn’t built for us.

So it’s not enough to just make a fix here or make an adjustment there. We’ve got to start from scratch. We’ve got to build something new — a system that believes in us, nurtures us, and works for us.

And how will we do that?

Together.

On set with the cast of Kinsley Vs. in 2022.

What You Need to Know About the NonDē Film Movement

It’s happening everywhere: artists are waking up to realize our value. We’re good for business, we’re good for politics, and we’re good for humanity.

We have something more to give than is being asked of us. And we are chomping at the bit to give it.

But the system doesn’t want it.

The system won’t prioritize it, which is why there is a new movement afoot. One that prioritizes people over profits, and good, ambitious films over cynical plays for a tax write-off.

This movement will not slow down, I can tell you that much. I’m hearing echoes of NonDē in places you wouldn’t normally hear it.

Kristen Stewart says, “It’s too hard to make movies right now that aren’t blockbuster-y, proven equations.” Ben & Matt believe a movie’s success should be shared above and below the line. Sean Baker, famously, discussed the economic reality of independent filmmakers. Even big names with hefty reputations and access to capital are saying the quiet part out loud.

When you pay attention to the tune, you’ll hear it everywhere.

And that’s why it’s not too late (yet) to say you were at the beginning of this moment. It’s not too late to join in before it’s accepted by mainstream culture as a better way to do business and a more human way to make art. And hey, you can be a late adopter if you want. There’s no shame in that game. I didn’t join TikTok until 2022, so I get it.

But if you care about what we in the NonDē Film Movement care about, why wait? Why wait for better timing? There’s no such thing.

If you believe in what we believe in, now is your moment to take a stand for something. To join up and link arms and DO SOMETHING about it.

And that’s what this next series of posts on Let’s Go Again will cover.

LFG, as they say.

Here’s what you can do right now to get involved:

1. Subscribe to FilmStack Daily Digest and start getting your analysis and breakdown from thinkers on this platform with independent voices.

2. Read about the New Film Criticism and subscribe to a swath of amazing film critics who don’t just introduce us to new work, but also help us think and write about films in an altogether fresh, original, personal way. A way that can actually nurture audiences and filmmakers alike. Start with: Charlotte Simmons, Decarceration, The Long Take

3. Join the NonDē 50 Films Project by signing up here and checking out the dashboard here.

4. Start talking about it. Let’s bring these ideas into the conversation. At first people will say we can’t do it. That’s fine, let’s talk about it. Let’s bring these big ideas into the rooms with us.

5. Discuss with your team. Be the leader on your production team and bring non-FilmStack filmmakers into the fold. Share resources and posts with them about how to do things differently.

6. Share about the NonDē Film Movement far and wide. A better world is inevitable if we make it so.

1. Thanks for the line, Nora Ephron. :)

2. With all due respect, no.