THE
ARTS
Marin film group members pitch themselves
Club gives face time to amateurs
Stan Sinberg, Special to
The Chronicle
Friday, September 19, 2003
(View
the online SF Chronicle archive of this article)
On the last Monday of
each month, about a dozen aspiring filmmakers gather at the Aroma Cafe next door
to the Rafael Film Center Theater in San Rafael, trying to jumpstart their movie
careers.
Each member of the loose-knit networking
group, called FILM (Film Independent League of Marin), gets to pitch themselves:
what they do, their projects and what they're looking for. Although each person
is allotted five minutes, almost no one takes longer than two.
The group began as a way to finance
a film project, but has evolved into a networking organization; its main objective
is to help people find work, said Virginia Travers, 50, who runs Lunaventure,
a film and production company.
Travers began the group with Scott
Amour several months ago.
Travers, who's worked as a street
artist in San Francisco for 15 years, says she's never seen the Bay Area film
industry so dormant.
The group members represent a cross-section
of people involved to a greater or lesser extent in the industry, who are struggling
under current conditions to pursue their careers.
April Hirschman, 29, describes herself
as a writer, director, and actor. She and her two sisters are belly dancers, but
right now, she's trying to sell a script. Michael Badar, a wild-haired, bushy-bearded
man in his 20s, makes documentaries about the environment. John Hewitt teaches
media courses at San Francisco State and also makes documentaries. Amour is trying
to turn his published novel into a screenplay.
What's missing, not surprisingly,
is a big-money person trying to pluck someone out of obscurity into the big time.
After the pitches, George Rush,
a film producer, talks about financing films. Each month the group attempts to
have a different speaker talking on some aspect of the film industry. If the group
is looking for pie-in-the-sky scenarios this night, Rush is not the man to provide
them.
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The setting for the meeting is decidedly
informal. A couple of tables away, a weekly comedy group is holding court. Other
customers wander by constantly.
Rush tells the group that approximately
1,500 independent films are financed each year, and only about 60 make money.
"Basically what I do is give
an investor a 120-page document on why this film is a bad investment and how you'll
probably lose your shirt," Rush tells them. "If they sign on after that,
it's their own stupid fault."
On the plus side, he runs through
a variety of methods in which the attendees can try to raise money for their projects.
On top of the brutal competition
for funding, there's the isolation of the career, particularly screenwriting.
"I come here because it's educational
and inspiring and, being a screenwriter working in front of a computer, it's nice
to feel like you're not alone," Hirschman said. "Being a screenwriter
is like being a gambler in the lottery, only more creative." Indeed, several
members of the group mention escaping the isolation of their craft as a reason
for coming.
Not everyone in the group is a wannabe.
Hewitt, the San Francisco State professor, has been involved with several documentaries,
including "Landmines of the Heart," about landmines in Cambodia, which
was broadcast nationally on PBS. He finds the group stimulating, and also comes
to give support.
"It's nice to talk to people
with hopes and dreams," Hewitt said. "It's necessary to keep us alive."
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About the group
Film Independent League of Marin meets the last Monday of each month at 7: 30
p.m. at the Aroma Café, 1122 Fourth St., San Rafael. There is no charge.
For details, call Virginia Travers at (415) 381-8434 or e-mail lunaventure@hotmail.com.
E-mail comments to nbayfriday@sfchronicle.com.
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