Sitting on the shoulders of Andrei

Something truly amazing and humbling happened to me this month. A few weeks ago I was informed by the amazing people over at Film Annex that I would be the featured filmmaker of the month on their front page. What they didn't tell me is that I would be sitting on the shoulders of my hero and favorite director of all time, Andrei Tarkovsky. The coolest part about it is that Film Annex is streaming all of Tarkovsky's films for free.

I'm currently working on an extensive piece for the Film Stage classroom (check out examples of these fantastically insightful articles here and here) about Andrei and his influence in cinema. His films and philosophy have influenced me more than any other filmmaker, so it feels oddly appropriate to share the stage with my idol while also being a huge honor to me personally. And what better way to celebrate his life than through experiencing his films? So go ahead and watch them all Ivan’s Childhood , Andrei Rublev, Solaris, The Mirror, Stalker, Nostalghia and The Sacrifice then take a Voyage in Time to see what a remarkable spirit and artist Tarkovsky was.

Help me win the War of Films on Film Annex

 A still from my film 'Ai'. Watch and vote for it on Film Annex.

A few weeks ago I attended a panel at Internet Week (#IWNY) entitled the Socialization of Film which featured a host of speakers each with unique perspectives on the current independent film scene. One of the speakers was Francesco Rulli, president of the progressive film distribution platform Film Annex, which essentially pays content creators advertisement revenue and offer monetary incentives to drive traffic to their video conduit.

I am participating in a such a contest, the aptly named War of Films (a riff on the Battle of Bands mantra), a monthly competition which encourages filmmakers to promote their films on Film Annex with the winner winning $1000. It's a smart way to drive filmmakers to promote their films and conveiently does not require registration with the site, making it easier to vote. I'm trying to win the month of June with my samurai film Ai, which you can watch and vote here (just click the little green plus button above the player).

If I win, I'll put the money towards my next short film which I intend to further finance by crowdfunding later this summer. I'll also debut a new video fro my vault of unreleased gems exclusively on Film Annex. You can also watch 3 other Ai related videos on a web TV portal created by Film Annex called Zaffi TV. So please spread the word, watch my film and vote, especially if you want to continue supporting my filmmaking endeavors.