Monday, September 15------In celebration of its 30th anniversary, the Independent Feature Project (IFP), one of the oldest filmmaker organizations in America, is hosting this week's Independent Film Week (formerly the IFP Market). The name change reflects the organization's mission of discovering, showcasing, and supporting new independent film projects and talent. For full information, visit: www.independentfilmweek.com

Since its founding in 1979, IFP has facilitated the development, financing or distribution of 7,000 independent films, while more than 20,000 filmmakers have participated in its programs. The organization has fostered early work by leading filmmakers including Charles Burnett, Edward Burns, Martha Coolidge, Todd Haynes, Barbara Kopple, Michael Moore, John Sayles, Jim Jarmusch and Kevin Smith.

Aside from the name change, the conference event moves from Soho’s Angelika Film Center and Puck Building to Chelsea’s Fashion Institute of Technology (F.I.T.) and nearby venues. This year's new developments, mark the culmination of a number of changes made to the event over the past several years, including the elimination of completed features six years ago.

As in the past, the centerpiece of Independent Film Week will be the “Project Forum,” a showcase for 150 new works in development, of which half are documentaries. The Forum is divided into three sections: Emerging Narrative, for writers and writer/directors seeking producers; No Borders International Co-Production Market, for experienced producers seeking financing partners; and Spotlight on Documentaries, for projects in production and post-production that are currently seeking financing partners and festival invitations.

Moving from a pre-festival screenings market to a primarily conference and networking event, the Independent Film Week is expecting more than 1,000 industry professionals to attend over the next six days, with the organization arranging more than 2,000 one-on-one pitch meetings between filmmakers and executives from production companies, distributors, exhibitors, broadcasters, and film festivals. 

Other highlights of Independent Film Week include the Independent Filmmakers Conference, a Showcase Screening from IFP’s Independent Filmmaker Labs, and the Independent Filmmaker Awards Ceremony, in which more than $100,000 is awarded to filmmakers, including The Kodak Grand Jury Screenwriting Award, eight Panasonic Digital Filmmaker Grants, the Adrienne Shelly Director’s Grant, and The Fledgling Fund Awards for a Socially Conscious Documentary and an Emerging Latino Filmmaker.

 Getting the pulse of indepedent film will be the subject of future articles on this site. Stay tuned..... Sandy Mandelberger, Film New York Editor