NewEnglandFilm.com

The first issue of NewEnglandFilm.com in August 1997 started with two stories and a weekly series Scene on the Scene, a sum-up of news and happenings from the local industry.  Now, 10 years later, our site has an extensive archive of local film history comprised of hundreds of interviews, profiles, reviews and how-tos, all free of charge to all readers.

So the question is — if you’re browsing, how would you decide what to read?  I realized after paging through past issues, that there are quite a few wonderful stories, festival reports, advice pieces, profiles and reviews.  I guess that’s what happens in a decade.  As founder and publisher of NewEnglandFilm.com, I’ve compiled this completely subjective list of my favorite articles in honor of the 10th Anniversary of the site. 

Marlo Poras of Mai’s America

I discovered Mai’s America as a work-in-progress at the 1999 Independent Film Project (aka the Independent Feature Film Market). Back then, the market was quite large — a big crowd and a lot of films — but they often didn’t feel like they had been carefully selected. Mai’s America stood out as a truly unique film — yes, another personal documentary, but done with such honesty and nuance it was hard to resist. In February 2000 NewEnglandFilm.com featured an interview with the director Marlo Poras and in June 2002 Chris Cooke reviewed the completed Mai’s America time for its PBS premiere.

Errol Morris

A true innovator, Errol Morris spoke at a panel at Sundance 2001, and I fell in love.  Well not exactly, but he was such an honest genius and had this quirky quality about him — it was impossible not to be charmed.  It’s no wonder Roger Ebert likened Morris to a magician; and there aren’t too many filmmakers who can say that one of their films solved a murder crime.  Anyhow, in June and July 2001 we ran a two-part interview with Errol Morris who at the time was working on the IFC show First Person.

Judith Helfand and Dan Gold of Blue Vinyl

Judith Helfand started her filmmaking efforts with support from Massachusetts organization Center for Independent Documentary.  After enormous success with her film A Healthy Baby Girl, she went on to found the nonprofit Working Films and create the prequel to her successful film, Blue Vinyl.   Part activism, part personal story, part comedy, the unique film was first covered as part of our 2002 Sundance Film Festival report.  Chris Donner’s interview with Judith Helfand and Dan Gold took us behind the scenes in May 2002.

Fred Tuttle

Quintessential Vermont filmmaker John O’Brien‘s film Man With a Plan was featured with a review and interview.  The film is about Fred Tuttle, a 76-year-old retired dairy farmer who runs and wins a seat in Congress. In 1998, the real Fred Tuttle won the Republican primary for the Senate, so NewEnglandFim.com covered election day in Vermont.

Hatchling Studios film The Toll.

Hatchling Studios

Art meets commerce at Hatchling Studios which has clearly mastered balancing both.  NewEnglandFilm.com featured this New Hampshire animation team in December 2006 when their latest film The Toll was screening across the country.

Zachary Stratis and Vilma Gregoropoulos of Could Be Worse!

So you think you’ve seen one personal documentary, you’ve seen them all, right?  Well not this time.  Could Be Worse! by Zachary Stratis is completely uncategorizable as a personal documentary — although acted — and musical about being Greek, coming out and celebrating family.  Right after its Sundance screening, NewEnglandFilm.com posted an interview with Vilma Gregoropouloss, the film’s producer.  In February 2001, a follow up interview with Zack Stratis ran when the film opened in theatres.

The Players

What would filmmaking in New England be without the local personalities keeping it going?  Over the years, NewEnglandFilm.com has featured many of them, if not all — David Kleiler from Local Sightings, Joan Phillips-Sandy from the Maine International Film Festival, Robert Patton Spruill from FilmShack, Evonne Hyla Wetzner from Video Underground, Alla Kovgan and Jeff Silva from Video Balagan, George Marshall from the Rhode Island Film Festival, to name but a few.

How-To

Over the years, NewEnglandFilm.com has ran numerous pieces on everything from marketing your script to getting your film to Miramax to earning grant money to obtaining music rights to financing your film and most recently delivering video on the web. We’ve also covered pretty extensively in our "How to Be a…" series everything from Storyboard Artist to Production Coordinator to Child Actor to Cinematographer to Master Editor.  Check out our list in the archives on "How to Be a…" series and other advice.

NewEnglandFilm.com

What better place to end than with a bit of self-promotion?  But really, this is one of my favorite pieces because it shows the visual transformation of NewEnglandFilm.com throughout the years.  All too often, sites get redesigned leaving no trace of the old, no true archive.  So on our 7th anniversary, we ran this piece looking back.