I make a lot of DIY micro features and I’m often asked the screenwriting secret to having produced seven feature films in the last seven years. Detailed here are my Top 10 T...
I’m a big fan of “Next Generation Cinema” that’s evolving fast from the combination of a DIY work ethos coupled with smarter, faster and more adept phone platforms and r...
Because the 22nd Chicago Underground Film Festival May 13-17 is the largest and longest-running such festival in the USA and takes world cinema outside the mainstream, it’s ...
Filmmaker / actor Joe Swanberg will present his latest indie comedy, "Digging For Fire," about marriage, parenting, mystery and murder, as the opening selection of the 3rd annu...
Chicago’s spring showcase, CIMMfest 7, kicks off Thursday with spectacular music, films and kick ass concerts including a number of tantalizing Old School looks back at the ...
The days of begging distributors to take your work is over. The days of receiving no money for your work is over. Now, exciting new ways are emerging to reach an aud...
For the 11th year, the 48 Hour Film Project returns to Chicago starting the week of July 27 as filmmakers battle it out to complete an entire short film within a 48 hour period....
As I sit here working with only one engineer on a deck outfitted with the latest of digital tools, I about how far we have come in mixing films – and how many things remain th...
For a number of years now, indie filmmakers who could afford it would shoot with the prestigious RED camera to much acclaim. They had been promised a smaller, price-friend...
Filmmaker Edward T. McDougal’s inspiring historical feature, “Dog Jack,” opens theatrically nationwide in celebration of February’s Black History Month -- a year after t...
From the imaginative and colorful opening title sequence of “Close Quarters,” we are in the hands of debut feature filmmaker, Jack C. Newell, who is firmly in control of his...
Want to get your script produced? Are you tired of writing screenplays that go nowhere? Are you frustrated with the lack of response to your work? I'm going to show you how to w...
I just picked up from Lomography that allows independent filmmakers and artists a chance to create beautiful analog films - using standard 35mm stock.It's a game changer f...
The Reel is honored that award-winning indie filmmaker and Columbia College professor Julian Grant will be sharing his valuable insights as well as news about Chicago’s thrivi...