As I am getting ready to officially release WHALE very soon (announcement coming), I would like to steer your direction into some other equally fantastic news. My musical side project is now on the best two things on the internet, Pandora and last.fm.
So, please go and make your Shanks and the Dreamers station on Pandora.
And if your more into lastfm or need double fix, we can be found at last.fm
This is the last 'Shanks and the Dreamers" track we will be releasing for quite some time. The track is also featured in the WHALE soundtrack, but this is the official remix. You can stream and/or download for a limited time.
Time blinks, petit bourgeois by Shanks and the Dreamers
To Download Immediately, go here:
Wanted to thank Celestial Ceiling for providing a much needed sample.
Will be getting interviewed on KUCI 88.9 on Sunday the 13th, at 11am talking about my upcoming feature film WHALE. The show is called Inside the Mind.
If you can't listen to the terrestrial broadcast, they also stream live on the internet here.
The film is officially finished. I have written a little response over at the WHALE site, blog, http://www.whalethefilm.com stating the reasons for the delay.
Of course, as in all things in life, a bit of sidetracking becomes a necessity of survival. The final version of the film has only been seen by a tiny fraction of society, and as i outline my plans, it will remain a bit undercover. Whether the film gets any sort of public screening is not at all my concern nor my wallets, and I mean this in a very sincere, non egotistical and realistic way. Sometimes we get to a point where the idea of a curator becomes anathema to the soul, know what I mean?
No, ah fuck it, well, what I mean to say is that I want to make the film available to people who want to see the film, with or without any sort of middle man, and in a very timely and efficient manner. Life is too short to wait, or hold out, or vice versa. This project is very personal and took about four years to conceive, and because of that, another year of speculation is too long and the theoretical net gains might not be enough, nor can it ever be enough.
So, in a bit of time (short), the film will become available through DVD, VOD and digital downloads. An unofficial DVD might be available now if you contact the right person (amotlagh@gmail.com), emphasis on might, or right?
As for festivals, well we shall see. I might send this out, or I might not. I'm sure some think that this is the only path for a small lil ol Indie as I once did, but I don't really anymore. It is certainly a viable path, but not the only one, and nobody should feel trapped by ambiguities toward audience building. The road these days is not paved, and neither is the mapping of the routes, no matter who tells you or wants to sell you a solution. The field is fucking wide open. Localizing your goals might be the future as the market becomes more and more niche.
This is my rebellion of sorts, an idealistic belief that rather content works for people or it doesn't, and if it does, similar types will seek it out. If it doesn't, maybe later it will, but you still have to make it available if you believe in the nature of the work you do. And if these be the truths, then let nature take its course (cue the Beatles).
Hears hoping to word of mouth, longer shelf life's, and utopian naivete. But, do you remember a time when things were only available if somebody other then the creator said so? Yeah, that was so a few years ago.
So, keep on believing in the things you pursue.
Best,
AM/FM
PLAIN US gets its television debut on Movieola-The Short Film Network today
Sept 10th - 10:01 pm EST
Sept 10th - 1:01 am EST
Sept 11th - 4:01 am EST
For more info, go here: Movieola
New interview I did over at Alejandro Adams BrainTrustdv...
"Amir Motlagh sets out to eradicate “division of labor” filmmaking with whale, an elliptical work pulsing with a restlessness of purpose and vision. Motlagh and his film wear a love-hate relationship with mumblecore on their respective sleeves—a condition which seems, ultimately, inevitable. In the following interview, Motlagh discusses the overwhelming pressures of the Internet and the increasing irrelevance of “ethnic identity” films."
Read the rest here:
http://braintrustdv.com/wordpress/interview-amir-motlagh/
So this week I've been up to my neck in doing interviews for WHALE, which I shall post shortly.
But, first on the agenda, I was invited to be part of a roundtable panel discussion by Alejandro Adams for his site BrainTrustdv(who is one of the recent interviewers) on DIY distribution versus the traditional infrastructure in place now.
The panel includes many different points of view from a wide array of people making independent films today.
Check out the read and please comment here:
http://braintrustdv.com/wordpress/roundtable-self-distribution/
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Also, on Saturday April 25th, Plain Us screens at the newly restored Pomona Fox Theater as part of the Smogdance Film Festival. Show starts at 7PM
To view the Plain Us listing, go here:
http://www.smogdance.com/2009/motlagh.html
To view the 2009 festival lineup, go here:
http://www.smogdance.com/2009.html
Did a new interview over at OC Arts & Culture Magazine. Taken straight from the site:
"Evan Vincent: Please tell us more about yourself, your background, education and what you do.
Amir Motlagh: I am a filmmaker, more specifically, a film director. Initially, I started as an actor, spent a few years getting professional training (Stella Adler, Meisner, Strasburg etc.), then one day, came up with an idea for a film, got a few people together to help, hustled my way into some equipment, and made my first film, Dino Adino in 2001. That was the start of a long love affair with media creation. At that point, I also had a BA in Psychology from UCLA. In some strange misguided way, I thought that this would help me be a better actor. After another five films, some success, some failure, I went back to school to get an MFA, specifically in directing, at Chapman University, mostly to better understand the process of film directed, not just my way, but also in a way that’s been established through a hundred years. Education, any way you can get it, can only help motivated people grow as artists; that’s the bottom line. But of the same token, if I were to listen to everything that they feed you at film school, I would never make another film again. Thankfully, that didn’t happen to me. And, at this point, I have made ten films, which have played all over the world.'
To catch the rest of the article, please swing over here:
http://ocartsandculture.com/2009/04/reel-people-amir-motlagh/
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Second on the agenda is this little item regarding "whale":
Taken from 1 Way Presents, we have this interesting tidbit regarding "whale"
"There is an exciting use of photography that is as cinematic as any of the footage. The music is emotionally driven and the realistic dialogue only takes second place to great characters. Whale comes in at a trim 75 minutes and though I wanted more, the pacing was perfect, the ending was excellent! The highlight of the film, for me, was the skateboarding footage. Recalls to mind, some of the beautiful skateboarding photography in Gus Van Sant's "Paranoid Park". This is a film that I am proud to have seen early and am sure is going to be well received by the indie film community as a fresh new voice, in a seemingly outspoken indie film community."
To read the rest of the article, please peruse this useful link:
http://onewaytv.blogspot.com/2009/03/whale.html
The first write up regarding whale, my new feature film over at the DIY Filmmaker blog. Sujewa Ekanyake has been a supporter of my work from the early days, but he has also been some what critical at times (knock. knock.), which is why I am still interested in his impressions (and also for the fact that he has no stakes in this picture whatsoever).
Couple this with the fact that he is one of the loudest and most keen supporters of the DIY scene (and knows it inside and out). For my part in the DIY world, i have always kept the stance that, DIY for me is only a method, or technique of filmmaking. I do not prescribe to the principles necessarily(if there ever was some), and have, in fact been quite uncomfortabe with the scene and labeling in particular. If DIY is void of any craftsmanship, history, technique, acting or not, then i want no part of it. If however, it is a true experiment in form and content, and another way to give voice to an otherwise voiceless group, then by all means necessary(meaning, i'll consider it). The duplicity seems to lie in all the debates thus far. As far as I'm concerned, the underrepresented train of thought has unfortunately gone over everyones head. This shit aint affirmative action. Its pro-action, thats been underrepresented.
Now back to what this website is about anyways, self promotion, so without further ado, a few short excerpts from the longer post regarding whale,
"The acting/non-acting is so flawless Whale appears to be a blend between documentary footage and a foreign/art house project.
"At one point during the movie I thought to myself that this kind of thing must be what most "mumblecore" & other twenty something indie films are after - a direct revelation of their reality/personal experience presented in a way/format that outsiders may be able to connect with - but, whereas most mumblecore movies feel very unrealistic & narrow in the world that they are able to re-create on the screen, Whale feels "more real", oriented more in the general direction of universality & is funny."
"I can very comfortably say that Whale is one of the most exciting & well made indie films I've seen in a while...creating an interesting/reflective image of ethnic & economic diversity in America."
For a reading of the full post, without all the tid bits that i enjoyed the most, go here.
And here it is:
http://www.whalethefilm.squarespace.com