Like any other artist - writer, singer, sculptor, painter - a film maker has visions in his head that he wants to share with whoever is interested. Until fairly recently, becoming an indie filmmaker required the co-operation of too many people using too much equipment that cost too much.
In exactly the same way that printing, photography and sound recording became commonplace, technology and mass production have made the filmmaker's tools affordable.
The Micro-Indie movie maker therefore starts from a position of "This is never going to make me rich, so I might as well do my own thing and do it as well as I can."
At present, the Micro-Indie's audience is found only within shouting distance of others in the industry. Even so, the screening of every new Micro-Indie short movie seems to lift energy levels and goad another stalled project back to life. The more often Micro-Indie movie makers are able to produce product, the more momentum will be maintained. If we could also generate a kernel audience beyond our own industry, we could be on the way to growing an audience for local product.
Inkless Media Productions is a young independent film company working alongside industry professionals. The company produced two short films in 2004 alone, with many more to follow.
Founded by writer/director Joe Vaz, who realised that South Africa is a country ripe with possibilities, in a country where there is an abundance of talented actors and crew and where every possible location is 'just next door', the sky is literally the limit. |
