Hammad Zaidi

GOING BIONIC: DISTRIBUTING INDEPENDENT FILMS INTERNATIONALLY – “NYDENION” AT EFM 2011: ANATOMY OF SELLING AN INDIE FILM Greetings from Berlin! After flying home to Los Angeles from the Super Bowl in Dallas last Tuesday, I wasn’t even home for twelve …

GOING BIONIC: DISTRIBUTING INDEPENDENT FILMS INTERNATIONALLY – SPORTS FILMS This installment of Going Bionic is coming to you “live from the La Quinta Hotel in Addison, Texas.” I just attended the Super Bowl in Arlington yesterday (Dallas/Forth Worth area), which …

GOING BIONIC: DISTRIBUTING INDEPENDENT FILMS INTERNATIONALLY: THE SUNDANCE 24! Having just returned from Park City, I’m pleased to announce there were 24 films sold at Sundance (25 if you count Kevin Smith selling his film Red State to himself for $20).  Twenty-four …

GOING BIONIC: DISTRIBUTING INDEPENDENT FILMS INTERNATIONALLY – SUNDANCE STRATEGIES By the time this article posts, I’ll be freezing mightily in Park City. Even with cocooning myself in Arctic worthy thermals and a winter coat that’s thicker than me, I’m still …

GOING BIONIC: DISTRIBUTING INDEPENDENT FILMS INTERNATIONALLY – “OPTIONS” PART TWO: ACQUISITION STRATEGIES Hi everyone.  I hope the past seven days have been positive and productive. Last week we discussed motion picture options, and I promised that this week we’d dive …

GOING BIONIC: DISTRIBUTING INDEPENDENT FILMS INTERNATIONALLY – “OPTIONS” PART ONE: WHAT ARE THEY AND HOW DO THEY WORK? As the New Year rings in, countless options are placed on the proverbial plate for you filmmakers. With that mind, I thought …

GOING BIONIC: DISTRIBUTING INDEPENDENT FILMS INTERNATIONALLY – WAKE-UP CALL! WELCOME TO YOUR 2011 “TO-DO” LIST Wake up filmmakers! It’s the first week of 2011 and your career is waiting. Studios, distributors, and other powers-that-be in Hollywood are trickling back into …

GOING BIONIC: DISTRIBUTING INDEPENDENT FILMS INTERNATIONALLY – 2010 YEAR-END REVIEW Hi Everyone! Welcome to the 2010 Going Bionic: Distributing Independent Films Internationally Year-End Review. Today we’re going to look back at the bionic year that was. Going Bionic was first given life at SXSW …

GOING BIONIC: DISTRIBUTING INDEPENDENT FILMS INTERNATIONALLY – PRODUCT PLACEMENT IN INDEPENDENT FILMS! One of the least talked about ways to finance a motion picture is to weave product placements into the film. This, of course, is because doing so carries …

GOING BIONIC: DISTRIBUTING INDEPENDENT FILMS INTERNATIONALLY – PLAYING THE CALENDAR GAME One thing you may have noticed this holiday season is there is no flurry of Christmas based feature films at the box office. No timeless gems like Miracle on 34th Street …

GOING BIONIC: DISTRIBUTING INDEPENDENT FILMS INTERNATIONALLY – STAR POWER(LESS) I will always remember 1994 for three things; earning my Masters from the UCLA School of Film’s Producers Program, watching O.J. Simpson elude police in his friend’s white Ford Bronco two …

GOING BIONIC: DISTRIBUTING INDEPENDENT FILMS INTERNATIONALLY – AVOIDING THE HOLIDAY DEATH TRAP! One of the worst kept secrets in Hollywood is that nothing gets done over the holidays. When I say nothing, I mean nothing new gets acquired from Thanksgiving week until …

GOING BIONIC: DISTRIBUTING INDEPENDENT FILMS INTERNATIONALLY – NAVIGATING THE 2011 FILM FESTIVAL CIRCUIT (PART 1) Over the next few weeks, the fate of several thousand filmmakers will be decided as the 2011 programs for Sundance, Berlin and Slamdance will be locked and loaded. While dreams …

GOING BIONIC: DISTRIBUTING INDEPENDENT FILMS INTERNATIONALLY – A CASE FOR NEVER GIVING UP This past Sunday afternoon, Myron, my dear friend and fellow filmmaker, treated my wife and I to a double feature of Shutter Island and The Aviator at the American Cinematheque’s Egyptian …

GOING BIONIC: DISTRIBUTING INDEPENDENT FILMS INTERNATIONALLY – GETTING OVATIONS THROUGH PUBLIC RELATIONS! Utilizing public relations is one of the smartest tactical moves any independent filmmaker can make. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the rarest moves ever taken. In fact, the …

GOING BIONIC: DISTRIBUTING INDEPENDENT FILMS INTERNATIONALLY – “SCRIPT ACCESSIBLE” AND STRATEGIES FOR SUBMITTING TO SCREENWRITING CONTESTS It was five years ago when I first thought of Script Accessible, a screenwriting contest to promote writers with disabilities as well as non-disabled writers who …

GOING BIONIC: DISTRIBUTING INDEPENDENT FILMS INTERNATIONALLY – RELEASE STRATEGIES FOR SUBTITLED AND ETHNIC FILMS It’s 1 AM Sunday night and I just finished watching an amazing Indian film called My Name Is Khan (2010). I’ve never been a fan of Indian films, …

GOING BIONIC: DISTRIBUTING INDEPENDENT FILMS INTERNATIONALLY – THE SEOUL OF 3D! Hi everyone. Greetings from high above the Korean clouds! Yes, I’m “Up In The Air” again, this time at 37,000 feet. Last week I wrote the article about MIPCOM …

GOING BIONIC: DISTRIBUTING INDEPENDENT FILMS INTERNATIONALLY – INDIE FILM TRENDS FROM MIPCOM 2010! Greetings from MIPCOM in Cannes! Actually, I’m not in the South of France anymore.  I’m 35,000 feet above sea level en route to South Korea – Seoul to be …

GOING BIONIC: DISTRIBUTING INDEPENDENT FILMS INTERNATIONALLY – “NYDENION” – A GERMAN SCI-FI? One hundred eight-eight months ago (15 years, 8 months) in a land far, far away, (Frankfurt, Germany), director, actor, composer, cinematic genius and mad scientist Jack Moik began …