Micro mode

It's like goblin mode, but for cinema

Hello friends.

I recently wrote about the potential for microcinemas to remake UK film distribution for the great LOST ART magazine (and a big thanks to jake S. weisman and Maj for offering their thoughts on this).

The central question was whether microcinemas can help early-career filmmakers on these sceptred isles overcome the many obstacles they face in making this a sustainable career.

It’s hard to point to conclusive evidence either way. I’ve been involved in organising a number of Microcinema events in London which have enabled young filmmakers to get their films on a big screen, in front of an audience, without going through the rigmarole of the festival circuit.

But it’s still early days. We’re fine-tuning the event format and still working out the so-what/what-now type questions. How do we take this from being a great and inspiring community event into something that represents a viable alternative to the moribund and infuriating status quo?

Part of it is regularity, and showing care. The ultimate bit will be money . Currently, the film festival circuit most early career filmmakers are shunted into is a sham. It costs filmmakers more than it makes them, unless you get a one-in-a-million break. If we can keep building the microcinema scene in the UK (and across the world) to the point where it pays filmmakers, rather than charges them, we’ll be cooking on gas.

Being a filmmaker, or existing in and around the industry, can often feel like soaking in a rapidly-cooling bath of despair. To sum it with a quote from the great Tony Soprano, ‘lately, I'm getting the feeling that I came in at the end. The best is over.’

That seems to be the broad consensus. But if it is really over, that means there are two choices: mourn, or rebuild. The microcinema scene and everyone in it is part of the rebuilding effort. It’s scrappy, ramshackle, ad hoc, it wouldn’t pass any building safety certificates - but it’s a start.

And for inspiration and hope, we can look to the recent high-profile successes of others who took matters into their own hands. Filmmakers who forged their own paths, enjoyed the journey and were rewarded with the destination. Kane Parsons and Curry Barker, directors of Backrooms and Obsession respectively, honed their craft on YouTube, built their audiences there, and have just released two of the most discussed films of the decade so far.

But the important thing to remember is this: they got here by treating the journey as every bit as important as the destination.

So can microcinemas remake UK film distribution? Maybe. Quite probably, in the future. For now, let’s enjoy going micro mode.