It looks like the "revolution" will be televised... at least on video ipods. Thanks to the smart and savvy folks at Apple (sorry PC users, I am all about the Apple) and the tech savvy filmmakers Arin Crumley and Susan Bice from last year's Slamdance fave Four Eyed Monsters, filmmakers participating in this year's Slamdance Film Festival will be able to have trailers, info and screening times available via podcast. The festival will also be able to podcast unique content, alumni updates, and other festival info. When you think about it, it is all rather fitting in that Slamdance (a festival truly started by a group of mavericks) will be the first ones on Main Street to use this incredible "indie" technology.

Podcasts are the new blogs. People all over the world are making, sending, uploading, and discussing news, politics, entertainment or what's going on in their communINdies - check this space for indieIN's podcasts coming soon. Everyone from Google to Apple to Verizon is jumping on the bandwagon and they are all going to need content. What an incredible opportunity for indie filmmakers especially short filmmakers who have until recently been giving the short (pardon the pun) shrift. There are less and less venues for shorts to be screened publicly, cable channels who were champions of the short film no longer pay enough for a filmmaker to pay one production bill, and the whole "a short film is a calling card to get a feature" idea has long been buried. I would like to think that podcasting may be the hope for the short filmmaker. Short films are not second class citizens and should not be treated as such. They are an incredible art form and can and have been made in every genre by every kind of filmmaker. Think of how much better your commute would be if you could watch a few shorts on the way to and from work instead of the television show you have on TIVO anyway.

Until then, check out the shorts screening at your local festival!

Keeping it indie,

Julie