Reflections on Independent Film and 33 Years of Filmmaker

"So, for my final issue of Filmmaker as Editor-in-Chief, I decided to think again about this section, and to do so in a very personal way. Consider the pages that follow as kind of a mind map expressing some of the interests, curiosities and obsessions that have animated my years as both the Editor-in-Chief but also as a film watcher and film producer. Rather than create a master plan for this issue, I decided to let serendipity and chance take over."

"we commissioned a radical redesign and also initiated a new upfront section: Reflections. For four issues we published pieces looking back at the history of the magazine as well as ones that meditated anew on its enduring concerns, such as struggles of early career filmmakers, the changing models of independent producing, the role of print magazines in a digital culture, and the shifting definitions of the word "independent.""

In 2017 Filmmaker commissioned a radical redesign and introduced an upfront feature called Reflections. Four issues presented pieces on magazine history, challenges for early-career filmmakers, changing independent producing models, print magazines in digital culture, and shifting definitions of "independent." After the anniversary year the editor retained Reflections and reframed it to include forward-looking speculation. The feature accommodates memoir, advocacy, dialogues, film history, and photography. For a final issue the editor curated a personal, serendipitous sequence of contributions inspired by festivals, workshops, travel, conversations, archival rummaging, and designer Charlotte Gosch's visual realization, with italicized personal introductions for each piece.

Read at Filmmaker Magazine