Notes from my book Is Cinema Dead? - A Filmmaker’s struggle with thousand problems (written in 2018)
Is Cinema Dead? - A Filmmaker’s struggle with thousand problems (written in 2018)
Chapter 46 - Is Cinema Finally Dead?
“PD: So why do you do television instead of movies?
SB: Easy. Easy, easy, easy. It’s a better medium. Even with all the bullshit of television, it’s still a more provocative medium than the movie business. The movie business is basically appealing to kids and cretinous teenagers. That’s essentially what the movie business is. Very few are, in any serious way, committed to making thoughtful, provocative medium to low-budget movies that fill a real niche in the movie going experience. Everybody’s looking for Spider-Man and Batman and all those other men, and big high concept. Those are fun and, in the summertime, kids flock to them, but that’s not what I do.
Believe me, for any writer, you’re going to have more fun and learn more and be more productive writing in television than in the movies. You’re not going to have to share credit with 15 other idiots. You’re not going to be abused and disrespected by 15 jerks in suits who have too much time on their hands and all they want to do is eat lunch. Television is a job — you got to get it on, you got to get it out, the writers are[…]” Excerpt From: Douglas, Pamela. “Writing the TV Drama Series 3rd Edition: How to Succeed as a Professional Writer in TV.” iBooks.
The way people make films has changed a lot over the past ten years. But the way people watch films has changed even more. Video on demand, streaming services, mobile viewing, subscription services like Netflix, Hulu, HBO and Amazon Prime — all of these have fundamentally changed our relationship with movies. They’re less of an “event” and more of a habit and commodity. Easy to access and easy to ignore.
What does it mean for filmmakers when massive theatrical distribution is no longer the golden standard, but the goal is still the same: to get as many people as possible to see your film?
In order finally to answer the question I have to explain and define what I mean by using the term CINEMA.
For sure I'm not talking about movies(which by the way I don't think are cinema at all) which are big budget Hollywood franchises and blockbusters. I am referring in this book the term CINEMA as a thoughtful, provocative, out of the box storytelling, with visionary approach, risky themes and story lines, with daring acting and directing. With purpose and ambition to ask questions to shake the establishment and the social and individual prejudices. The question is, is this CINEMA dead or live?
From my experience through all of those four years I consider NoOne to be CINEMA. It is a brave, entirely independent micro budget film, with very risky and daring storytelling and with high production value. It's has been made with purpose beyond making money and selling a product, but telling a story about human spirit, with personal dilemmas and conflicts. Moreover, with a theme so much neglected and censored in the history of filmmaking as woman's sexual experience, woman's joy and pleasure, self awareness and liberation, nudity, etc.
I am sure that NoOne will survive the test of time. And people will find it interesting and powerful as the time goes, because it deals with fundamental and universal topics and human problems.
So what do I think about NoOne?
Is this type of films and filmmaking alive or it's dead? How can I know? I was asking myself this question since I started writing this book. I constantly shifted my opinion from negative to positive, from positive to negative and so forth. I was asking myself how something can be dead when it is happening everyday around the world and moreover when I experienced it myself. And I was 100% involved literally in its developing, making and selling.
But then I was asking myself, OK, you have independently produced feature film which by your standard is 100% pure CINEMA, but the results so far from financial standpoint are really devastating, despite its micro budget, despite its theatrical release, despite its self VOD distribution, and despite the fact that it was acquired by HBO.
The negative financial results eventually will prevent me from doing another independent film with the same high artistic production standards. So if the business aspect of CINEMA is relevant for the artist as it is for the big budget Hollywood movies then Cinema is dead for sure.
I don't have my personal experience with TV Drama Series, but from what I have been read and watched, most of the writers-creators, producers, actors, directors, and in general filmmakers are sharing that they feel that cinema has moved to TV, that actually the TV has saved CINEMA's original purpose and quality. To be bold, innovative, daring, thought provoking, emotionally rich and out of box creative and original storytelling.
I was confused really what is my answer for the initial question till the very end of the book. However, I am now sure that the traditional way of distributing, publishing, and promoting of CINEMA has died, it's finished. Less and less people will go to watch CINEMA in the movie theaters and in reverse people will be watching and consuming CINEMA in a much more intimate way, via their mobile phones, Smart TVs and home cinemas.
People will spend less and less money to go watch CINEMA in movie theaters, and will expect more content to be delivered as free content or as a SVOD deal. Where they would be paying a membership fee for a month or a year and would be able to watch as many films as they wish. Looking at this perspective CINEMA's traditional way of distribution is dead for sure. The CINEMA's film festival windows are dead too. There wont be independent filmmakers who make CINEMA and who would have the comfort to deliver their films with a long time delay. People would want their film immidiately now or never. The timing will be crucial. And the timing nowadays with all of the film festival windows and cinema theatrical windows are dead too.
The financial aspect of cinema is dead too. The way how CINEMA is produced and financed is suicidal, especially in Europe. With all of the government funds, EU schemes and programs, they only extend the agony of cinema and doesn't cure the real problem, and the problem is simple as that - In 2017 people have changed. Their interest span is shorten tremendously. They want everything at the moment, right now, or when they want it. They want to have the control, where, when, and what to watch, listen, go to. And they would prefer the free content, over the paid one. The torrent platforms are as strong as never before, the streaming sites and applications are booming as never before. The financial and businesses aspect of CINEMA is in its worst state. Cinema is not anymore self sufficient, it requires support, donations, fundings and government policies in order to survive.
Theaters which show predominantly art-house films or independent films are entirely dependent on governments subsidies and financial support in order to work. But the biggest problem is that in 2017 the competition for human eyes and time is vicious. Social medias, youtube, pornhub, reality formats, tv channels, torrent sites, live events, football champions league, MMA, all kind of sport events, video gaming industry and on top of that HOLLYWOOD with their big studios blockbusters and world wide distributions networks. When combining all of it the future for cinema is dark, it is impossible to be alive in its traditional way of making, producing, distributing and promoting.
SO IF CINEMA IS DEAD, WHAT ELSE IS LEFT?
The power to influence and move people is still in the hands of the STORYTELLERS.
Because Everything is story.
STORYTELLING is the key to move people forward by touching their hearts and minds. So the future for storytellers are bright. However, the future for filmmakers who want to make CINEMA will be full with pain, struggle and misery. Interestingly enough, CINEMA makers share one common thing - All of them describe their experience during the making of their films not as a journey but as a struggle .
So this might give CINEMA another chance, the chance that always there will be artist who will be willing to suffer and go through the hell in order to tell their stories.
Because Everything is STORY…
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UPDATE - From April 2020 - Covid - 19
In 2019 I was hired to direct YATAGAN - a comedy about police inspector who frames an innocent boy as terrorist, but is later forced to conspire with his victim as both create an intricate web of lies to steal money from the incompetent government bodies. Despite being funded by National Film Center of Bulgaria the movie is a micro budget with est of 200 000 Euro.
Yatagan domestically premiered on 20.02.2020 in more than 60 theaters across Bulgaria. And it was screened for two weeks before the Lockdown. For those two weeks the movie was seen by more than 30 000 people and generated around 150 000 Euro. Our distributors expected the movie to pull more than 100 000 people in the cinemas for the entire 2020.
They are waiting the Lockdown to be released and to play the movie again for a second attempt till the end of the year.
This movie despite being funded by the NFC was a struggle as well due to its extremely ambition goals to become a mainstream genre hit in spite of its extremely small budget.
Is Yatgana CINEMA?
I believe so! Because It had this independence from any censorship and I may say in terms of cinematic quality - story, theme, message and directorial approach it is a pure cinema.
I will be giving more updates and notes on the process of making this movie through the rest of my chapters!
So stay tuned for Chapter 45:)
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