You cannot produce an alternative eco system while living in a dominant one (American capitalist-imperial-militarism), and imagine it is going to work. And no, a little mouse-trap that works is not going to set an example that then will change all the rest, and customers/people will knock down your door. Or you can imagine it, but there is a wall, and there is your head. Have at it.
I did not over 60 years of filmmaking now, break your list of "mistakes" like making work aimed at being popular, lowest common denominator. I've made 46 or is it 47 long-form films. I wouldn't show them if I didn't think they were good. Most of them are functionally unseen as I decline to play hustler in a system that has completely other interests than I do. It wants to "make money/profit" be popular/famous. I want to make perhaps "art." I live by US standards in poverty, have no home, and that is all OK, it is the real world in which I live.
After your admirable career, and all this time, and all those films, and looking back as you are doing now -- was the struggling and the poverty and the personal sacrifices worth it?
It is more a philosophical question - I never thought about having a "career" or any such thing; at 19, out of no earlier interest, I started making films. They were "good" and I enjoyed it and had an aptitude for it - all of it, from camera to editing to thinking cinema to directing, narratives or not, etc. It was fun. I have never wanted to be rich or famous, nor did I ever want or let myself do a 9-5 job (I would have gone postal). So I guess I have done what I enjoyed doing, etc. and as it doesn't fit into any evident place in the society/culture I live in, I had to learn to live in what others might call "poverty" - no home, no base, little money. But I learned over many decades to live inside that in psychological comfort. I have many good friends, and while some have died, I keep making new ones, younger. I have had, comparatively, a good life - wonderful things and tragedies. Life... I never felt like I struggled or sacrificed anything I cared about film-making wise.
I would also add that the indie community leaned heavily towards being competitive and petty, instead of being inclusive and supportive (or even just curious!). I screened in twenty festivals all over the world, and kept coming back from them sad and disappointed. People did not go to talk or network or meet like-minded people, they went to glorify their egos and were about THEIR movie and nothing else. The indie community evolved to model the madness of celebrity-driven mainstream films, all cult of personality and shaming.
Trying to organize artists and would-be artists is herding cats. Most artists are ego-driven/insecure and getting cooperative behavior from them... well... I was involved in a handful of such attempted organizations and like any organization, they were sandboxes of competing egos, climbing one over the other.
Number 20 is the lesson I try to beat into the awareness of every young writer and artist I mentor, because I think SO MANY of the other faults occur when someone buys their own hype and schtick. Learning that there is a difference between 'belief' and blind delusion was a game changer when I was young, and a core tenet that keeps the work not only good, but HONEST.
#1 bothers me a lot. Because I think we all see it within our own families and friend groups. I’ve gotten into arguments about it and few others see what I see. Then I get the comment “Well, it is a business.” Then, “Don’t you wanna make money with your projects?” Yes. But not like this. Bottom line, I don’t think the audience should just accept what they get.
I have written the post deciphering all the acronyms but keep pushing it back month after month as it doesn't seem urgent, and most people tell me I publish too much as it is! But thank you both for appreciating them -- I feel the same way!
It didn't really fail, it just did not make progress at the rate that it could have. Yes, Ted, we do need a new ecosystem, a new way of doing business. That is what I have been actively working on for years now. We formed an International Studio Without Borders or Walls. We don't charge anyone to become a member of our studio, but it is difficult to qualify. "Hard to get in, and easy to get out." Just a simple written statement that you would like to be taken off our list, and it's done. I am sure that a lot of the people on this Substack could qualify, but we must make that commitment to work together as a team, a team with the knowledge, the talent, and the ideas to lead the future of filmmaking. I am definitely in. Let's work together.
You cannot produce an alternative eco system while living in a dominant one (American capitalist-imperial-militarism), and imagine it is going to work. And no, a little mouse-trap that works is not going to set an example that then will change all the rest, and customers/people will knock down your door. Or you can imagine it, but there is a wall, and there is your head. Have at it.
I did not over 60 years of filmmaking now, break your list of "mistakes" like making work aimed at being popular, lowest common denominator. I've made 46 or is it 47 long-form films. I wouldn't show them if I didn't think they were good. Most of them are functionally unseen as I decline to play hustler in a system that has completely other interests than I do. It wants to "make money/profit" be popular/famous. I want to make perhaps "art." I live by US standards in poverty, have no home, and that is all OK, it is the real world in which I live.
https://vimeo.com/jonjost/vod_pages
After your admirable career, and all this time, and all those films, and looking back as you are doing now -- was the struggling and the poverty and the personal sacrifices worth it?
It is more a philosophical question - I never thought about having a "career" or any such thing; at 19, out of no earlier interest, I started making films. They were "good" and I enjoyed it and had an aptitude for it - all of it, from camera to editing to thinking cinema to directing, narratives or not, etc. It was fun. I have never wanted to be rich or famous, nor did I ever want or let myself do a 9-5 job (I would have gone postal). So I guess I have done what I enjoyed doing, etc. and as it doesn't fit into any evident place in the society/culture I live in, I had to learn to live in what others might call "poverty" - no home, no base, little money. But I learned over many decades to live inside that in psychological comfort. I have many good friends, and while some have died, I keep making new ones, younger. I have had, comparatively, a good life - wonderful things and tragedies. Life... I never felt like I struggled or sacrificed anything I cared about film-making wise.
I would also add that the indie community leaned heavily towards being competitive and petty, instead of being inclusive and supportive (or even just curious!). I screened in twenty festivals all over the world, and kept coming back from them sad and disappointed. People did not go to talk or network or meet like-minded people, they went to glorify their egos and were about THEIR movie and nothing else. The indie community evolved to model the madness of celebrity-driven mainstream films, all cult of personality and shaming.
Trying to organize artists and would-be artists is herding cats. Most artists are ego-driven/insecure and getting cooperative behavior from them... well... I was involved in a handful of such attempted organizations and like any organization, they were sandboxes of competing egos, climbing one over the other.
Number 20 is the lesson I try to beat into the awareness of every young writer and artist I mentor, because I think SO MANY of the other faults occur when someone buys their own hype and schtick. Learning that there is a difference between 'belief' and blind delusion was a game changer when I was young, and a core tenet that keeps the work not only good, but HONEST.
#1 bothers me a lot. Because I think we all see it within our own families and friend groups. I’ve gotten into arguments about it and few others see what I see. Then I get the comment “Well, it is a business.” Then, “Don’t you wanna make money with your projects?” Yes. But not like this. Bottom line, I don’t think the audience should just accept what they get.
“The top artists are no longer concerned with the arts.“ 😢
In short, "We don't have an enough friends in the music business"?
Read with amusement your whimsical use of acronyms in this piece. It is something that I have also done all of my life.
With TH you almost need a companion manual to remember what they all stand for..😜
I have written the post deciphering all the acronyms but keep pushing it back month after month as it doesn't seem urgent, and most people tell me I publish too much as it is! But thank you both for appreciating them -- I feel the same way!
It didn't really fail, it just did not make progress at the rate that it could have. Yes, Ted, we do need a new ecosystem, a new way of doing business. That is what I have been actively working on for years now. We formed an International Studio Without Borders or Walls. We don't charge anyone to become a member of our studio, but it is difficult to qualify. "Hard to get in, and easy to get out." Just a simple written statement that you would like to be taken off our list, and it's done. I am sure that a lot of the people on this Substack could qualify, but we must make that commitment to work together as a team, a team with the knowledge, the talent, and the ideas to lead the future of filmmaking. I am definitely in. Let's work together.