The world of the media and how people access information is changing. The lines between broadcast, print and online mediums are blurring (you’re on the website of a magazine with a number of podcasts for you to feast your eyes and ears on). With fast internet connections and everyone seemingly having a fancy mobile phone, the boundaries of what is possible are shifting.
Films are no exception. Spike Lee, actor, writer and director has teamed up with Nokia to direct a short film made solely with mobile phone footage sent in by the general public. "You are seeing first hand the democratization of film," Lee stated to the press. "Aspiring filmmakers no longer have to go to film school to make great work. With a simple mobile phone, almost anyone can now become a filmmaker."
The theme of the film is how music can inspire acts of humanity and contains three separate acts, with the brief for each act being announced online. Aspiring film makers then have four weeks to submit their efforts which will be judged by Lee and a team at Nokia. Submissions are being accepted now and close on August 21. To send in your work, or to get more information go to the Nokia productions website
Lee was nominated for an Academy Award for best original screenplay for Do the Right Thing in 1990 and for best documentary for his 1998 effort, 4 Little Girls. As we proved at IndieNational with Double Deader, you don’t need great equipment (or even any acting talent) to make a film. The use of mobile phones make film making more accessible, and although the quality is not the highest it is a great medium to learn in. And who wouldn’t want to see Spike Lee direct something that you shot on your phone?
There are some films that just have a cast list to die for; think The Godfather: Part 2 with Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Robert Duvvall or the Royal Tenenbaums with Gene Hackman, Owen Wilson, Bill Murray and Anjelica Huston.
Add to this list the upcoming Rob Marshall musical Nine. Based on Italian directorial legend Federico Fellini’s 1963 masterpiece 8 ½, it centres on a middle aged director struggling to complete his latest film. None other than Daniel Day-Lewis is the latest star rumoured to have signed on, after No Country for Old Men anti-hero Javier Bardem dropped out. Although unconfirmed we can’t help getting excited - it would mean that Day-Lewis is acting again only a year or so after There Will be Blood. The actor is of course famous for taking long breaks between films, which sometimes includes buggering off to Italy to take up cobbling. Already confirmed to star are Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Sophia Loren, Nicole Kidman and Judi Dench. If there’s one man with the acting chops to stand up that formidable cast of women then its Day-Lewis. IndieNational will keep you up to date with any future developments in what looks set to be one of the must-see films of 2009.
Andy Brown – still reeling over the sheer mediocrity that is 28 Weeks Later
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