SF Film Club: First Screening (#1)
A Film Club for Filmmakers in Tech
The SF Film Club is a series of small gatherings for filmmakers creating at the intersection of tech and film.
Imagine NPR Tiny Desk, except instead of music, it’s a group of filmmakers with a small projector setup.
We will screen:
recent major releases from tech twitter
members work (with permission)
shorts & feature films (where relevant)
special requests from members
We will host lessons around the fundamentals of film:
directing
writing
producing
cinematography
production design
acting/performance
music composition
editing
and more
It will be a collaborative environment focused on craft, study, sharing ideas, mutual learning, and growth. The goal is that you walk away from every meeting a more informed and confident filmmaker.
The first one will be hosted in my living room, where I have set up a small theater. The club is meant to stay small and communal. I hope that the format travels to other members’ living or work areas around the city.
Why Build This?
There is a major gap in the quality of visual storytelling in tech, for many reasons (25+ of them). One reason, is that there is no creative gathering place for filmmakers in tech.
Filmmaking is a hard and often lonely discipline. It is especially hard in a place that doesn’t fully understand what the full process looks like, what great work looks like, & where talent density is much lower than other artistic centers like LA & NYC.
There’s something special that happens when creative people come together in a room, where a light sparks in your head that that impossible thing is possible. That other people are doing the imaginary thing you are doing. It is an encouraging and self-affirming thing.
It is also a selfish thing for me because I watch a lot of film & I was already going to set up a home cinema, so inviting people is the next natural choice.
Goals of the Club
#1 — Community: Create a sense of community, friendship, and belonging for filmmakers producing work in tech.
#2 — Bar Raising: Raise the bar for visual storytelling in tech. We aren’t even close to what’s possible. Create the conditions for impossibly good work to get made and create the environment + collaboration that makes that possible.
#3 — Industry Forming: Accelerate the emerging storytelling industry to full fruition. It is still only a small scene right now, with independent filmmakers working in silos. I believe it can be much much larger.
First Meeting
The first meeting will be Thursday, 2/12, 6:30-9pm. Snacks will be provided.
Screening Submission
Ahead of the first event, I will be accepting screening suggestions from attendees.
DM @bephrem and I will add them to the schedule. I am still writing the agenda for the first meeting.