Disco Boy (2023), Giacomo Abbruzzese
Launched earlier this year New Rules is a series from WeTransfer that aims to demystify the ever-changing creative industry today and explores how to thrive as an artist when so much around you seems to be in a constant state of flux. Our first comprehensive free guide, guest edited by Gem Fletcher, tackled the world of photography, but for the second instalment of New Rules we’re turning our attention to the film industry, with insider knowledge from some of the brightest minds working in film today.
It’s no secret that the film industry has never been the easiest industry to gain a footing in, but in recent years challenges facing emerging filmmakers have only been mounting. There have been near constant calls for more representation and new perspectives, streaming has cut the number of movie theater goers, there are less risks being taken as studio execs rely on IP with existing fanbases (or yet another franchise or remake) and it’s harder than ever for independent filmmakers to get their work financed or distributed. But with challenge comes opportunity too, and in this installment of New Rules we pose the tough questions to some of the film industry’s most exciting new voices in order to learn from both their success and failures, and gain their perspective on where the film industry is headed. To do this, we teamed up with director Tabitha Denholm, founder of Women Under the Influence, an organization that amplifies the voices of women in cinema, to host each roundtable, and turned to frequent collaborator and all round film expert Anna Bogutskaya to guest edit an accompanying downloadable guide and resource list.
In our first episode we dissect the changing state of film distribution and question how to find your audience as an emerging filmmaker. On our panel is Molly Manning Walker, the breakout star behind How to Have Sex, Janicza Bravo, the acclaimed director of Zola, Head of Creative at Film4 Farhana Bhula who has shepherded films such as How to Have Sex, All of Us Strangers and Wicked Little Letters, and Graham Fulton, co-CEO of distribution company Conic.
For our second topic we dive headfirst into the debate surrounding originality, question whether the film industry today relies too heavily on existing IP and franchises and discuss how to get your story to resonate with an audience, as well as —importantly— how to protect your ideas. We’re joined by Crystal Moselle, director of The Wolfpack, Skate Kitchen and HBO’s Betty, Amrou Al-Kadhi, the breakout director behind Layla and Octavia Peissel, independent producer and long-time Wes Anderson collaborator known for Asteroid City, The French Dispatch and The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Finally we get to grips with funding, and look at how the landscape has changed and both the challenges and opportunities that this may present emerging filmmakers. We talk to director of Scrapper Charlotte Regan, producer Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor known for producing Boxing Day and Rapman’s Blue Story, and Rich Peppiatt, the director behind critically acclaimed hit Kneecap, and hear firsthand how they funded their films and what they learnt from the process.
Click here to watch all three roundtable talks from our film industry experts, and download the free accompanying guide, including a resource list, here. And if you missed the first part in the series then download “New Rules: Navigating photography’s unfixed future” now for free here.
