Just so you know... I am not bitter.
And yes I am, but either way, I want us all to be okay with it.
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I am not bitter, but I am.
Most of you just get this newsletter in your inbox and don’t check in on the online comments. Those comments, like chat and note functions, help build community. It’s also where I get to know you. If you do go on comments, you know that there was a bit of chatter around my last “links and ponders”, two posts back, on Monday this week. There you would have already read this next paragraph. But just so it is clear….
I am not bitter, but I am. I am not upbeat, but I am. I am confident of cinema's ability to delight, mesmerize, and motivate, but I am not. I am grateful for all of those like yourself who are making things better. There's never been so many efforts of non-top-down change; just think what will happen if the funders come aboard! Perhaps I am just impressed how we all just keep going, but I am remain unsure if we should.
I had expressed that I felt the only logical reaction to our industry was to bitter. My point was that being a bit bitter is a legitimate response to both the individuals and a system that has cut you out, ignored you, not supported you, and rewarded those far less deserving. As is refusing to participate;it’s also a logical response. And you can reasonably feel contradictory at the same time. When you love something, you often expect more from it than you get. And that’s disappointing.
Hopefully though, you also get far enough from the other side to also recognize that you have a ton of allies that have not just experienced the same thing, but likely experienced even worse, and they would like to build something better with you. You start to see how we can all contribute in different ways to make this new thing sing.
We have to take the next step after bitterness, and it is not a big one. I’ve taken the step.
One of the interesting things about Substack is how many folks who just respond back directly to the more sensitive subjects — just not publicly. I got probably ten or so emails and texts back from that post from folks who expressed to me how bitter they were but perhaps were fearful of being bitten if they admitted it. Personally, I think we have to own it and share it, but you know that, because I’ve done that. And will do it, and then do it again. Stick around.
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Our Most Admired Director watched our film and had this to say
To some degree, this is the first major news story we’ve broke here at HopeForFilm. Okay, maybe the second. Right now we are screening INVISIBLE NATION in South Korea at DMZ Docs. We had the opportunity to screen for the director Park Chan-wook beforehand. I don’t know about you, but no one is working at his level in my opinion. So the fact he watched it, was a huge thrill for both Vanessa and me. The fact that he had this to share afterwards if amazing:
타이완/중국 간 이른바 ‘양안문제’에 관해 생각할 때 우리는 당연하다는 듯이 경제를 우선순위에 두면서 편향된 판단을 내리곤 한다. 영화 [보이지 않는 나라]는 외국인의 객관적인 시선으로 이 문제를 바라보면서 우리에게 성찰을 요구한다. 강요하는 내레이션 없이 자료화면과 인터뷰로만. 긴 세월 침략세력들에 의해 고통을 강요받아온 우리가, 지금도 강대국들 틈바구니에서 아슬아슬한 외교를 전개해야 하는 우리가 오로지 돈의 논리로만 타이완을 바라보아서야 되겠는가. 타이완은 투명국가가 아니다. 타이완은 우리가 더 큰 관심을 기울여야 하는, 엄연히 존재하는 나라다.
“When we think about the so-called 'Cross-Strait issue' between Taiwan and China, we often make biased judgments, prioritizing economics as if it were only natural to do so. The film [Invisible Nation] looks at the issue through the objective perspective of a foreigner, urging us to reflect, not through forced narration, but solely through archival footage and interviews. As a people who have endured long years of suffering under foreign invasions, and who still navigate precarious diplomacy between global powers, we shouldn't view Taiwan solely through the lens of economics. Taiwan is not an invisible nation. It is a country that deserves far more of our attention, and one that undeniably exists.”
I can’t even begin to express the thanks that Vanessa and I have. Our favorite director in the world watched our movie! And was willing to speak about it, a subject so critical to all countries in and around the first island chain. We are forever grateful. I wish there were more brave and generous people in this world.
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It is still shitty out there and we all should be ashamed
The proportion of women in European film production only increased by 5% since 2015.
The verification of the FKATheFilmBiz shit level could be come a weekly exercise here on HFF. Should it be a fact like the above or maybe just a quote like this one from Richard Rushfield over at The Ankler this week:
If we all understand something like what the “C-Suite” is, can we do the same for the “S-Level”?
Why doesn’t everyone just agree we need a system that works well for everyone? It is not because people are selfish, because if that was the case, wouldn’t they see that an unfair system could equally turn against them?
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The Tech Bros Co’s will dictate the conversation
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