Hope For Film: The Five

FilmStack Daily Digest Dispatch #2

Ted Hope — Sun, 21 Sep 2025 11:17:26 GMT

how did Hemingway’s shortest saddest story about the baby’s shoes go?

You know what is going on on FilmStack, right? I gave you a little taste of it yesterday with the FDDD#1. I was going to wait a week, but I am continuing with this variation on a theme with FDDD#2 today.

So what will happen when I catch up with where we are on the daily challenge with…

FilmStack Daily Digest Dispatch #1

Ted Hope — Sat, 20 Sep 2025 11:17:26 GMT

fortunately, we have no reason to throw them

FilmStack is a community. We get things done. And damn it if we are not going to get Substack to add a stand-alone “Film” section. We are. And then some.

FilmStack is dedicated to action. We’ve been doing a Daily Inspo Challenge where a different FilmStack author shares some recent or long-standing inspiration…

"A Think Tank In Real Time"

Ted Hope — Sat, 13 Sep 2025 11:17:09 GMT

one person’s box of junk is another’s gold mine.

Something is happening here, and we know what it is!

I had sort of retired HopeForFilm’s “The Five” section, or at least transformed it into mostly my weekly guest curator “TakeOver” series. Every week, I used to post five links that I thought all FilmStacker’s would gobble up — and they frequently did. I t…

Where are we right now?

Ted Hope — Sat, 06 Sep 2025 11:17:21 GMT

our lives have many branches…

I am a believer that before you make your film, even before you write your film, you need to know where we are. You need to read the news, listen to the news, and seriously contemplate the news. And granted there is an argument that you want to do that too even if you are more a filmlover than maker — or else you are missin…

What if FilmStack mined inspirations on a daily basis?

Ted Hope — Mon, 18 Aug 2025 11:17:29 GMT

What if FilmStack challenged itself to have another author list out some of their recent inspirations each day? How many days in a row could we go? How awesome would it be if we could hit 100? I’d settle for 50 days in a row.

How do we do it? Whoever claims the space for tomorrow by being stating so first in the comments, gets the baton. And then publis…

A Clown at a Symposium

Jon Stahl — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 11:17:24 GMT

When Ted invited me to do the HFF Friday Takeover, my first thought was: “Is nothing sacred?”

Due respect, Ted, but you’ve hired a circus clown to deliver a symposium.

And while my natural tendencies lean decidedly Marxist¹ (I wouldn’t want to belong to any club that would have me as a member), if I can set aside self-deprecation for sincerity: It’s an ho…

We’re doing it wrong! Let’s change that.

Christopher Schiller — Fri, 01 Aug 2025 11:17:34 GMT

If you are a regular reader of HopeForFilm, especially in the comments section, you are familiar with today’s guest curator. Christopher is HFF’s top commenter and never just with a heart or smiley face. Christopher is forever widening the perspective here, make adjustments and delivering nuance. He’s also the one that recommended the long vowel mark i…

This Onotological Ride

Heather Rae Priest — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 11:17:23 GMT

Mountain Village hot springs, Stanley, Idaho (Photo: Heather Rae Priest)

Hello, I am Heather Rae Priest and I am thankful for this opportunity to “takeover” HopeForFilm today.

“Ontology is not just a theory of being—it is also a political and ethical endeavor, because how we define reality shapes how we act within it.”
— Karen Barad, quantum physicist and…

When You Can’t Find a Seat at the Table

Ellis J. Sutton — Fri, 18 Jul 2025 11:17:12 GMT

Intro:

Well this is a fabulous surprise! It's an honor and privilege to talk to all my friends (and future friends) of NonDe and Filmstack. Who am I and what am I doing here? The short version is my name is Ellis and I'm a young filmmaker and professional in the industry with a lot of ideas and bones to pick. The longer version is my name is Ellis Jamal …

"NonDē filmmaking is the beating heart of Hollywood."

Richard Rushfield — Fri, 11 Jul 2025 11:17:27 GMT

Ted’s note: I get false credit for being the/a FilmStack OG. Sure I am closing in on three years in, but… There wouldn’t be something happening here if it wasn’t for The Ankler. And The Ankler wouldn’t be here but for founder and author Richard Rushfield. He’s a fantastic writer, with personality to spare, and the courage to speak the truth to any and a…

Five Ideas to Strengthen Film Culture

Swabreen Bakr — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 11:17:18 GMT

what’s your flavor?

Intro

Hello residents of HopeForFilmland and FilmStack! My name is Swabreen and I'm reporting from Philadelphia, where I've spent the past decade in digital marketing across arts and culture nonprofits. Most recently, I've built tactics to drive attendance at local film festivals and promote an independently produced film journal.

Worki…

"the indie mindset: creative, tough, resilient, innovative, scrappy. And never waiting for permission."

Ben Odell — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 11:17:27 GMT

Intro:

I write a Substack called Open Gardens. The name comes from something a professor said during a course I took at Berkeley a few years ago. He asked what worried us about AI and our industries. I told him I was a film and TV producer, and my concern was this: social media already delivers content straight to the audience—AI will only amplify the vo…

Takeover Smorgasbord

Ted Hope — Sat, 21 Jun 2025 12:17:21 GMT

lettuce build something delicious here, okay?

These are the first fifteen of the takeovers of HFF I’ve shared. Guest curators! I can’t wait until we hit 100! FilmStack is a community! Hell, yeah.

What’s a takeover? Just in case you don’t get it yet, I ask other newsletter publishers and editors and creative community contributors to come over to HopeForF…

The Radical Act of the Artist.

Jennifer Esposito — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 11:17:22 GMT

Hi, I’m Jen Esposito and I’m honored to be your takeover host this Friday.

A little about me. I’m many things. Yes, I’ve been an actor for over 25 years and now a director/writer/filmmaker, but mostly I’m just a human. A human that feels very deeply about the world around us and the very scary space we all find ourselves in at the moment. Yes, I’m refer…

5 THINGS I THINK ABOUT WHEN THINKING ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE MOVIES AND MOVIE THEATRES - OUR AUDIENCES

Ted Hope — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 11:17:14 GMT

Ted’s note: Something wonderful is going to happen as filmmakers start to collaborate directly with exhibitors, and exhibitors start to regularly collaborate with filmmakers.

In the States, that most likely will come from our community theaters, the ones well-divorced from our national chains, the theaters that curate intensely. That time will only come…

5 Things You Can Do to Help Yourself and Make the (Film) World a Better Place

Anthony Kaufman — Fri, 30 May 2025 11:17:20 GMT

Every Man for Himself (Jean-Luc Godard, 1980). Photo: Film Desk

Intro: One thing that struck me working with Ted Hope on our book Hope For Film: A Producer's Journey Across the Revolutions of Indie Film and Global Streaming (besides his love of lists) is the notion of merging art and activism. The idea comes through in the first few pages of the book: In…

What's the news today & how do we trust it

Dan Mirvish — Fri, 23 May 2025 11:17:18 GMT

Ted’s note: HopeForFilm has now been taken over twelve times. And it seems like you are digging it. Let me know if there is someone you’d rally like to see guest curate and I will do my best to convince them to join us here.

Although he has yet to adopt my recommended vernacular, today’s curator is NonDē to the core. When he makes his films, he distribut…

"designed to help build the muscle of sharing"

Karin Chien — Fri, 16 May 2025 20:10:14 GMT

Ted’s note: It’s the Cannes Film Festival and to celebrate this buffet of world cinema we are serving up two episodes of what has become an immensely popular feature over here at HopeForFilm: The Friday Takeover. Give the people what they want, right?

Five Fun Ways to Break Free from the Algorithm - Before It Breaks You

Alex Rollins Berg — Fri, 16 May 2025 11:11:18 GMT

Ted’s note: Alex Rollins Berg’s FilmStack “Underexposed” never disappoints — and it is often chock full of tasty bits, from deep wisdom, to wise observation, from intriguing links, to great interviews. When I thought of giving my newsletter over to other writers, he was one I put on my hopeful hit list, and lucky for you, he took the bait.

Pale Flower (…

What Indie Film Has in Common With the Attention Crisis

Ami Vora — Fri, 09 May 2025 11:17:26 GMT

Ted’s note: Awhile back Taylor Lewis of Luz Films commented that FilmStack has become the thinktank for the future of film that we’ve always needed.

She’s right. One of the pleasures of doing this takeovers regularly, I see first hand how we are all in the same situation regardless of our experience, focus, or location, particularly when it comes to hel…