Will the Coronavirus Change the Film Industry?
Will the cinematic experience, as we know it die? Will we never again enjoy the buzz of the communal, immersive experience in the same way we’ve always known? There is uncertainty. However, the industry will evolve.
The coronavirus will undoubtedly, slowly infect our storytelling and anchor the ARCs of television series and feature films to come. But there are still other ways in which it will impact filmmakers.
We’ve experienced this before, back-in-the-day, from 1918 to 1920 when the Spanish flu shut down Hollywood studios and social distancing separated moviegoers from each other and from theaters in the US during the silent film era.
Today, when cinema screens have faded to black for this extended period of time, independent films are being offered and sought on computer screens and smart TVs, connecting us to the world outside.
When you think of it, in this time of lockdown, documentaries are perfect content for streaming service platforms. Generally, they don’t rely on big budget visual effects, and they tend to be less cinematic than most theatrical releases, translating better to a smaller screen; whereas blockbusters, now being postponed, are made for large audiences… No, major studios wouldn’t dream of screening blockbusters in theaters unless a formidable return is on the table, justifying their film budgets almost the size of a small country’s annual GDP.
Despite the shutdown of film production in Hollywood, Bollywood and the rest of the filmmaking world, we as filmmakers find a way forward. As proof, take a look at the SXSW Conference & Festivals (South by Southwest) progressively offering screenings as online opportunities for eager, participant filmmakers to grab the attention of distributors and viewers. Or look more closely at the postponed 22nd Thessaloniki Documentary Festival (Greece) this year proving films can even be made within our four walls during the coronavirus pandemic by screening brilliantly creative short films via the Internet. The festival will stoically provide the chance for accredited professionals from all over the world to watch and evaluate Greek documentaries.
Generally targeting underserved niches of cinemagoers, Independent films and documentaries are increasingly finding their audiences.
Take a trip into the minds of curious filmmakers, those whose urge to know more about any particular person, place, or thing takes them beneath, above and even out of this world… Perhaps when we are free to walk amongst each other again, virtual venues like Mubi and Kino Lorber—will remain and become even more popular for watching the curiosities of these independents, and watch their smaller budgeted docs at home. In particular, Kino Lorber stands out. It’s supported by a varied group of independent cinemas and offering “the best in contemporary, classic and documentary films that aim to engage, provoke, stimulate, and entertain today's audiences.”
Yes, DRAFT Productions is poised to offer its first feature in this golden age of documentary filmmaking. And although we also might have to postpone any shoots, we move forward by using this time to seek and acquire archival footage. Taking lead from our numerous interviews and conversations, we research the times, incidents and events; we’re sourcing newsclips, features, home movies and video to add to, and highlight aspects of our visual narrative.
Remember buying the tickets, passing the ticket checkpoint into the sound and smell of hot popcorn drawing you ever closer to the time when you lose yourself willingly in disbelief? Together with like-minded comrades, letting go of life outside to enter a darkened room—wide-eyed in anticipation of a shared experience, if only for awhile? When was the last time you went to see a film in a movie theater? Hold fast to this image and trust this will all return in time. Like dreams, movies made in our minds, film never dies…
