Wednesday 17 November 2010

British film director finds engaging new way of bringing indie film to online audiences






Independent filmmaker Matt Daniels has announced innovative plans to stream his latest film live on one of the world’s most popular social media channels.

Following the hugely successful launch of ‘Finding Their Feet’ at the end of October, Matt is now planning to show the film for 24 hours on the film’s Facebook page as a treat for fans when the page reaches 10,000 ‘likes’.

This event will mark the second time Matt has used the internet to overcome the issues faced by filmmakers in the current economic environment – he helped to fund his first film, the spine-chilling indie thriller ‘Powerless’, by taking the unusual measure of selling credits in the film on eBay.

“Myself and the film’s producer, Gideon Wilkins, came up with the idea of paying a fee to get your name in the credits: £30 for an Associate Producer, £20 for an Affiliate Producer and £10 for a ‘With Thanks To’,” says Matt.

“The credits paid for most of the post-production and everyone got to see their name in lights.

“We generated so much interest in the film through doing this that the internet and social media sites have become a crucial part of how we engage with our audiences.”

Matt says he feels it’s important for independent filmmakers to continue to explore new ways of bringing new British film to online audiences.

He believes this is the first time a UK film has ever been shown on Facebook in this way, and hopes the page will also help to raise the profile of independent film across social media channels.

“Facebook is such a great place to interact with our fans from all over the world,” says Matt.

“They’ve been instrumental in helping us to spread the word, so getting to the stage where we have enough fans to show the film on Facebook is a great way to thank them.”

Finding Their Feet is Matt’s second independent film and follows the heart-warming story of reclusive dancer Kate who, tortured by her mother's death and an horrific accident that left her a mute, faces her darkest fears to compete in a national dance competition.

Kate, played by actress Hannah Polland, is supported along the way by the hapless but big-hearted Danny and her proud yet protective elder brother John (also Hannah’s real-life brother), who share one common goal - to see Kate happy again.

Finding Their Feet has already won critical acclaim at festivals across the world, including the Fallbrook Film Festival in California, the Trail Dance Film Festival in Oklahoma, the Temecula Valley International Film Festival in California and the Feel Good Film Festival in Hollywood, where Matt and producer Seth Wilkins rubbed shoulders with the likes of Lucas Grabeel of High School Musical and stars from the cast of Hannah Montana.

Matt has also gained recognition at a host of British film festivals including The Norwich Film Festival, where Finding Their Feet was nominated for the Best Film award.

For more information, visit www.findingtheirfeet.com as well as their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/findingtheirfeet

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