Mabel Valdiviezo

Great News!

“Soledad is Gone Forever,” has been selected by NewFilmmakers NY to be part of their NewLatino Filmmakers Series. This portion of the series is entitled Latinas in Cinema: Filmworks Beyond the Glass Ceiling. Curated by Edward Pagan, this screening aims to put the spotlight on creative Latinas working behind the cameras in both independent film and Hollywood. Along with myself, other unique filmmakers who are putting their own spin on the Latin New Wave will be presenting their short-form documentaries, narrative shorts, and feature presentations.

The screening begins at 6:00pm starting with the documentary portion of the night, which will include Natalia Almada’s work “ Al Otro Lado” (2006, 66 Minutes, Video).  Al Otro Lado (To the Other Side)” tells the human story behind illegal immigration and drug trafficking between the U.S. and Mexico through the eyes of Magdiel, a 23-year-old fisherman and aspiring composer who dreams of a better life.

At 7:15pm, the Short Film program begins, during which my film “Soledad Is Gone Forever” (2007, 14 Minutes, 16MM) will be screened, in addition to Glenys Javier’s piece, “Jolopeo,” (2007, 5 Minutes, Video); and Veronica Caicedo’s short, “Loss Of Innocence In Loisaida” (2007, 30 Minutes, Video).

At 8:15pm, Christina Soto’s feature presentation, “Muneca,” (2007, 70 Minutes, Video) will be screened.

Following the screening there will be a live panel discussion and Q&A with the filmmakers.

The screening will be held at Anthology Film Archives, located in East Village at 32 Second Ave,  NY, NY.

People have been asking me where they can see ‘Soledad Is Gone Forever.’ For a while I was just relying on screenings of our short-to-feature at festivals. But if you’re a filmmaker, you know how disappointing it can be when you receive that generic email announcing that your gem wasn’t selected. But even if your film plays successfully at several festivals, what are the chances of getting your short distributed and keeping control?

In the last few months, I have been faced with the hard decision to not go for certain distribution opportunities because they would require me to give up the rights to my film for several years. And in many of these deals the film’s exclusivity would be given up, and likely guarantee that ‘Soledad Is Gone Forever’ would be just another short lost in the distributor’s vast library of digital assets.

But all is not lost in the world of independent filmmaking, 2008 has been a year of powerful resolutions and outcomes. I have revisited the original vision that inspired me to make this short-to-feature in the first place: to share the universality of ‘Soledad Is Gone Forever’ by crossing generations and cultures and ultimately raising awareness of the power of forgiveness. Today, I am taking action and becoming a creative entrepreneur to fulfill this vision. This is why I am embracing the DIY approach, willingly learning filmmaker-friendly distribution approaches and staying inspired by other filmmakers who are doing it successfully.

Enter, FHTA (From Here To Awesome film festival), a true film festival and distribution ‘Experiment’ by filmmakers for filmmakers.

The ride has just started and it’s already ‘Awesome!’ Not only has ‘Soledad Is Gone Forever,’ been selected to be part of the showcase, Heretic Films and Indieflix have signed a deal memo where we take most of the revenue and retain all our rights during distribution. Outlets abound, as distribution partners include Amazon, Caachi, Joost, Vuze, and VOD options, too.

Read more about FHTA and festival kick off on July 26 at

Coverage in Variety:
http://weblogs.variety.com/thompsononhollywood/2008/07/from-here-to-aw.html

Festival kickoff:   http://diydays.com/

The last few months have been very busy, particularly promoting our short and developing relationships with producers in Los Angeles and New York. In the meantime, we have some great news to share. Our short has found online distribution through Caachi, a company based in San Francisco. Before deciding to work with them, I researched many online and traditional distributors. So far Caachi is the way to go because they offer 70% revenue for the filmmaker, non-exclusive agreement and a willingness to work hand in hand with us. Assuming that we do well with downloads, we want to use this revenue to help us fund the development of our feature length.

Mabel

I have been hearing for a while about two innovative filmmakers, Lance Weiler, director of “Head Trauma,” and Arin Crumley & Susan Buice directors of “Four Eyes Monster.” I have witnessed online the evolution of their films and expansion of their audiences. What is different about them is that they have accumulated a great deal of experience and knowledge about DIY promotion and distribution and are actively sharing these though open source methods. When I heard that they have partnered to lead the From Here to Awesome film festival, which takes place completely online, I was so excited to become one of the filmmakers participating. Should we become part of the top 10 submissions, our short, Soledad Is Gone Forever, will be seen in theaters worldwide.
Help us participating in this awesome showcase by:

-Watch my interview/trailer at http://youtube.com/watch?v=9RmUKAWj-FE
-Rate the video, and
-Write a comment about our submission
As always thank you so much for your generous support,
Mabel