IFF and film school schedules are out

12 JUNE 2014



Let's talk movies - specifically, what San Diego Comic-Con has to offer beyond Hall H. Year after year, I find that this is one of the least visible parts of the Con.

Mainstream film festivals. While that schedule hasn't been announced yet, there's generally a nonstop parade of genre films (sci-fi, horror, fantasy, big-budget, indie) that cater to every taste. There will also be a Star Trek festival (as in, one episode after another) and probably the Rocky Horror Picture Show, Spike and Mike screenings, and so on. You may think you don't want to waste your limited Con time on something Netflix can deliver, but slipping into a dark room for a few hours can make for a nice break from the Exhibit Hall tumult.


Independent Film Festival. "The very best in genre films from around the world." This runs all four days and there's an awards ceremony on Sunday. By genre, they mean anime, documentary, science fiction, action/adventure, horror, humor and comics-oriented, and the filmmakers come from all over the world.

I think we can all agree that "indie" is one of the most abused words of the decade, so understand these aren't Wes Anderson-type films you see at the local arthouse theatre; these are truly independent films of varying length created by filmmakers on very limited budgets. Not all of them will be to your taste, but you will see some truly creative work here. There's usually a networking event as well. You can see the full IFF schedule here.


Comic-Con Film School. As I've noted before, CCI keeps offering better and better content for emerging artists, and this is a great example. So if you want to be the next Noah Baumbach, consider attending the 4-part series on instructional filmmaking, along with some other panels.

Thursday:
10:00-11: Comic-Con Film School 101
4:00-5:00: Hollywood Location Scouts

Friday:
10:00-11:00: Comic-Con Film School 102
1:30-2:30: The Chair: One Script, Two Visions, One Winner

Saturday:
10:00-11:00: Comic-Con Film School 103
2:00-3:00: The Casting Directors of FOX Television

Sunday:
10:00-11:00: Comic-Con Film School 104
11:00-11:55: CCI-IFF Awards Presentation
12:00-5:00: CCI-IFF Award Winners Showcase