The Rise of the Film Club

By Kiowa

It's been an interesting couple of weeks digesting the bit-torrent news and releasing Ink via Netflix, Blockbuster and other places. Not sure what to do with all the information, we were lucky enough to take a detour to the East Coast for a screening. Even better than that, we are lucky enough to be here due to the kindness and generosity of two people who are probably now lifetime friends: Pericles and Lisa Lewnes.

The very best thing about this last year is the opportunity to tour around the country and meet people. We have managed to draw an incredible level of enthusiasm and support for the film at our screenings. One such special screening was New York - I knew that a man named Pericles drove eight hours round trip to see Ink and meet us. On the street after the screening we exchanged hugs and screeners (Peri is himself an accomplished filmmaker, credits include Redneck Zombies and LOOP) and he told me about his film club in Annapolis. He and his wife wanted to bring films that might not otherwise get seen to their hometown in a casual bar or restaurant setting and they were willing to put in the hard work to promote the screenings. I was sold.

Peri and Lisa first showed Ink in early August, which drew us a whole new crowd of Ink fans. He showed the film Woodpecker the following month and then decided to crank the film club up a notch. Peri called me about six weeks ago and excitedly told me that he attracted larger sponsors and a great venue for his next screening, which he wanted to be an encore presentation of Ink. Not only that, he had gathered up enough sponsors to fly us out and put us up. So here we are enjoying the beautiful and historic town of Annapolis and an incredible steak dinner at the Lewnes Steakhouse - owned by Peri's brother and our travel sponsor.



How did we get this lucky? Peri and Lisa are some of those rare humans that are incredibly generous with their time and resources. They happened to fall in love with Ink and have been tireless in their efforts to promote the film with whatever tools they have at their disposal. I believe the film club is going to rise up as the chief screening opportunity for indie filmmakers. One film a month, heavily promoted at a unique venue with food and drinks - what could be better? It centers the focus around one film at a time and if the filmmakers can attend for Q&A then it is officially an "event" that people will get out to be a part of.

High quality film festivals like Flyway Film Festival and film clubs like the Annapolis Pretentious Film Society put the focus back where it should be: on the films and filmmakers. We had the best festival experience of our life at Flyway thanks to Rick and Diana Vaicius making us feel incredibly welcome and not lost in the fray as you do at most festivals. Similarly, Peri and Lisa take the time to promote individual films and filmmakers and truly make the evening an event to remember. We are super excited to get to Monday night and connect with people at the Rams Head On Stage. If you are a filmmaker reading this, you need to get in touch with both Rick at Flyway and Peri of APFS - two fierce champions for truly independent films and filmmakers. Another description might entail wings, some sort of halo and an angelic glow... that's how they appear to me anyway. Storytellers? I think so.

Rick and Diana Vaicius with Jamin at Flyway last month.

Ink plays at the Rams Head On Stage on Monday, November 30th at 6:30pm. $8 in advance and $10 at the door.
Click here for tickets and we will see you there!

A 360 Degree View of Internet Piracy

By Kiowa

The last few days have felt like Jamin and I took a trip to an industrial-sized clothes dryer and jumped inside. Exciting, exhausting and potentially asphyxiating. All of this due to the news that Ink has been one of the most downloaded movies in the world since it hit all of the BitTorrent sites. Advocates from both sides of the table have come out swinging with their thoughts, and some sources have been suspiciously quiet. What do we make of all of this madness? Here are my thoughts, as they've been digested over a thread on Reddit.com and other places.

Here we are in the dryer... and damn if it isn't getting hot in here.

1. Amazing exposure? Heck yes.
No question here that Ink wouldn't be abuzz across many forums, blogs and film websites this week without the enormous boost to #16 on the IMDb MovieMeter due to the piracy.

2. Raking in the dough? Yes and no.
Our direct sales have quadrupled and a decent number of donations (still nothing comparable to 500,000 downloads) have poured into our website, which we are very thankful for. Unfortunately there is no way to tell if the direct sales are coming from those who downloaded or those who saw it on Netflix and want to own a copy. Still, if each person who downloaded the film would come and contribute $1, we could pay off this film and have a budget for the next one.

3. Still to early to tell the effects of this? Absolutely.
Nothing in the film world ultimately happens over night and it will take several months to a year to quantify all of this so it's entirely too early to take a solid stance either way, but I do think there's some value in getting the discussion going about piracy which is why I'm spending time on Reddit.com and writing this blog.

4. Is Hollywood oddly silent on this whole thing? Yes.
Not only can't we get any attention in the mainstream industry press, you would think that a tiny indie film with over 500,000 downloads in a week would demonstrate enough of an audience for a distributor to step on board. Distributors are looking for films that are easy to market and that have an audience. The downloads have proven, unequivocally, that Ink has a huge audience yet the crickets are still chirping on US distribution. My theory is this: distributors don't dare step up and validate the pirate community as an audience. They must keep their staunch stance against them, and to pick up Ink now would mean they're saying "wow, this really is an audience."

5. Why won't Hollywood recognize the pirate community as an audience? They don't pay.
So this is the real issue I'm grappling with. What is piracy all about? I've come up with three ideas: 1.) People want stuff for free, and/or 2.) People want instant and easy access, and/or 3.) People will only pay for what they like. Which one of these is true? I encourage anyone who has illegally downloaded a film to step up with your thoughts. The unfortunate truth in the music industry is that, for the most part, people just want things for free. Is this also true with movie downloads? How will it impact both in the long run?

6. If the download community wants to send a real message and be recognized as an audience, here's how:
* For those out there who download because you want easy access to something you can't otherwise get (i.e. you're outside the US and movies take forever to get to you, which we completely understand), then please do the download community a favor and track down the filmmakers and give them a few bucks.

* For those of you who only want to pay for what you like, please find a way to support your favorite artists as best you can. This will also send an extremely strong message to Hollywood to make better films and not just expect everyone to keep digesting a huge cafeteria of re-makes and franchise films.

* For those of you who expect things to be free, please consider how flawed that thinking is. Do you expect groceries, clothing and other commodities to be free? Making Ink is the single most difficult thing I've ever done and I can guarantee that every artist who crosses the finish line with a completed project feels the same. If the answer is truly that people expect things for free then the logical conclusion is that no one will take any financial risk in this industry and eventually there will be nothing to pirate. Talk about the law of diminishing returns.

This is a new era and no one knows which end is up right now. If instant file-sharing is truly the next step in film distribution, then there still needs to be a financial model in place that works. All anyone wants to do is to be able to move on and make another movie. That will be impossible if the world expects things for free. Or, all our movies will be paid for by huge corporate sponsors and littered with product placement - is that really a better alternative? Do we really want The Storytellers in Ink to be eating a Big Mac and swilling Coke after every fight? Probably not. I'm not claiming to know any answers here, I just want to put it up for discussion so please share your thoughts below and we'll continue to provide updates.


The coolest thing to come out of the piracy so far? This incredible illustration from a new fan who watched via download and spent 6 hours drawing this for us. Thank you Shane Lees.

Ink Jumps to #16 on IMDB

by Jamin

The last few days have been a rollercoaster as Ink was bit torrented just days ago and has now been downloaded over 400,000 times around the world. Simultaneously Ink became available in all major and minor video rental stores including Netflix, Netflix Instant, Blockbuster, Amazon, etc... Over the weekend Ink jumped from a position of 12,991 on IMDB to #16 and is thus currently ranked higher than most major Hollywood titles.

Who knew that the file sharing community has so much power? The exposure for our film has been unprecedented and we have spent no money on advertising. As far as I know, no studio in history has ever driven a film up out of obscurity so fast. Turns out the audience now really does have all the control.

Our reaction has been to encourage the file sharing. The ethical argument for and against file sharing is very complicated, however, if the file sharers have the filmmaker's blessing to pass it around, there is unquestionably no injustice done. The fact is we own all the rights to Ink and the file sharers absolutely have our blessing. It would be a lie and naive to say that it's not benefitting our film exponentially. We've made a link available for those fans that want to support us in our battle by making a donation and we have Blu-Rays, DVDs, and other merchandise available for the most serious fans. This is a 100% independent film with no studio, no distributor, and no big money so trust me when I say we need all the help we can get.

Kiowa and I had a long conversation about whether or not we would be slighting our paying fans by condoning the file sharing. We both agreed that wasn't the case. Most of the world never had an opportunity to see the film in theaters. Many of them likely would have had we had the resources to bring it to them. Our truly die hard fans who bought theater tickets and are buying the Blu-Ray, DVD, shirts, and posters have something physical to show for it. We have disks that are personally signed and materials that no one else can have via download. Ultimately we know who our most die hard supporters are because we met most of them personally or have been talking to them for months via email, Facebook, and Twitter. They're also the people who are donating money on our site when they don't have to, buying numerous disks for family and friends, and voting and commenting online everywhere, and they are the critics who campaigned for it with ferocity even though distributors weren't taking it out. No one else would have ever known about the film had these people not built the base.

There are audiences all over the world not yet able to see Ink in an inexpensive and quick way. File sharing is about the only instant option for them at the moment and we don't want limitations keeping them from seeing the movie. We've always said the international audience is just as important to us as the American audience. We're thrilled to hear that Ink is finding it's way all over Europe, Asia, South America, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand, and on and on. Someone recently told us that it's blowing up in Lithuania of all places. People are subtitling it and re-posting it in numerous languages. Incredible.

In the meantime we're thrilled about the official Blu-Ray/DVD release today. Ink is truly everywhere and it's a dream come true for a few people that made a completely independent, unconventional, unique, and heartfelt film.

Thank you all again for helping us each day. Thank you for the loyalty and the passion. Here's a new trailer just for you:

Goodbye Gatekeepers, Hello Audience

By Kiowa

In the wake of the news that Ink has been ripped and downloaded 100,000 times in the past 48 hours across the bit torrent community, I feel inspired to share my thoughts on this "what does it mean?" news.

For the record, we do not condone piracy nor do we ever download any music, films or TV shows for free. Artists should be paid for their hard work. That said, it is possible that the exposure Ink has just gotten across free download sites has catapulted the film into an entirely new realm. Remember that Wolverine, a franchise film with a budget of $130 million, got leaked via bit torrent before its release and got 100,000 hits in 24 hours. Ink managed to do half that in downloads, and was number 1 on Pirate Bay yesterday with more hits than Paranormal Activity, Surrogates and Julie and Julia. Again, all of these films have had the help of the studio system's multi-million dollar marketing campaigns. Ink has had Jamin and myself, two laptops and an Army of fierce supporters grown out of our own hard-fought theatrical screenings - nothing more.


The packed house at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood on June 10th, 2009.



The main point I want to make in this post is about gatekeepers vs. audience. Had we relied on what the gatekeepers were telling us about Ink, i.e. "we don't know how to market the film," to "it's too strange" to "it doesn't have any stars" to "this would never sell" to multiple festival rejections, we would have given up and thrown in the towel probably by February. Instead of going on the expert opinions, we decided to take the film directly to audiences and bypass all the gatekeepers and guess what? Success! For one gatekeeper saying "there is no way to market this film" we have had 10 audience members claim it is the best film of the year. I'm not being boastful (there are plenty of people who think the film is awful), but I believe that 100,000 downloads across torrent sites in 48 hours is proof positive that the gatekeepers are out of touch with audiences. The film community elite have brushed Ink off as nothing, all the while the audience is screaming for more.

The "Oshkosh 6" - this group of guys drove 8 hours round-trip to see Ink at the Flyway Film Festival on October 23rd, 2009. From left: me, Adam Meyer, Mark Mazur, Trent Hillborn, Joseph Dhein, Joey Meyer, James Lieske and Jamin.

So for all of you filmmakers out there frustrated by a constant stream of "No" and "Please submit your next film", gather round and hear this: cover your ears, close your eyes, take the plunge and support your film with the ferocity of a mother bear. Kindly say "thank you for your time" and move on to the people who matter most - your fans.

Ink is available on DVD and Blu-ray on our website.
Ink will be available at Netflix, iTunes and Blockbuster on November 10th!

BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: TODAY, NOVEMBER 9TH, 2009 IS A REMARKABLE DAY. INK HAS JUST JUMPED TO #16 ON THE IMDB MOVIE METEr, ABOVE HOLLYWOOD TITLES SAW IV, WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE AND BREAKOUT INDIE HIT PRECIOUS. INK IS THE ONLY TOP 20 MOVIE WITH NO DISTRIBUTOR AND ROSE IN POPULARITY OVER 80,000% DUE TO THE PIRACY OVER THE LAST 3 DAYS.

The Ink Story on Film Courage

By Kiowa


We had the great pleasure of being on David Branin and Karen Worden's Film Courage show live last Sunday. Film Courage is quickly becoming a shining beacon of information for independent filmmakers wading through their projects, from financing to distribution. It was our second opportunity to be on the show and this time we discussed how we financed Ink, what our total budget was and how we're distributing the film while holding onto all of the rights.

This business is a challenging one, to say the least, so it is our goal to be as transparent as possible in the hopes of helping others. If you have a moment, please tune into the show archive:

LA Talk Radio's Film Courage Interview with Jamin and Kiowa Winans

You can listen to Film Courage live every Sunday at 11:00am Pacific time. David and Karen always have interesting guests from actors to producers to directors, all with unique stories and insight. Tune in every Sunday - we do!