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Dark Matter

Independent Filmmaking in the 21st Century

Michael Winterbottom author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Published:7th Oct '21

Should be back in stock very soon

Dark Matter cover

What and who decides if a film gets made? How do funders influence a film's scope and content? Through a series of interviews with leading British filmmakers, director Michael Winterbottom attempts to answer these questions, and puts forward his ideas for creating a more vibrant and innovative independent film culture.

A Sight & Sound Book of the Year
"Eye-opening and addictively readable." Total Film

Who and what decides if a film gets funded? How do those who control the purse strings also determine a film's content
and even its message? Writing as the director of award-winning feature films including Welcome to Sarajevo, 24 Hour Party People and The Road to Guantanamo as well as the hugely popular The Trip series, Michael Winterbottom provides an insider's view of the workings of international film funding and distribution, revealing how the studios that fund film production and control distribution networks also work against a sustainable independent film culture and limit innovation in filmmaking style and content. In addition to reflecting upon his own filmmaking career, featuring critical and commercial successes alongside a 'very long list' of films that didn't get made, Winterbottom also interviews leading contemporary filmmakers including Lynne Ramsay, Mike Leigh, Ken Loach, Asif Kapadia and Joanna Hogg about their filmmaking practice.

The book closes with a vision of how the contemporary filmmaking landscape could be reformed for the better with fairer funding and payment practices allowing for a more innovative and sustainable 21st century industry.

Seeking to understand the obstacles that even notable names face trying to finance a British film these days, Winterbottom uses the first Covid lockdown to interview an enviable list of directors, including Steve McQueen, Lynne Ramsay and Mike Leigh… There’s fascinating candour… Eye-opening and addictively readable. * Total Film *
The interviews’ focus on the busi­ness side of film production is relatively unusual and all the more valuable for it. Possibly liberated by the uncertainty of the moment, Winterbottom’s subjects are more frank about the industry than is customary. Their perspectives often converge, but the directors’ reasons for not directing vary as widely as their cir­cumstances. -- Henry K. Miller * Sight & Sound *
A must-read for anyone interested in how films are made, and not made. * The Saturday Paper *

ISBN: 9781839023392

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 564g

208 pages