The IFF schedule is up

13 JUNE 2017

The International Independent Film Festival schedule is up. If you're headed to Comic-Con namely to see blockbuster trailers and get an autograph from your favorite actor, this may sound like a yawn to you. But here's why you should pay at least a little attention to the film offerings at San Diego Comic-Con.

The IFF

The CCI-IFF is held at the Marriott Marquis, next door to the Hall A side in the Marriott Grand Ballroom 3 & 4. It runs every day of the Con and offers the chance to see indie films from around the world in the following categories:

• Action/Adventure
• Animation
• Comics-Oriented
• Documentary
• Horror/Suspense
• Humor
• Science Fiction/Fantasy

There are awards for each category in a Sunday ceremony, after which the winning entries are re-screened.

If you're curious how "indie" is defined, that's changed somewhat over the years. You're not going to see the same lineup you'd see at your local arthouse theatre. But you will see a mix of truly indie films scraped together from someone's Kickstarter and slightly bigger-budget - but not quite mainstream - movies.

This year is strong in the horror/sci-fi/fantasy categories. But some of the most anticipated fall into the documentary category: namely Neil Gaiman's Dreaming Dangerously, Ukiyo-e Heroes and Welcome Home, Dick Van Dyke. All 3 air on Saturday so if you want to dodge the odiferous weekend crowds of the Exhibit Hall, head for the IFF.

Comic-Con Film School

Screenings aren't the only thing the IFF offers. They also offer educational workshops on topics like screenwriting, pre-production or managing a film crew; there are also panels about making movies on your phone, financing indies and other topics for creatives on the rise.

In other words, you can benefit from the IFF whether you're a budding filmmaker or just looking for some passive entertainment in a dark room.

The regular movie tracks and marathons

The IFF isn't your only cinematic option. SDCC will offer a steady stream of genre movies, from cult classics to obscure horror films to children's films to nerd favorite TV episodes. Whether you're looking for anime or the Star Trek episode where Captain Kirk fights a giant rubber lizard, you'll find your favorite flavor of escapism.

You might be wondering why you'd ever waste your valuable Comic-Con hours watching a flick you can see in your living room. I can only tell you that SDCC movie tracks can be a welcome reprieve from the lights and thunder of the Con. They can also be an undemanding way to spend an evening when you don't want to stay in your hotel room but aren't up to some Gaslamp rager.

Just something to consider; you cineaste attendees already know where you're headed. But if your typical movie diet tends more toward summer blockbusters, don't write off the IFF too quickly. It might become one of your favorite parts of San Diego Comic-Con.

Hollywood predictions: San Diego Comic-Con 2015

2 JANUARY 2015

If you're one of the SDCC attendees grousing about the Hollywood presence, go ahead and skip this post. You can stay pure and self-righteous over by the Mile High Comics booth, pawing through back issues. (I'm not being glib - give Mile High your support if you can.) But for those of you who are excited about all of the big blockbusters coming to theatres this year, let's speculate on what we might see at Comic-Con.

Please note: the below is pure conjecture. I'm only listing movies that come out post-Con - no Avengers, Terminator or Jurassic World here.

 
The #1 pick - Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Can't you already feel the adrenaline? The cosplay, the action figures, the panels, the revelry. The repetitive jokes about feeling a great disturbance in the Force during the next badge sale.
 
Ant-Man comes out July 17 and Crimson Peak comes out in October. These have already made SDCC appearances but I'm sure the studios will flex their promotional chops. Ditto for Hunger Games, out in November.
 
The Fantastic Four reboot hits in August. No question here.
 
Thoughtful sci-fi tale The Martian comes out in November. I'm already planning to be at this panel, so don't put it in Hall H, Fox.
 
Jem and the Holograms is out in October. Panel-worthy? No doubt. Ditto Mission Impossible 5 and Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight, out in December.
 
Pan comes out July 17, just a week after the Con. This is a live action film based on Peter Pan - as you no doubt were smart enough to guess, but I assumed it was about the hoofed and horned flute-playing god when I first saw the title. So if you're as literal as I am, there's your clarity.
 
Also on the live-action front:  Jungle Book comes out in October. I'm on the fence as to whether this would show up at SDCC, but I know the world will be a better place if Christopher Walken does Comic-Con.
 
Spectre, the next James Bond flick, probably won't be at SDCC but I may stand in my first autograph line ever if the beautiful Monica Belluci shows up.
 

 
 
Similarly, Everest probably won't be there either but you can never tell. Comic-Con attendees can definitely empathize with the tale of reaching goals against incredible odds. Maybe Universal will bring it.
 
Gangster movie Black Mass and Steven Spielberg's untitled Cold War movie may also seem atypical SDCC fare, but crime/war dramas have been creeping into the panel programming more and more in recent years. I wouldn't be terribly surprised to see them.

Are you anticipating anything I didn't list?

ETA: People asked about Suicide Squad, Batman vs Superman and the Harry Potter movie, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. All of those come out in 2016, but we'll obviously see content for some of them.

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