We’re up on VODO!

The movie has gone live on the VODO front page.  It’s packaged with a great 3-minute animated short at the beginning–LEGACY by Grzegorz Jonkajtys.  Download the torrent and check it out.

The VODO guys had this to say in the description of the flick:

The film’s a sign of great things to come from director Josh Bernhard, and we’re delighted to be releasing his movie through the VODO network. Like the filmmakers behind Sweden’s recent ‘Nasty Old People’, Josh has been smart and forward thinking enough to use peer-to-peer to distribute his film. We should all be supporting him while we think about what films _we’re_ gonna make in 2010. New Year’s resolution anyone?

The Lionshare on VODO is a perfect fit, and we’re excited to see what comes of this partnership.

‘The Lionshare’ to be distributed on VODO

The movie has been selected to be the third release of VODO, a new online distribution platform that launched in October.  It was founded by members of The Pirate Bay and some of the guys behind Steal This Film, the footage from which I remixed and used as a special feature on the DVD (see here).  VODO stands for voluntary donation: you get the movie for free, and donate to the creators if you want to support them and their work.

It looks like The Lionshare is going to be their first narrative film release.  Stay tuned for more info soon.

12/18 UPDATE:  The movie is up!

‘Lionshare’ makes best-of list

Filmmaker and critic Tom Russell, whose review I linked to a while back, has made a list of his favorite films of the past decade.  The Lionshare is on that list:

A multifaceted examination of how culture is created and disseminated and notions of ownership, all packed into a tight and sprightly sixty-five minutes. Entertaining, maturely stylish, ambitious without ever overreaching. The filmmaker has made the film available for free. It’s worth your time.

This is quite an honor to bestow upon our little film.  Thanks to Tom and everyone else who has supported it.

Charm Face Music Video

Charm Face’s album release party was awesome, as was their Lionshare-tie-in video.  Check it out:

Music Video Premiere

Bracey Smith and the band he played with in the movie went on to form a band called Charm Face.  They’ve been achieving a lot of success and tomorrow night is the release party for their first album Hup.  Before they play they will also premiere the Lionshare-inspired music video for “Comfort Food,” a song featured at the end of the movie.  Bracey had a great concept that results in the video being what I consider an unofficial ’sequel’ to The Lionshare, even further blurring the line between reality and the world of the movie.

Here’s a quick behind the scenes video Bracey put together of the shoot:

So check out their free show tomorrow night and get there early to see the premiere of the video!

Friday, October 9
8:00 pm

Blarney Stone, 2nd floor
410 8th Ave
New York, NY

http://www.facebook.com/charmfacemusic#/event.php?eid=138049056445&index=1

Anyone go to Hell’s Half Mile Fest?

Did anyone who went to the Hell’s Half Mile Film and Music Festival catch one of the Lionshare screenings? Let us know what you thought!

The Russells review ‘The Lionshare’

Tom and Mary Russell, husband and wife filmmakers and prolific twitterers, have written what I think is the best review of the movie yet. They, more than anyone else so far, hit the nail exactly on the had with their read of the film (at least in terms of what I was conscious of trying to do). An excerpt:

But every once in a while, there’s a film that packs its 65 minutes with ideas, explored fully yet obliquely– a film that makes you wish there was another half-hour to look forward to, yet leaves you feeling satisfied. One such film, peering a few decades back, was 1967’s The Firemen’s Ball, the delightful sociological comedy that is still one of Milos Forman’s best films. Another is Josh Bernhard’s The Lionshare.

I do not make this comparison lightly; to my mind, the two films have more in common than the slim running time. Both films are comedies that explore sociological phenomenon with a light but occasionally biting touch; both come at their respective subjects a little sideways, making points in such an oblique and organic way that they don’t feel like points at all, that they only register on a subconscious level– which ensures that the films will last beyond the current sociological climate, that they have things to say about life when their subjects have been regaled to relics.

The comparison to Milos Forman’s The Fireman’s Ball is quite humbling. Read the whole review here, and check out more of their film criticism on twitter: @tomandmary.

HHF Fest Screening Dates

The Hell’s Half Mile Film and Music Festival website has posted the screening schedule. The Lionshare will be showing

Friday, October 2
9:00 pm
Masonic Temple
700 N. Madison Ave
Bay City, MI 48708

and

Saturday, October 3
6:00 pm
State Theater
913 Washington Ave.
Bay City, MI 48708

They’re showing the movie at a Masonic Temple?  Awesome.

IMDb: Some kind of milestone

The movie is as real as it was an hour ago.  But on a whim I decided to check if our IMDb submission had gone through, and, lo and behold:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1502421/

As part of a generation that has relied on IMDb to tell us, well, basically everything about movies, back in the days before it was owned by amazon.com or whatever their relationship is now, this is kind of a big deal to me.  I realize it’s a little thing, but this, strangely, makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something just as much if not more than anything else that’s happened so far.

‘The Lionshare’ at HHF Film & Music Festival

I’ve just been notified via email that we’ve been accepted to the Hell’s Half Mile Film & Music Festival in Bay City, Michigan. From their website:

HHM Fest is more than an event for those who simply appreciate film and music.  It’s a grassroots effort to develop a community that participates in the arts.  The festival idea developed from a “wouldn’t it be great…” conversation, into “we can do it” action.  We hope our actions will inspire others to develop new arts and culture opportunities in our community.

…

It’s our 4th year of fighting for independent film and live original music, and we have one “hell” of a line up of features, docs, shorts, animated, student and foreign language films. Plus, a Saturday night of music at the old Masonic Temple with bands Oh My God (Chicago), Baby Teeth (Chicago) and Champions of Breakfast (Detroit).

Help us fight for independent film and music.  Plan to attend HHM Fest-4 October 1-4, 2009.  For information on advance ticket and pass sales please contact info@hhmfest.com.

Sounds good to me!  Doubtful we will be in attendance, but it’d be pretty cool…we’ll see what happens.