Marcella Selbach: Independent Film Angel

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Marcella Selbach is a true fan of film and has helped to fund numerous independent films. Follow her on Twitter @Movieangel. To learn more about Marcella and her projects visit http://www.movieangel.net.

What is the current project you are working on?

I‘m currently working on a list for the German Film Festivals next year (2012) to send it to different Independent filmmakers in the USA so that they can submit their films. I‘m also working on the organization of a little festival or so-called “Indie Film Days“ for almost a year now, but it‘s hard to find investors & sponsors to support this event. Let‘s see whether it will work out soon.

How do you handle rejection?

Sometimes it‘s difficult to accept rejection and handle it and you get angry & upset because it seems that all the plans you have won‘t work out. And there were times when I thought it would be better to quit. But my passion and hope let me go on. You can‘t always get what you want, you have to be patient. I like a quote of Silvester Stallone on rejection, he said: “

"I take rejection as someone blowing a bugle in my ear to wake me up and get going, rather than retreat."


I think sometimes rejection is needed to push us on and give us strength & new inspirations.

What inspired you to become involved in the independent film industry?

Well, I guess it was my dedication and passion for film and the opportunity which social media (Facebook/ Twitter) gives us nowadays to get in contact with actors & filmmakers. About 1 ½ year ago my friend actor/producer/writer Gregor Collins introduced me to the Independent film "Goodbye Promise", directed by David Branin, in which he had the leading role. They had started a kickstarter campaign and I started to learn all about crowdfunding.

I was fascinated and got interested in the opportunity for Independent filmmakers to get their projects financed. Inspired by this new experience I got more and more involved in this film community which is amazing.

How has your life changed since you became involved with the film industry?

It has changed in a way I could never imagine. I am online almost every day, very ambitious and focused on everything regarding the Independent film world. I had to learn a lot about it and still have and I am grateful that the filmmakers I know, always try to support me with as much of information as possible. I meet a lot of interesting, passionate and talented filmmakers, actors and producers who enrich my life with their work. Often they ask me for help with their campaigns and I try to promote the projects & spread the word which I think is useful.

Have you had any other jobs before you decided to support Independent film? Is funding films your full-time job?

During my studies I worked at a theater and saw almost every play they showed.

I still have a day job. It‘s a part-time job at an elementary school, where I work with kids between 6 and 10 years.

I can combine my work on funding films with this job and it actually works quite well. Sometimes the balancing act between school and Indie film work is stressful, but I love doing it , so there‘s definitely no need to complain at all.

What is the best thing about supporting films?

It‘s actually the fact to know that you‘re a tiny part of a great project, YOU… together with all the other supporters/ backers make it happen that a campaign is successful and reaches it‘s goal. Being involved in these projects makes me very proud and it‘s so inspiring to follow a film project from the beginning (script) to the ending(screening) . It‘s exciting and I mean, where else do you ever have the chance to be part of a film?

What is the worst thing about it?

Ha,ha,ha….you really want to know this? Well, you can get addicted to it, you start feeling responsible for the project and the filmmakers / producers. The day I started I was lost!

What is the number of projects you have helped to fund?

So far I helped to fund 14 projects on IndieGoGo and about 31 on Kickstarter and there are more to come…..

What are some of your favorite perks from crowdfunding campaigns?

The “sweetest“ definitely was the homemade apple pie I got from director David Branin of “Goodbye Promise“ but there were nice others like T shirts, DVDs or stickers and of course IMDb entries.

What is one piece of advice you would give to someone who wants to help fund an independent film?

Find out about the projects your friends or friends of friends recommend and try to learn more about the campaigns. And go to platforms like IndieGoGo and Kickstarter and get inspired by all the wonderful projects THEY recommend. It probably depends on what you‘re interested in, which genre of film you like or which filmmaker you want to support!

Who are your favorite filmmakers?

I love the work of Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, Robert Altman, Francois Truffaut! These “legends“ impress me and their films inspire me.

How would you describe your film education?

MY film education was at home. As I mentioned before, my parents have been actors on stage before they decided to quit and have a family but my whole life was accompanied by film & theater. My dad took me to the movies for the first time when I was about 4 or 5 and I still remember that it was a German black/white film with the lead actor “Heinz Rühmann“ .

Film was always a part of our family life, we all LOVED to go to the movies and then discussed them within the family.

How would you describe the film "scene" where you live?

Our film “scene“ here in Germany is fabulous, especially the young generation is very interested in films, even in Independent films, but unfortunately the less known movies are only shown in movie theaters in the big cities, which is disappointing. That‘s why I‘m thinking of bringing some Independent films to some smaller cities in my neighborhood.

How does independent film differ from the mainstream?

I think the main thing is that there are no big studios & millions of dollars behind the Independent films which absolutely doesn‘t mean that they‘re less precious or worth to see. I actually think that a lot of their stories are much better than those productions and the unknown actors often have more potential than their famous colleagues. Aside from that, a lot of the Independent films often have special issues as “main topic“ which I think is excellent but mostly doesn‘t appeal to a BIG audience. I think ‘mainstream films“ , so called "Blockbusters" often are produced to earn a lot of money, nowadays movies with spectacular special effects or 3D screenings sell best and let as many people as possible come to the movie theaters. That‘s NOT the intention of an Independent filmmaker, he has his own language to convey a message. He‘s much more interested in letting people deal with a special subject ( for example social issue ) .

How has social media changed the independent film industry?

It has changed the Independent film industry completely! I mean since Twitter and Facebook every filmmaker, producer or actor has the chance to promote himself. The word of mouth is powerful! By using social media, it‘s so easy to spread the word. You can tell your friends, friends of friends, even people you don‘t know, about YOUR projects & those of others that might be interesting & good. How lucky we‘re nowadays with social media which allows us to spread the word around the globe & involve people all over the world in the Independent films. With crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter, IndieGoGo and others you have the chance to get support from people all over the world. They can be a part of your film by donating money for the pre production or post production process or the shoot of the movie.

Do you believe in life on other planets?

Sure…. already as a kid I thought of life on other planets and it still fascinates me thinking about it & that there might be “LIFE“ outside our solar system. I don‘t believe that there‘re creatures looking like us /human beings but yes, there‘s life out there, why not?

Does art imitate life or does life imitate art?

Good question but difficult to answer because there is no specific right or wrong answer, it absolutely can go both ways. Art is an expression of life, it imitates life. A creative work can be inspired by true events which means for example for the film industry that a movie is based on a true story or on the other hand LIFE can be inspired by art, it‘s required to produce art. I like a quote by Oscar Wilde, he said: “The secret of life is in art.“

What's your favorite movie quote and why?

It‘s from Forrest Gump (1994) : My mama always said, “Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you‘re gonna get.“

I love this quote that much because MY mom told me almost the same when I was a teenager namely that life will always have surprises for us, like a box you open. And I think she was right!

What are some of your favorite German films? Foreign films? Television shows?

There are a few very fascinating & successful German films, here are some of my favorites:

- The Lives Of Others - ( Das Leben der Anderen)

- Downfall - (Der Untergang)

- Run Lola Run - ( Lola rennt )

- The Boat - (Das Boot)

- The Reader - (Der Vorleser )

And the foreign films ( only a small selection) I love are:

- The King‘s Speech -

- Babel -

- Fargo -

- Pulp Fiction -

- LA Crash -

- Sideways -

- Mulholland Drive -

- The Godfather -

TV shows I don‘t watch very often, but there‘re a few US ones I like:

- Grey‘s Anatomie -

- The Closer -

- The Mentalist -

- Shark -

- 24 - ( unfortunately it‘s finished now)

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for doing the interview Marcella. Thank you for all you do to support independent film. I hope you will come to Boston some time, so we can chat about film in person.