The Current: New Ground
How filmmakers are testing ideas, sharing lessons, and creating alternatives
As independent filmmakers navigate a rapidly changing landscape, many of the industry’s long-standing assumptions are being tested. These three pieces explore what happens when creators rethink traditional pathways and take greater ownership of how their films are financed, released, and sustained.
Taken together, they point toward a growing movement within independent film: less focus on waiting for solutions from existing systems and more focus on building new ones. Whether through experimental distribution models, alternative economic structures, or filmmaker-led ecosystems, each piece explores how creators are finding ways to move forward by designing their own frameworks rather than relying on inherited ones.
Pete Ohs’ Distribution Experiment Continues
Pete Ohs returns to the No Film School Podcast to discuss the latest chapter in his ongoing 2026 distribution experiment, this time centered on Erupcja.
What makes the series so compelling is its transparency. Rather than presenting distribution as a mystery or a one-time event, Ohs treats each release as an opportunity to test assumptions, gather information, and learn in public. Through multiple films and release strategies, he’s documenting what happens when a filmmaker approaches distribution as an evolving creative practice rather than a final step in the process.
The experiment serves as a reminder that there may not be a single path forward for independent films, but there is value in continuously testing new ones.
FROM THE WORLD OF ALCHEMY IN VENICE
SuArt Studios is unveiling Reclaimed Frames—88 one-of-a-kind miniature artworks created from recycled VHS boxes and inspired by the themes of the film.
A select group of works is available now, with additional releases planned throughout the Alchemy in Venice Roadshow.
Current subscribers receive 20% off available artworks through June 30, 2026 using code CURRENT20.
We Need More Solutions: Experimental Approaches to Distribution
This latest piece from Distribution Advocates argues that the independent film sector needs to spend less time diagnosing problems and more time supporting experiments.
Rather than searching for one universal solution, the article highlights the importance of trying multiple approaches to audience-building, exhibition, distribution, and revenue generation. The authors suggest that innovation often emerges from many small experiments rather than grand industry reforms.
What stands out is the emphasis on learning from failure as well as success. In an environment where traditional pathways continue to contract, experimentation itself becomes a valuable resource for the broader filmmaking community.
Indie Film Economics 101
In this Film Threat interview, Daril Fannin explains the thinking behind Kino Studios and a production model designed to help filmmakers rethink the economics of independent film.
Rather than chasing larger budgets and increasingly difficult financing structures, the conversation explores ways to align budgets, production methods, and audience expectations more realistically. The goal isn’t simply to make films cheaper; it’s to create a framework where independent filmmaking can become more sustainable over the long term.
It’s a practical discussion about ownership, resourcefulness, and designing projects around achievable economics rather than aspirational assumptions.