FilmBuff

On Friday, an announcement was made about our new DVD deal with the wonderful folks at MPI Home Video. This deal begins with the DVD release of Chris Smith's documentary, Collapse, which hits shelves on June 15 (it's currently available for sale on iTunes). We'll offer a few of our titles on DVD through MPI, so stay tuned for more release news. From the Hollywood Reporter article on the deal ... [READ MORE]

Last week our own Steve Beckman gave a guest lecture at The New School on the business of documentary, to an audience of young, driven filmmakers.  He spoke about the state of independent film distribution, and students asked insightful questions about how to get their films seen by an audience, and how they themselves can drive that initiative. [READ MORE]

In honor of Tartan Week, this week's guest blogger is Justin Molotnikov, director of CRYING WITH LAUGHTER, which FilmBuff released at this year's SXSW Film Festival, day and date with its premiere on iTunes and Amazon VOD.  The film is also available starting today on major cable providers nationwide.  Click here for more information about the film and where you can watch it.

Scottish in America, Justin Molotnikov      

It is never a chore to sell Scotland to the Americans. We are, after all, closely related on many levels - you like to swagger, we like to stagger, we like our oats, whereas you revere them as a super-food and sell them in your top restaurants. [READ MORE]

Netflix is following its game-changing 2009 with an even bigger 2010, now that they've launched its service on the Nintendo Wii game console, as well as on the new iPad. This creates a score of new users that did not already have access to Netflix streaming: Nintendo Wii users and Apple early adopters (i.e. people who own an Apple TV). What does this all mean for those of us without a Wii? CNET is here to walk you through what the Netflix experience looks like. Click here for the CNET review and photos for the Netflix on Wii.

Google Buzz continues to gain popularity.  When we last wrote about Buzz, it was a new tool and not everyone knew how to use it effectively.  But in only a few short weeks, Buzz has proven it's as viable and valuable as Twitter and other real-time social networking tools.  [READ MORE]

Yesterday's Huffington Post included a guest column that gets to the heart of Eric Proulx's wonderful film "Lemonade", available for free on Hulu. [READ MORE]

For the online editon of the Wall Street Journal, Michelle Kung chats with the director and subject of the documentary Erasing David, David Bond. With location-based "check in" applications (e.g. Foursquare, Gowalla) all the rage this past month, David's unique mission to disappear feels even more relevant. [READ MORE]

FilmBuff has launched a couple dozen feature films on the newly-launched YouTube Rentals program. Using your Google account, you can rent films such as the classic 1980s New York story, Smithereens, or Kirby Dick's early documentary, Chain Camera. Maybe you wanna watch Bob Odenkirk's underrated adult comedy, Melvin Goes To Dinner, or the art documentary, Naked States. You can see them all now, by clicking the titles.

This year's SXSW was all about...location.  Monday's NY Times article "Digitally, Location Is Where It's At," by David Carr describes just how hot this topic is right now.  Using applications like Foursquare, Gowalla and others, we're better connected to our friends, and generally more aware of who and what is around us. [READ MORE]