Aside from his duties writing about the festival for indieWIRE, among others, journalist Eric Kohn also covered SXSW for the new online mag, Stream. I recommend checking it out, as the site seems prepped for more great coverage to come. In this installment, he covers the conversations that took place during SXSW panels with both musician Moby and filmmaker M dot Strange:
Moby is a free-spirited guy. With both his music and his activism, he takes a relaxed, affable approach to the perceivably sincere goal of making the world a better place. Now there’s another reason to consider his free spirit: A new program called Moby Gratis that helps, as Moby explains at the site, “independent and non-profit filmmakers, film students, and anyone in need of free music for their independent, non-profit film, video, or short.” In other words, you can use his music for free…
It wasn’t the only conversation taking place in Austin’s Convention Center about the benefits of keeping things free. Earlier in the day, We Are the Strange director M dot Strange (an elite member of the Stream 17) sat on a panel about stolen work (“Thick as Thieves”) and thoroughly endorsed the act. “I’m pro-piracy,” he said, referencing the way he rejected paltry studio offers for his wacky animated film and built a cult following by giving it away on the web. His sentiments didn’t offend the legal rep from Warner Bros. sitting by his side, as both men admitted that piracy for the independent filmmaker helps him get his work seen, while studios have to be more possessive about things like fan films.
Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
