Rising Stars: Meet Jon Fitzgerald

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jon Fitzgerald.

Hi Jon, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Throughout my festival career, beginning as co-founder of Slamdance and then running AFI Fest in Los Angeles, I found it very fulfilling to support both festivals and filmmakers. And if we can help audiences discover a new talent, a new voice, it’s the perfect trifecta!

I found myself gravitating toward social-impact movies. I then had an opportunity to make a few socially relevant documentaries (The Back Nine, The Milky Way, The Highest Pass, Dance of Liberation). I was on a panel in support of one of them and met the leading film book publisher Michael Wiese. I suggested he consider publishing a book on social impact filmmaking. Within a few weeks, I had an agreement to write Filmmaking for Change: Make Films that Transform the World. I had taught a few film courses at UCSB over the years, but I saw this new path as an opportunity to help emerging filmmakers develop and produce movies for good. I now have several online courses, including Filmmaking for Change, and continue to support filmmakers and film festivals.

One of the silver linings of the pandemic was the growth of the webinars as an educational tool for filmmakers. I had an opportunity to partner with The Kickstarter Guy (also a filmmaker) to create a course called Film Festival Mastery. With thousands of Film Festivals and an average of 10,000 indie films competing for slots, it’s become a challenge to navigate the festival circuit. We created 6 different Modules, from how to create a custom strategy to budgeting, how to get on a festival’s radar to actual festival participation. We now have over 275 students and it’s a thrill to get on coaching calls with them in groups and see them flourish.

The most recent course is on independent film distribution, how to help filmmakers bring their movies out into the world to find their audiences. I partnered with film data analyst Stephen Follows for a course called Distribution Revolution. Again, it’s about providing an avenue of support to these emerging artists and helping them elevate their careers.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The pandemic cause some challenges for our industry, with theaters closing down and production halted. It was a huge struggle for many. Finding another silver lining though, I worked with Filmocracy to support their festival initiative. With festivals losing in-person theatrical opportunities, they had to go virtual; and Filmocracy began offering their streaming platform as a service to keep festivals alive. I work with them, assisting their festival outreach and leading their festival education program. We also created out own Festival – Filmocracy Fest – with their CEO Paul Jun and I working as co-founders. We did a hybrid, some in-person events and others online, and one of our films was acquired by HBOMax. What a thrill for that film!

Obviously, theaters are open again, though it’s a different era. Festivals and distribution continue to evolve and we’ve embraced the changes.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I enjoy running film festivals and participating in big events, the celebration of cinema, supporting filmmakers and the parties. I enjoy connecting filmmakers with industry, making sure filmmakers have a chance to keep working. It’s more fulfilling to know that I helped elevate their careers, moreso than my own.

When the festival market exploded in the early 2000’s I created a business that provided consulting services to indie filmmakers. It’s very gratifying to know that I’ve helped thousands of filmmakers over the last 25 years, creating festival strategies for them, securing distribution opportunities or providing avenues of exposure to the right people.

One example is my suggesting to Steven Soderbergh, who showed a film at Slamdance when I was the fest director in 1997, that he see a movie by a new filmmaking duo. He asked for 1 recommendation over dinner. If he only had time for 1 film at the fest and I suggested the Russo Brothers. He saw their talent, optioned their next project and look at them now. Avengers Endgame was theirs, the highest-grossing film in history.

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
We have a consulting division at iGEMS.tv that provides a number of services to help filmmakers navigate the industry.

The courses are available there through our iGEMSpro side, and we help filmmakers plan their festival journey, find distribution partners, or secure representation.

We also have affiliate programs with related business lines, again, to help filmmakers along the way.

If you join iGEMS+, you can earn rewards points for your liking, reviewing, sharing and watching. Cash in the points for cool prizes or trips to international film festivals

Pricing:

• 2.99 monthly
• 29.99 annually
• https://www.igems.tv/pro/benefits

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.igems.tv/
• Other: https://www.filmmakingforchange.com/

Image Credits
Sam Diephuis