Jaap Mees continues his look at independent filmmakers. In this article we concentrate on Raindance Film Works, formerly known as the Independent Film Workshop. In an often-lethargic film establishment, which prefers not to take too many risks, cinema needs dynamic, passionate and grass-rooted people like Raindance dynamo Elliot Grove from Canada, who founded the WW, to give the film industry much needed new energy.

Raindance Film Works has their office in a basement in Soho. It resembles a crisis centre with people running around between piles of cuttings, rattling computers and the phones ringing non-stop.

The Independent Film Workshop started in 1991 to promote Independent Filmmaking in Britain. Now Raindance Film Works has 2500 members including writers, directors, actors and producers, from 7 different countries. Raindance runs workshops and seminars and brings out a monthly newsletter, Reelscene, with free advertising possibilities for members. The workshops deal with pitching, casting, screenwriting and other aspects of no- to- low budget filmmaking.

Very popular is the two-day D.OV. Simens Film School. Simens is the hyperenergetic guru of the Indie's in America. Re talks like a machine gun and has inspired people like Rodriquez and Edward Burns to make respectively El Mariachi and The Brothers McMullen.

The highlight of the year is the Raindance festival, the UK's only festival for Independent features, documentaries and shorts. There is also a film market. Raindance Film Works doesn't receive government support and is run by volunteers. Before Elliot started Raindance he worked as a scenic artist in many commercials and features in Toronto. He grew up in an Amish community, a strict Protestant religious group, and didn't see films until he was sixteen. One day he wanted to see what the "Devil" looked like, Elliot saw Lassie, Come Home and was completely hooked. Grove likes film noir, Fargo by the Coen Brothers (featured in this issue) and The Underneath by Steven Soderbergh.

Picking up people like D.O.V. Simens' producer Roger Corman and writer Syd Field at the airport to bring them to hit workshops, gave Elliot the opportunity to meet them and extend his knowledge about film making.

"I believe film making is more and more a marketing business, I love the story of Roger Corman, main guest at Raindance 96, who used to come up with the film's title, then make the poster and when he had attracted investors this way he hired a screenwriter in." In his own workshop low-to no Budget Filmmaking, Elliot allows members "to discover the insider tricks of the trade that are designed to keep outsiders from breaking in to the industry, and keep talent out". Elliot explains: "about 20 years ago England made 150 to 200 films a year, the Ealing period, Hammer etc. Then filmmakers moved to making films for television, because that's where the money was. The whole feature film industry became a mystery. The industry insiders were happy with that, because they had the marketing knowledge. And knowledge is power. One of the main reasons I run Raindance Film Works is to give new filmmakers the information they need to succeed. I tracked down the development of about hundred feature films from Pulp Fiction to The Pope of Utah. And what I learnt is that nobody knows anything. Each time when you make a film you create a prototype. A moderate film, in my eyes, such as Clerks, did so well because of very skillful marketing.

Elliot likes to be the centre of the filmmaking process, he sees himself as a communicator, as he proved at the last Raindance Festival breaking the Guinness Book of Records introducing film people to each other. He says, "film schools teach you how to move the camera we teach you how to move your career. The best way is just to make a film. Filmmaking is mainly an organisational skill. What you need to make a film is, first of all a good script, a little money, not as much as you think you need, good personal communication skills, knowledge that is commercially viable, good organisation skills, a lot of energy and talent. But the last is optional, I know many film makers who don't have talent, but have the other qualities in abundance."

Elliot, who is now working on his first feature called Table Five, tells an anecdote about his grandfather who was a farmer. He learnt from him to always have at least three seeds: One in the ground, one in the hand and one in the head. An appropriate metaphor for filmmaking. For information on Raindance Film Works, tel: 0171 287 3833.

© Jaap Mees Talking Pictures. issue 18. ISSN 0964-8364