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Charles Burnett has been on the Guild's Independent Directors Committee West since its inception. "The Committee is a great thing for me," Burnett states, "because I've been a very solitary person and, as a group, we can act as the eyes and ears for independents. The Committee seems to be in the vanguard of all the new technologies. Helping to structure contracts and agreements in areas like webcasting and digital video, that will affect how directors relate to these new media and profit by them is an area where the DGA can be very helpful."
Solidarity is one reason Burnett joined a number of other prominent independent DGA film directors to form the Independent Directors Committee: "Before I joined the Guild, I felt like I was floating on a raft all by myself, surrounded by sharks... the Guild has been dealing with directors' concerns for many years and can help pull you off that raft and onto a boat."
"What is interesting to me as a Guild member is to help find ways to support independent film, and still have the rights that we all need as artists," Allison Anders explains. One of the key objectives of the Committees is to spread the word about how non-members can join under the Low Budget Agreement.
"There have been many producers who have suggested that being a DGA member and making a low-budget picture are mutually exclusive," says director and DGA National Board member Jeremy Kagan. "Our Low Budget Agreements prove this to be untrue. In fact, it is to the advantage of the newer filmmakers to join and have experienced production managers and assistant directors who are willing to work under these agreements. They assist the director in making a good piece of work based on the experiences our members have had."
Committee members agree there are widespread misconceptions that the DGA is not for independent low-budget filmmakers. "I made Notes From Underground under a DGA Low Budget Agreement for under $250,000," Gary Walkow remarks. "Friends of mine who are filmmakers at the same level are constantly shocked to hear that. They just don't know the Guild is set up to be a home for independent filmmakers. Virtually any movie can fall within the Directors Guild and it's not a costly proposition." Given the low cost of shooting on digital video, Penelope Spheeris couldn't agree more. Thanks to digital she says, "if you're really a good filmmaker, now you have a chance to show it. It's a whole new world and anyone who ever wanted to be a filmmaker can be one. And I'm really happy about that."
Academy Award-winning director Steven Soderbergh, who serves as the DGA's First Vice President and is a member of the Guild's Western Directors Council, underscores that the Guild can be a haven for independent filmmakers. One of the ways he and the Committee are working to make the Guild even more indie-friendly is via the "Director's Finder Screening Series" that showcases unreleased independent films directed by DGA members. Another is the "Under the Influence" series which pairs landmark films and filmmakers with the new wave of indie filmmakers influenced by their work. "We're working to cover all bases by both paying homage to our past and taking stock of the cutting-edge present that will lead our way into the future," says Soderbergh.
At the Committee's recommendation, the DGA's extensive Robert Wise Library is being broadened to include an independent filmmakers resource section. According to DGA President Michael Apted, "Other issues the Independent Directors Committees address are film ratings, the threat of censorship and dealing with the incredible distribution challenges facing independent filmmakers in today's market."
Walkow feels that there is strength in numbers. "If you think about the underlying purpose of why the DGA was originally formed — it was a group of directors getting together to protect its rights — there's something very noble and pragmatic about that. That applies directly to independent filmmakers because it's a big, cold world out there. Just by bonding and having a fellowship with other directors, you're not undermining your position as an independent, you're strengthening it."
"I definitely feel more protected since I became a member," observes Allison Anders. "Now, when there's a problem, the first thing I do is say, 'Wait a minute! I'm a Guild member. What does it say about this [in the Agreements]?"
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