Amidst a revolution to overthow invading oppressors, a beautiful young woman becomes a spy for the resistance under the moniker ‘Ruby Blade.’ While she sneaks in messages to the imprisoned, non-violent leader of said resistance, they begin a glorious love affair. And get this, it’s not starring Leo DiCaprio, it’s a true story! From chasing sharks to helicoptering heads-of-state, filmmakers Alexander Meillier and Tanya Ager Meillier are taking their very first feature documentary Alias Ruby Blade to Tribeca. Director Alex Meillier was kind enough to sit down with NFS to explain just how you go about telling an action-adventure love story…that really happened. Read on for the interview, plus a way you can watch it online through Tribeca tonight. (more…)

This is a guest post by Alyssa Bolsey.

First things first, you want to make a movie and you need a camera, right? The options are endless and it feels like there is a new camera coming out every couple of months! What to do? After you’ve done all your research, you either buy one, rent one, or most likely (as in my case) you beg until someone will let you borrow theirs for a few days. Ahhh… Such is the life of an indie filmmaker. Now, imagine a time when there wasn’t an affordable camera to buy, borrow or rent because independent filmmaking didn’t exist and therefore, a camera for the independent filmmaker didn’t exist. This is Beyond the Bolex, the story of the man responsible for the beginning of independent filmmaking and the inventor of the Bolex motion picture film camera, Jacques Bolsey. (more…)

The filmmakers behind the new, entirely found-footage documentary Our Nixon weave an eclectic portrait of one of the most peculiar American Presidents and best Futurama talking heads ever: Richard Nixon. This doc is no historical snooze-fest, but an “Anti-Nixon-Film Film” revealing never-before-seen private Super 8 movies filmed by Nixon’s youthful White House Aides. (The contemporary version might be like stumbling onto Malia Obama’s iPhone with two years of Vine videos that had never been uploaded.) While waiting for a delayed flight to the SXSW film festival, Producer Brian L. Frye sat down with NFS to give us insight about how they pulled off the film, from before-and-after 4k scans, to standing up for your fair use rights as a filmmaker. (more…)

It’s the stuff of dreams. Omar Mullick and Bassam Tariq started out on a no-budget journey to make their first film about one man, a non-proselytizing humanitarian in Pakistan named Edhi. The film, These Birds Walk, just premiered at SXSW to sold out crowds, with Oscilloscope Laboratories coming on board in their first-ever producing role; the film will probably play in theaters later this year. Our Q&A follows. (more…)

I’m married to an Iranian woman. She’s smart, beautiful, and tough as nails. (I may be a little biased, though not much…)

In 2007 a friend of ours – actually the fellow who married us – sent me an article about a handful of Americans who play professional basketball in Iran. At that time we were high at war with Iraq and Afghanistan and it looked like Iran – or “I-ran” – would be next on the list, just as it does again now. In the absence of diplomatic relations (we haven’t had an embassy in Tehran since 1979), I was inspired by these athletes, who arguably do more for dialogue between Iranians and Americans than any politician on either side. (more…)

Being exposed to first hand knowledge and advice from those also on the filmmaking journey is vitally important when it comes to developing your craft, regardless of how far along in your career you are — it’s pretty much this ethos which saw our very own Koo put out the DSLR Cinematography Guide. As last month’s Fidgit Box interview with William McGregor demonstrated, advice from a peer can be of more practical use than the wisdom gleaned from cinema’s master practitioners as it often contains insights you can put into practice here and now, as opposed to filing it away for that elusive day when you direct your first multi-million dollar feature. Episode 1 of the new documentary web series The Videographers Guide aims to share this type of knowledge through its interviews with working music video directors: (more…)