Indie Vitality...

"Innovation" goes with "independent" like "stodgy" goes with "studio." Lloyd Kaufman doesn't put it as bluntly as that, but the man behind Troma Girls and The Toxic Avenger is upfront with his view that "indies are the wellspring of creativity; they are the first to embrace new technology and are the training ground for the technicians of tomorrow."

Recently returned to the board as Chairman of the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA), the entity that runs this month's American Film Market (AFM), Kaufman states, "This is a crucial time for independent art and commerce." While indies are no stranger on the Oscar stage (Crash won Best Picture in 2005, Million Dollar Baby in 2004, and Lord of the Rings in 2003), he points out that independently financed fare on American television has plummeted from 50 percent to 4 percent since 1970's Financial Interest and Syndication Rule (fin-syn) was eliminated during the Clinton administration.

Fighting for an Even Playing Field

Fin-syn directly addressed the programming monopoly effectively held by ABC, NBC and CBS, the three major television networks, by prohibiting networks from acquiring financial interest in independently produced programs. Fighting the media consolidation that has taken place since fin-syn's demise is a key focus for Kaufman, who, along with IFTA president and CEO Jean Prewitt, has met with FCC chairman Kenneth Martin, lawmakers and other opinion makers in Washington, D.C. "The public is always better served when there is a variety to choose from," Kaufman says. Passionate on the subject, Kaufman's been in the thick of it since co-founding Troma Entertainment in 1974 and spawning a signature style dubbed "Tromatic" by Cinemateque Français: a blend of fantasy, heavy action, comedy and eroticism.

Plus, he notes, "Indies are a billion-dollar source [in the] balance of trade."

So Kaufman is on a crusade to educate the policy makers about the endangered independents in film, television and the myriad media possibilities of this new millennium. "Indies have an advantage over entertainment conglomerates in their ability to adapt faster and to embrace new technology faster," he says, pointing out that Troma had a website as early as 1993. And he emphasizes, "If the entertainment conglomerates want a guaranteed stream of entertainment art - content - they have to take some of the [financial] risk, as other distributors do."

Semantics may suggest that many entertainment conglomerates now include "independents" under their umbrella. But names like Warner Independent serve to corrupt the word, says Kaufman, explaining that "independent" means production and at least 51 percent of the financing of a project is from sources other than the major U.S. studios. Many of the conglomerates' "indie" divisions are represented in IFTA, and they, too, agree with IFTA's basic principles, according to Kaufman.

The "Wild West" of the Worldwide Web

In 2001, Kaufman founded IFTA's New Technology Opportunity Committee as a think tank to identify new sources of revenue from the Internet boom for IFTA members. Video On Demand seems to be the hottest; others include Pay Per View, Microsoft's X-Box and a new download system Hewlett Packard is working with Wal-Mart to implement.

Keeping Internet access free and open is key to Kaufman's platform, and it is intertwined with efforts against media consolidation in IFTA's fight for more market freedom. "Right now, everybody's equal," Kaufman says, comparing the Internet to the Wild West of American lore. "It's a huge advantage to a small company to make an entertaining website and have people go there." Should Internet access devolve into "Big I-net," Kaufman's concern is, "If an independent does build a better mouse trap, how can the public embrace it if it doesn't know about it?"

The Festival Platform

Festivals such as the upcoming 2007 incarnation of IFTA's American Film Market and AFI's Fest also play a vital role. "Indies can't spend $50 million to advertise, like Transformers, so they rely on film fests to get the attention [of the public and] of the movie theaters." (Troma's Tromeo and Juliet was a surprise theatrical and critical hit in 1997, after taking the grand prize at that year's Fantafestival in Rome, and Troma has put its own imprint on the festival world with Troma Fest.) "The fact there are so many film festivals shows that the public hungers for innovative art and movies - and that the marketplace doesn't permit enough access to the public by independent companies." So one of IFTA's biggest issues is to identify emerging economies around the globe and "to continue international outreach, and bring in buyers from new territories who have never been to markets."

For Kaufman, it all comes down to a primary goal: "My first priority is increasing revenue for the members."

AFM 2007 runs from October 31 through November 7 in Los Angeles, California.