In the month of January, Independent Filmmaker Day (IFD) crossed the one million follower mark on Facebook and has thus become the largest independent film community in the world.
In doing so, IFD has surpassed the social media followings of industry stalwarts such as Sundance Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), and Cannes, it claims.
Independent Filmmaker Day is a day-long event that fosters the development, production, and promotion of projects in film, media, and beyond.
Founded only two years ago by Chicago-based Entertainment and Business Attorney David Rubenstein, IFD has attracted the participation of Hollywood celebrities such as Ice-T, Richard Dreyfuss, Jason Alexander, and Tony Shalhoub.
Rubenstein explains his nascent film community's meteoric growth as follows:
"IFD helps independent creators from around the world develop new projects, connect within the industry, and champion collaborative and impactful storytelling at all stages.
Too often, filmmakers learn about the technical aspects of how to film their project but lack the education on how to actually turn their project from a dream into reality.
IFD is providing insightful programming and opportunities for filmmakers to learn from the best."
Shlomo Zalman Bregman, a recent attendee at an Independent Filmmaker Day event, echoes these sentiments.
Says Bregman, "I believe that the goal of IFD is to provide a safe space for filmmakers to learn the skills necessary in the real world to bring their projects to life. To that end, IFD has been a blessing to the entire independent film community."
The growth of Independent Filmmaker Day strikes us as impressive, especially in view of having been accomplished primarily during the midst of a severe global recession and the COVID-19 pandemic.
