The Indie Filmwriter

Interview Featured

Interview: Director Olaf de Fleur on his Icelandic roots, mixing genres, and his emotional new doc ‘King of the Butterflies’

Interview by Meghan Cook (The Insider): "I had the opportunity to sit down with filmmaker Olaf de Fleur and Guardian journalist Claire Armistead to discuss the director's early production days, his documentary King of the Butterflies"

Members only

Film Seminar Featured

Free Film Seminar on Zoom - Saturday 4th Feb 2023

The next Free Film Seminar will take place on Saturday the 4th Feb 2023. The Seminar is free and open for all subscribers (free and paid) of this website.

Writing Blog

The Ideal Of A Creative Work Session: The Dopamine Of 1,000 Pull Ups

The Ideal Work Session: First I attend to my physical position, define the project and mark the time frame with an outcome.

Financing

Twenty Development Grants Of $25,000 USD To Documentary Filmmakers

The deadline for documentary development grants is on the 13th of February 2023

Film Class Featured

New Film Class: Making A Film Proposal For Investors

In this class, you'll learn how to craft a compelling and professional document to present your film project to investors. I share the tools for making a Film Proposal that has helped me finance twelve feature films.

Industry Tips Featured

"How Do I Get A Manager/Agent?"

My tips and thoughts on how to get a manager are as follows. Put your electric pickup truck in rear gear and stack it with a grain of salt.

Members only

Free Film Seminar on Zoom - Saturday 10th December 2022

Dear Film Students, the next Free Film Seminar will take place on the 10th of December 2022. The Seminar is free and open for all subscribers (free and paid) of this website. To register, please find the Zoom link at the bottom of this page. In this seminar, I will

Writing Tools Featured

How To Write A Book

I've often wondered how best to explain to myself how to write a book in a visual simplicity. And then I can across this nifty little drawing from the book: "Show Your Work," by Austin Kleon. Over the last few years, I've been focusing on metaphors and symbolism to understand

Writing Tools

Are You Stuck Creatively? Try This Simple Method

The technique that is used here is a form of clean language, that is, you use a form of neutral questions with yourself to dissolve creative obstacles. The most important thing here is to avoid judgment or shaming and have a calm conversation with yourself.

Writing Blog

THE SUPERMARKET: The Moment That Changed My Life

I'm stuck in my car and I've managed to remove the seatbelt. My mind attempts to invite my body to get out of the vehicle. I've not been in an accident and my car isn't upside down. I'm parked outside a supermarket in my home city of Reykjavik, Iceland.

Documentary

KING OF THE BUTTERFLIES: Review

Olaf de Fleur’s new documentary is an intimate, endearing portrait of a man who tries to reclaim his life after 20 years of incarceration

Writing

My Chitchat Before A Writing Session

I was about to go into a writing session just now and I thought it would be an excellent idea write a bit about it before I start. The shadow side of me suspects that this is a camouflaged procrastination, but in all honesty, most things can be defined as

Creative Gadgets

Knit, Count, Breathe - Protecting Your Creative Mood

My mother used to knit like there was no tomorrow. There was always something peaceful and harmonious about watching her click the pins through the wool.

Documentary

"King of The Butterflies" Nominated For Best Nordic Documentary

Our documentary King of the Butterflies has been nominated for best documentary competition at the Nordisk Panorama Film Festival.

Writing Blog

Novel Work This Summer; A Brief Check-in

Dear students, I hope you're having a good summer. This summer, I decided to take a little break from teaching and have been working on a novel that I've been breadcrumbing, inch by inch, over the last few years. I'd been writing a chapter here, a chapter there, until finally,

Writing

On Writing And Being A Bee

If you sting, you die. If you make honey, you nurture. That is if you're a bee. I sometimes think about being a beekeeper and find it a helpful metaphor for writing. I have to go slow not to get stung by the inner critic.

Interview

Beverly Tanedo: Slow living with art and dogs in Cebu, Philippines

Beverly Tañedo is not one of many things if one at all. She writes, takes photos, and makes films while focusing on slow living in sunny Cebu, Philippines. I got to know Beverly when I was working on my film Queen Raquela back in 2006 in the Philippines. She recently

Film Class

New Film Class: From Idea to Video

In "Indie Filmmaking: Transform Your Idea Into Video" - You will learn how to develop, write, produce, film and edit a short video out of your original idea.

Film Seminar

The Conqueror of Chaos

Sometimes, we end up somewhere we didn’t plan on being. But, once we arrive, we realize it's what we were looking for. I was only a few days into a trial month of Skillshare, browsing and searching through the myriad of classes, when I came across Olaf's teachings. I

Olaf's Blog

A Day of Ghosts

I'm not sure why I'm writing this. I don't need to know actually. But my hands are writing. They're not alone. With them are my past, present and forecasted future. Past rides up front, to 18th September 1999. I wasn't connected to anything when the phone rang. My mother's voice

Film Seminar

THE PASSENGERS: My experience with Olaf de Fleur's Skillshare classes and Film Webinars

You appeared on my screen as the teacher of Skillshare’s class Learn Indie Filmmaking by Making a Short Documentary Film. While you were driving a car through Reykjavik, Iceland, you shared your passion and your tools skillfully...

Film Seminar

My First Film Seminar with Olaf de Fleur on Zoom

"I found myself happy, exhausted, and excited. Excited about finding other people who are willing to share and learn while in practice of moving their writing projects forward."

Writing Fear

The Fear of the Novel

I have decided to write a novel. And I am absolutely terrified. Now it's not like this is my first time writing. For the last 12-13 years, I have been making a living from writing one way or another. I've written feature films, some produced, most not produced, treatments, outlines,

Paid-members only

Film Edit

Edit Sprint | Final Cut Pro X

This is a real-time edit training lesson in Final Cut Pro X. The method that I use is what I call Edit Sprint.

Writing Blog

Not Being Able To Write a Book

I have been working on 'this book' for over five years, and I have found myself stuck in a detrimental loop.