Sleather – An Independent Film

Sleather seems to be one of those truly independent movies made by nobodies acted by nobodies that have gotten itself into a film festival or two. This is the story every filmmaker dreams of and Anthony Ambrosino and his friends from Rhode Island have accomplished this feat with little more than volunteers, free weekends and the serendipitous help of the 989 Project.

Sleather took almost three years to film, from 2005 to 2008, with local actors and a few loose sponsorships from local Rhode Island businessess such as Rhody Milk and Yacht Club Soda. It goes to show how powerful local friendships can be for filmmakers.

Kudos to the Rhode Island International Film Festival for picking this film in 2010 where it premiered. I wish I could say such nice things about the Toronto International Film Festival. TIFF seems more interested in publicising Brad Pitt’s appearance at their gala events and selling tickets than they seem to celebrate home grown Canadian and Toronto Films (At this moment on March 16, 2011, the TIFF website is featuring art from Tim Burton). I can’t remember the last Canadian film made by nobodies discovered at TIFF. As a result I can’t see what use it is to indie filmmakers here in Toronto.

Back to Sleather. Everyone should check out the 989 Project. They helped fund the post production for Sleather. They’re looking for films to distribute. If you have a film you think will measure up to their standards get in touch with them. Their website looks more promising to indie filmmakers than any film festival website I’ve seen.

Good Luck to Sleather. I don’t know what the film is really about. All I know is that everything about it sounds like it was made with no budget and had enough depth to prompt a company to fund its post production. Good enough for me. It is scheduled to play at the Boston International Film Festival on April 22. Catch it if you can.

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