About

Hi there…. I’m Stacey Parks and I’m the founder of IndependentFilmBlog.com.

I grew up in Miami and moved to Los Angeles to go to Business school. Actually I got an international MBA and spent the second year of my degree in Paris at the Sorbonne. After Business School, I got my first job working as an assistant at the William Morris agency. That was my PhD in the Film industry! After a few years there learning packaging and financing from the pro’s I became an foreign sales agent for several years. Eventually I wrote a book Insiders Guide To Independent Film Distribution because i was so darn frurstrated by the gap in knowledge between filmmakers and the business side of making films. The book sold like hot cakes and I was urged by my growing community of readers to put it all up online…so I did, and I started the website FilmSpecific.com in 2007. My goal? To offer training, guidance, and support to filmmakers looking to navigate distribution and make movies that sell.

Then, a few years ago, I started this blog as another platform for my writing and training. It also documents my own journey as a Sales Agent – turned – Producer. Yes, I’ve come back full circle and now have a full slate of my own projects that I’m producing and I’m loving every minute of it

WHAT’S INDEPENDENT FILM BLOG ALL ABOUT?

Independent Film Blog aims to be a true resource for filmmakers at any stage of the game: for experienced filmmakers looking to find out more about what the buyers themselves are looking for, and to learn the latest trends in distribution, to filmmakers who are seeking distribution for the first time, to student filmmakers hungry to learn about the most important element of filmmaking they don’t teach you in film school. I specialize in teaching savvy filmmakers how to navigate the business side of filmmaking.

MY PHILOSOPHY

As savvy filmmakers, I think we should focus on Intelligence, Action and Persistence.

• Intelligence is making smart decisions about which projects to pursue, in which manner, with which partners, and having a distribution strategy in place from the get-go. You’ll often hear me refer to this as Distribution In Reverse.

• Action is what separates you from 99% of all the other filmmakers out there. It’s one thing to make a plan to get your film off the ground, but are you going to act on it? Talk is cheap… and action is the only thing that will propel your project forward. I’ve seen so many good projects fail to get off the ground because the filmmakers are afraid to take action. Don’t let that happen to you!

• Persistence means never giving up. In my experience, when you set your mind to something and say ‘no matter what’, and you’re consistently persistent with your actions, you will see resultes. Sometimes it takes more time than you’d like or comes in a different form than what you had originally envisioned, but as the old saying goes – persistence really does pay off.

if you’re on the same page with me about Intelligence, Action, and Persistence, then I think you’ll find what you’re looking for here on IFB.com. I look forward to connecting with you!

When you get a chance, come say hi to me on Facebook or Twitter….