Indieflix

INDIEFLIX

A few weeks ago I opened my mailbox to find an email from Colette Smith. Colette works at Indieflix, a subscription-based service that let's you watch thousands of independently made films. Indieflix was new to me, so I was drawn to read on.

Colette was fabulous. She gave me an in-depth introduction to Indieflix, offered me an exciting opportunity that will involve you all, and referred me to a fantastic new documentary that will be invaluable for you to use in the classroom (more of that later).

So what exactly is Indieflix? Well, founded by film makers, Indieflix was launched to help get independent filmmakers more attention and more money, with a unique revenue-sharing model that ensures that the filmmakers get the cut they deserve.

But it's still up to you to watch and poke around and discover and learn. They never force-feed you, and they never tell you what to think. Feed back to them what you love and be sure to share the good stuff - they value your opinions as much as a professional critic's.

I wanted to see for myself. Collette very kindly offered me a subscription to Indieflix, and I rushed off to poke around and find out for myself what it was all about. I was not disappointed.

I was met with an appealing home page with eye catching headlines, banners, trailers and articles. Click on the "browse films" tab for a full list of films. The site has powerful search facilities, and you can filter your results by country, genre, length of film and by age - great if you're looking for something suitable for your class. It really is a ver user-friendly site to navigate.

I was looking for a particular film recommended to me by Collette. The search facility came up trumps with...

FINDING KIND

It is the quintessential documentary surrounding the recent rise in cases of bullying among elementary to high school-aged females and is a film to be shared by mothers and daughter alike. But what began as an idea for a documentary, ultimately became Kind Campaign, an internationally recognized movement, documentary, and school assembly program based on the powerful belief in KINDness that brings awareness and healing to the negative and lasting effects of girl-against-girl "crime."

I was amazed by what I saw. Like so many others, I had no idea that the problem was so widespread, and it took my breath away to see girls reduced to tears by their plight - it was truly heartbreaking. Lauren and Molly deserve an Oscar for highlighting this issue.

And then I began to think about how I could use this in school. What a fantastic resource for Anti-Bullying Week! What a wonderful way to highlight the issue. There's nothing better than hearing it straight from the people it affected, and no better way to hammer home the message.

This film comes highly commended. Click here to view the trailer. You can view Finding Kind on Indieflix until May 31st.

PS watch this space for details of an exciting opportunity brought to you by Indieflix.