Media Center brings together traditional media and emerging technologies in Brooklyn

http://mediacenter.ifp.org/

NEW YORK — Oct. 11, 2012 — Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Media & Entertainment Commissioner Katherine Oliver and New York City Economic Development Corporation President Seth Pinsky today announced that IFP (Independent Filmmaker Project) will develop and operate a new Media Center in New York City. To be named the ‘Made in New York’ Media Center, it will be the first of its kind in the world. The Media Center is expected to open in spring 2013.

“New York City stands at the forefront of the media and entertainment industries,” said Mayor Bloomberg at a press conference in Brooklyn. “The ‘Made in NY’ Media Center will allow us to continue to evolve and meet new challenges in the changing media landscape. By providing affordable workspace, networking events and educational seminars, New Yorkers will be primed to compete for new jobs emerging from this field.”

Bringing together traditional media and emerging technologies, the Media Center will be a hub for filmmakers, content creators, and entrepreneurs to work together under one roof.

“The goal of the ‘Made in NY’ Media Center is to connect filmmakers, producers and storytellers to a rapidly changing world that is full of mobile apps, cross-platform distribution and social media,” said Media & Entertainment Commissioner Oliver. “IFP’s decades-long work in promoting and supporting independent filmmakers makes it the ideal choice to develop the ‘Made in NY’ Media Center into a thriving source of new content and collaboration in the City.”

The Media Center will be located in an 18,000 square foot facility at 20 Jay Street in DUMBO, Brooklyn, recently dubbed “Silicon Alley” for the steadily increasing number of tech companies and start-ups that call the neighborhood home.

“The Media Center will be an incubator for great stories and a showcase for new works whether they’re told through film, digital, games or apps,” says Joana Vicente, executive director of IFP.  “Regardless of what tools are used, we’ll be doing what we’ve done for 30 years: curating stories, supporting artists and connecting storytellers to investors, audiences and other artists.  At IFP, we are thrilled.”

IFP will be responsible for implementing, marketing, and managing the new Media Center. Combining shared workspaces with educational programs and networking events, the Center will host a number of small companies and start-ups, in addition to an on-site café and screening room.

IFP has partnered with General Assembly, New York’s leading global education company, to provide a variety of classes, workshops, and long-form educational programming. General Assembly will manage courses covering technology, entrepreneurship, and design, while IFP will lead courses on creativity and craft, cross-media strategy, and career sustainability. These courses will be open to the public, and are designed to address the needs of creative and tech professionals in various stages of their careers.

“Since opening our original New York City campus in January 2011, General Assembly has helped more than 21,000 students globally create opportunities through educational programming in the areas of technology, entrepreneurship, and design,” said Adam Pritzker, Co-founder and Chairman, General Assembly. “We believe that New York is one of the most important centers for technology and media in the world and we are excited to continue our support of this community through our collaboration with the IFP and the creation of the ‘Made in New York’ Media Center.”

Jon Miller, former Chief Digital Officer, Chairman and CEO, Digital Media Group for News Corporation and former Chairman and CEO of AOL, will head a newly-formed Advisory Board for the Media Center. In addition, IFP will partner with other leading educational institutions and technology companies, including MIT, CUNY, Parsons New School for Design, Playmatics and Starlight Runner.

With a 33-year legacy of supporting and advocating for independent voices, IFP has developed a highly intensive depth of support for filmmakers and storytellers through a dynamic range of programs and resources. At this crucial juncture where filmmaking is vastly expanding beyond traditional media and platforms, today’s storytellers face increasingly complex obstacles to navigate this ever-shifting media space, and with the Media Center IFP aims to guide them through this new media environment. The Media Center will offer memberships to multimedia professionals at various levels, and also house a Transmedia Incubator, the nation’s first dedicated transmedia incubator to jump-start and support innovative projects from idea to conception and beyond. A Cross-Media Lab will assist aspiring digital marketing producers, who will be trained and paired with Incubator projects to devise the financial, creative, technical and strategic visions necessary for audience engagement across multiple platforms. A Digital Agency Academy will convene as a think tank within the Media Center to help solve real-world brand marketing challenges each year.

Press Contacts

Freida Orange – 917.705.1504

Lindsay Firestone – 212.373.6131

Marian Koltai-Levine – 212.373.6130

Matthew Hirsch – 212.354.2118

About IFP

The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) is the nation’s oldest and largest not-for-profit advocacy organization for independent filmmakers.  Since its debut at the 1979 New York Film Festival, IFP has supported the production of over 7,000 films and offered resources to more than 20,000 filmmakers, providing an opportunity for many diverse voices to be heard. IFP believes that independent films enrich the universal language of cinema, seeding the global culture with new ideas, kindling awareness, and fostering activism. The organization championed the early work of pioneering independent filmmakers Charles Burnett, Todd Haynes, Mira Nair, Michael Moore, Joel and Ethan Coen, Kevin Smith, and Todd Solondz. IFP continues to play a vital role in launching first films of many of today’s rising stars on the independent scene including Debra Granik (“Down to the Bone”), Miranda July (“Me, You and Everyone We Know”), and Ryan Fleck & Anna Boden (“Half Nelson”).

IFP represents a network of 10,000 filmmakers in New York City and around the world and fosters the development of 350 feature and documentary films each year. Through its workshops, seminars, conferences, mentorships, and Filmmaker Magazine, IFP schools its members in the art, technology, and business of independent filmmaking.  The year-round program includes Independent Film Week, Envision, The Cross-Media Forum, The Gotham Awards, and the Independent Filmmaker Labs. IFP’s programs promote diverse voices in independent film by working to include racial, ethnic, religious, ideological, gender and sexual diversity. IFP, often in collaboration with other cultural institutions, builds audiences by hosting premieres and special screenings.