Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/904648
66 SAG-AFTRA | Fall/Winter 2017 | SAGAFTRA.org SAGindie Facts Since 1997, nearly 41,000 low- budget shorts and features have signed as signatory productions. SAGindie has traveled to over 80 different film festivals in six countries. More than 10,000 producers and actors have attended SAGindie's monthly low-budget contract workshops. According to the Independent Film & Television Alliance, 70 percent of film productions in the United States are independent productions Actors and filmmakers who have hosted SAGindie events include Jennifer Lawrence, Mark Ruffalo, Ava DuVernay, and the Duplass Brothers. Up-and-coming actor Angelina Jolie, right, speaks on a panel at the first Screen Actors Guild Indie Contract Workshop in September 1997. SAGindie Committee chair Abby Dylan and Darrien Gipson, SAGindie national director, at a SAGindie AFI Fest party in 2015. Above, the first Screen Actors Guild indie contract workshop is held in September at the Independent Feature Film Market (now IFP Film Week) in New York. The program is soon rebranded as the SAG Indie Outreach Campaign, and then just SAGindie. Right, then-Screen Actors Guild President Ken Howard addresses attendees at Big Names, Small Budgets: The Influence of Professional Talent on Indie Projects, a panel hosted by SAGindie during the Produced By conference in 2011. intimate stories with rich, complex characters still have the power to resonate widely, regardless of budget. Through it all, SAGindie has stayed focused on its mission to act as a helping hand for filmmakers. As the SAG-AFTRA contracts have evolved and union membership has grown to over 160,000 members, SAGindie provides clarity about what it means to make a film with the pros. Each year, nearly 4,000 low-budget shorts and features sign as signatory productions, bringing thousands of jobs to hardworking actors and their passionate filmmaking collaborators. And whether you're a film student breaking into the business or a union actor producing a film for yourself, SAGindie is available to help — with a call or an email, a SAGindie staffer is ready to walk new producers through the signatory process, helping them take those first steps to make their independent film a reality. To see how SAGindie can assist you on your next project or to find information on SAGindie workshops, resources, filmmaker interviews and a calendar of future events, visit sagindie.org. ANGELA WEISS/SAG-AFTRA