IFFM I feel naked without a business card at the 17th annual Independent Feature Film Market. But let the buyers beware - there is no slinking around incognito. Distributors are branded with a blue-coded name tag that attracts filmmakers like flypaper. Buyers tell me they've ducked into the bathroom to hide, only to have filmmakers schmooze them as they zip up.
Every filmmaker has a gimmick.
Most try to seduce you with a forest of flyers, while the creators of one short hand out T-shirts. I think they should have invested their money in a better camera instead - it looks like they filmed underwater. The menu of films is so extensive I decide which ones to watch based on the title and how many times the filmmaker assaults me with propaganda. Titles like Raw as you Wanna Be , Mary Jane's not a Virgin Anymore , Velvet Elvis and Headless Body in a Topless Bar catch my eye. Raising Heroes , a film about the first gay action hero, is equally intriguing.