About the Book:

Anyone can make a short film, right? Just grab some friends and your handheld and you can do it in a weekend or two before being accepted to a slew of film festivals, right? Wrong!

Roberta Munroe screened short film submissions at Sundance for five years, and is an award-winning short filmmaker in her own right. So she it has been said on many an occasion that she knows more about short film than anyone else in the world.

From the first draft of your script to casting, production, editing, and distribution, How Not to Make a Short Film is your one-stop primer for breaking into the business. You will learn:

• how to make your script work
• how to finance your film
• how to deal with your producer
• how to deal with your crew
• how to cast for your film
• how to handle post production
• how to thrive on the festival circuit

How Not to Make a Short Film is energetically written, and peppered with great anecdotes from other filmmakers who have struggled with their art. Featuring interviews with many of today's most talented writers, producers, and directors, as well as revealing stories (e.g., what to do when the skinhead crack addict next door begins screaming obscenities as soon as you call "action") from the sets of her own short films, Roberta Munroe walks you through the minefield of mistakes that an aspiring filmmaker can make — so that you don't have to make them yourself.

This is a must read for aspiring movie-makers and a thrilling look behind the scenes for enthusiastic movie goers. The book will also include pitfalls and cliches for filmmakers to avoid. Not just for film students, this book will appeal to the thousands of people that post their creative endeavours on YouTube and similar sites.

What people say:

"Roberta Munroe is that rare person in the film world who can not only recognize an inspired, great film, but she can actually help you make one." — Mark Duplass, Sundance and SXSW award-winning filmmaker

"Roberta Munroe is brilliant. Her advice and insights on our project, 'The Tribe,' from rough cut to completed film were instrumental and invaluable to its success. It is exciting to think that all filmmakers will have access to her incredible mind and experience through this book." — Tiffany Shlain, award-winning filmmaker

About the Author:

Roberta Marie Munroe was born and raised in Toronto. She was the Short Film Programmer at the Sundance Film Festival for 5 years. A filmmaker herself, Roberta's directorial debut, Dani and Alice, has played at over 120 festivals globally and received the PlanetOut Best Drama Award.