Article by Marcus Siu

Before home video became a new source of income for movie studios, very few filmmakers had the luxury or power to control the destiny of their films once they were part of the studio system. In contrast, independent filmmakers who produce their films outside the studio system owned the rights to their films even though distribution to outlets would become much more of a challenge, making it extremely difficult to have their films seen by an audience.

In the early 2000’s, during the time DVD’s were becoming mainstream, Director David Lynch created his own website. He sold directly to consumers online, including books, DVD’s, artwork, posters and other “Lynchian” merchandise. He re-mastered his films of “Eraserhead” and his “Shorts” and sold them in limited special edition boxes.  He was one of the pioneers of self-promotion for filmmakers.

Times have changed over the last twenty years, with streaming as the preferred format for consuming movies over physical media discs. Independent filmmakers continue to have to make personal decisions about how to distribute their films through home media or domain websites.  

Some established filmmakers could easily cut a deal with a specialty label, such as Janus or Criterion, which is eventually what David Lynch did with his catalog, or perhaps, Kino-Lorber or Film Movement. However, what if the distributor offers you peanuts?

Rob Nilsson is set on bypassing industry practice.  After many years of dueling with the system he has decided to create his own website, “Rob Nilsson Art Forms”, which integrates his poetry, paintings, poetry and prose. That website launches May 3, 2025 and quotes Nilsson:

“I’m creating a forum for the presentation, study and sales of a lifetimes’ work in poetry, prose, fine art and cinema. It will also be a studio for the production of new Multi-art and film projects working with the many artists and collaborators I have had the good luck to know and admire. Malleator in unum!”

His description of his new website:  “a place for the discovery, study and sales of my poetry, prose, painting, sculpture and cinema” includes 45 dramatic feature films, 450 pieces of art, film criticism and articles, as well as my books and poems.” However, this isn’t your typical website. I believe it could be used as a footprint for future filmmakers in the same boat, much like a “My Space” for filmmakers and artists.

Part of Nilsson’s journey in the last few years, with the able assistance of Zhan Petrov, has featured re-editing and re-mastering fourteen of his films in 4K, including the entire “9 @ Night” Film Cycle.  So even if you have seen some of his films in theaters or film festivals, you haven’t seen the new director approved cuts.  Other re-edited and remastered films include his 1988 Sundance winner, “Heat and Sunlight”, “Love Twice”, Fourth Movement”, “Devised”, Bridge to Border”, and “Maelstrom” with more to follow.

As a witness to some of the recent screenings of the “9 @ Night” films, I find they look better than ever.

With over 45 directorial feature films to his credit, Nilsson, the prolific independent maverick whose shooting locations span three continents, is also the recipient of the prestigious Caméra d’Or at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival (co-directed with John Hanson) for his first feature film, “Northern Lights”, as well as the coveted Grand Jury Prize at the 1988 Sundance Film Festival for “Heat and Sunlight” in which he also played the lead role.  

His intention always been to make his films organically, from within his own community, as an artist driven by independence  and in opposition to the Hollywood monetary studio system.  

His “9 @ Night Film Cycle” seems to be the most ambitious epic project in his fifty-year career: 9 dramatic features, a total running time of fourteen hours, that take place in San Francisco’s Tenderloin District, often seen as a drug-infested place filled with homelessness, violent crime, sex workers, and untreated mental illness.  These films were produced by the Tenderloin Action Group (1992–97) and the Tenderloin yGroup (1998-2009) free acting workshops established for homeless, inner-city residents, local actors, and all comers.  In that time Nilsson, aided by colleagues including Rand Crook, Ethan Sing and Mira Larkin, sometimes recruited established talents such as Robert Viharo and Ron Perlman, who joined in and took roles in the 10 dramatic feature films produced during that time.

He is adamant in saying he never meant to have his movies consumed as “entertainment”.   “All of my films have been made with the inspirations and inventions of workshop members who learn to play characters very like themselves using Direct Action Cinema Workshop techniques:  relaxation, concentration, powerful emotion, back story improvisations and ultimately producing on set improvisational scenes from written outlines, shaped in “mosaic editing” where the finished work is finally discovered.  All I can do is be the occasion for the brilliance of the hundreds of people who have attended my acting workshops in the San Francisco Tenderloin and around the world.  And my real purpose has always been an attempt to explore, in art and in life, “The Way Things Seem to Be”, which is the title of the new four hour biopic on his life and work, directed by Zhan Petrov.  

Along with Viharo and Perlman, Nilsson has also worked with other professional actors of recognized stature: Stacy Keach, Bruce Dern, Steven Lange, John Marley, Pam Grier, Judy Collins with written scripts, and mainstream goals. But his biggest ambition has been to get the most out of non-professional and professional “players” from his workshops who can display “raw” emotions while presenting the down home hardships of everyday life.

“I’m looking for is the raw encounter”, Nilsson continues, “for me and my workshop it’s all about emotion because I feel if people can really go to the depths:  joy, rage, despair, intimate connection,… they have found a way which leads to almost everything else”.

Often compared to John Cassavetes, the pioneer of American Independent Film, and a great influence on his work, Nilsson remembers his dedication to Cassavetes on his 1984 film, “Signal 7”.

“I got to know John and loved what he said, “Hey Rob, Rob! Gena and I saw your film last night.   We never agree on anything and we both loved it!”   Nilsson admits that was one of the great moments of his life. 

I wonder if John Cassavetes would approve of the new website?   Just like he and his wife, Gena Rowlands, who “never agreed on anything” and yet both liked “Signal 7″ film, my bet is both of them would. And John, who often had to self-distribute his ground breaking work might also like Nilsson’s Petrov’s motto:  “Grow your own, Roll your own, Smoke your own, and Sell your own.”

Once again, the website launches on May 3, 2025.