Changing the World Through Film, with Indieflix CEO Scilla Andreen

Scilla Andreen is an award-winning filmmaker, producer, director, and Emmy-nominated costume designer (The Wonder Years). She is also the CEO and Co-Founder of Indieflix, a global entertainment screening and subscription streaming service based in Seattle. IndieFlix produces and distributes social impact films and series to create positive change in the world.

What you will learn:

• How Scilla went from NYU with aspirations to become a litigator, to answering the call of Hollywood, telling stories through film.
• How Scilla’s passion and boldness got her a job working as a Hollywood costume designer.
• How a jarring experience as a costume designer caused her to seek something more fulfilling in the film industry.
• Why she co-founded IndieFlix and how it became more successful after the controversial decision to remove 7,000 titles from its catalog.
• How IndieFlix opens opportunities for dialogue, engagement, and catharsis that mainstream competitors don’t.
• How her documentaries Like, Angst and Upstanders fit within IndieFlix's ethos as "content for a purpose."
• Why Scilla plans to circle back into narrative films.
• Why she believes that it is mentally healthier to consume media through streaming as opposed to network television.
• How she learned to embrace IndieFlix’s inevitable comparisons to Netflix and use them to her advantage.
• Why she turned down an offer to produce HBO’s Six Feet Under to work on a sitcom.
• Why she enjoys working with millennials, and what unique assets they bring to an organization.
• How young people tell stories every day through social media, and how those skills can cross over into filmmaking.
• Why marketing and storytelling abilities are critical skills to develop as a filmmaker.
• What advice she would give to a graduating senior who is interested in storytelling through film.
• What film festivals like Sundance, SIFF, and Cannes, offer to audiences and filmmakers, and the importance of film in general.

Resources:

• IndieFlix
• IndieFlix Foundation
• Scilla Andreen’s Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter
• Scilla Andreen IMDb