WTF is BFC?

Bootleg Film Collective is a Not For Profit Collaboration of  filmmaking teams dedicated to reimagining existing films in a deliberately unconventional and irreverent way.

Rather than striving for faithful adaptations or scene-for-scene recreations, each team is encouraged to reinterpret the source material through new genres, altered settings, re-imagined character arcs, or entirely different themes. 

CLASSICS FROM THE PAST REVIVED AND RE-VIBED!!!

The organizations philosophy is that every remake should stand as its own creative work, using familiar titles only as a starting point for artistic experimentation.

Member teams operate independently, each bringing their own unique style and creative vision to their small slice of a larger movie pie.

Its members believe that subverting audience expectations can inspire fresh perspective about storytelling and genre. By embracing radical reinterpretation instead of strict fidelity, the organization aims to cultivate a reputation as a haven for filmmakers who view remakes not as copies, but as opportunities to reinvent familiar stories from the inside out.

We chop a classic film into scenes, you remake it.

NEED INSPO?

Check out these examples made by other filmmakers to get a better idea of what the final product will look like.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Some films we love so much we’d do anything to have been a part of making it. Well here’s your chance. Here you get a month to remake one scene from a fan favorite film. It’s not a competition, it’s a collaboration. Over the month you can take your scene to the wild, creative limit. Work with other teams, share talent, skills, equipment, just make sure you turn-in your scene so we can pay tribute to a film we all love by compiling and screening it.

  • Absolutely. First off, we’re not doing this for profit in anyway. Second, we’re donating to charity. Third, parody law is well established, and we are ABSOLUTELY making a tribute, parody.

  • $100 for the team. Broken down:

    • $75 donated to charity

    • $25 logistics to putting on the project.

  • Currently, BFC is only a Des Moines, Iowa thing. You’re welcome to come and join us, but we’re here.

  • Of course, but filmmakers must attend the kick-off and temperature check date in person.

  • Of course!
 We’re donating as much as possible to charity but we’re also hoping to throw a really fun party. Door prizes, mementos, maybe actual mentos, etc. Contact us to help make this happen!

  • No. Don’t take that lame shortcut.

  • Again, this is a fan film. We’re operating in the Fair Use and homage zone. Still, that doesn’t mean we can just copy/paste intellectual property. If you want to use something copyrighted, get creative with it and give it a spin.

    If you use copyrighted music, or the film’s original score, we will remove it.

  • Yes, please do.

  • After the compiled fan film has screened, you may release your scene.

  • That’s fine. In fact, we’d prefer to add music to your project after the scene is submitted. This will allow the film to have a flow of uniform score and feel. Also, copyright infringement is harder to dodge with music, so let us handle the score. Do all the sound design, sound editing, and sound effects you want.

  • Yes. We plan to make two adjustments:

    1. Audio will be leveled and massaged as little as reasonably possible so there is some normalization between scenes.

    2. Each scene will have a team identifying logo or title in the lower left corner.

  • Consider:

    • Starting your scene with five seconds of background movement to allow for compilation pacing and the team tag to be applied in the logical place.

    • Ask anyone and everyone else taking part in the project to help you with your scene.

    Have fun, you can’t go too wild with this.

  • All scenes will be compiled into a feature length presentation and screened at The Fleur Cinema & Cafe.

  • A single screening is currently planned, the last week of October at The Fleur.

  • Your scene is yours. Post your scene wherever you want, however you want. If you’re up for it, go remake the entire film!

  • Not really. There might be some fun off beat awards given out, but not traditional “Best Film” or “Best Direction” awards.

  • No. There will be audience voting, but there is no panel of judges selecting winners and losers.

  • Yes, in fact it is absolutely encouraged. Share cast, crew, post-production teams. The best version of the final film likely involves a lot of overlapping work. So please share your skills.

  • We’re working to break the film into scenes of roughly equal length. Depending on the final number of teams that register, we’ll have some math to do. Still, we’re giving every team a little room to play. The max time your scene is allowed is seven minutes.

  • At the kick-off we will randomly assign scenes to teams through a surprise fun process.

    • Teams will sign-in 

    • Filmmakers will be greeted as a group.

    • We will watch the original film.

    • Scenes will be assigned through a random, playful process.

    • Filmmakers will be released to do their work.

  • Please make the scene you’re assigned. There over a dozen teams working to make a feature length fan film together. Your scene make may not be your favorite scene in the film, but it is important to make this thing come together.

  • We’re not asking you to make one-to-one recreation. The entire point of the project is to get creative. Keep the key dialogue, important interactions and characters, entry and exit beats. But get wild. Want to do claymation? Puppets? Legos? Set your scene in a ball pit? Do all that and more.

  • You have a lot of liberty to get creative. We don’t want to tell you what to do but as long as your changes don’t alter the story or scene entry and exit beats, we’re happy.

  • Are you kidding?!?! YES! Go for it.