The Guerilla Film Makers Handbook

The best-selling low-budget filmmaker’s bible in the UK has now, at long last, been totally revamped for the American market. The two authors have interviewed hundreds of film industry insiders, resulting in, without doubt, the most comprehensive, entertaining, information-packed book available in America on how to produce a low-budget movie.

The book has 3 main sections: Anatomy of a Movie, Case Studies, and The Toolkit. Anatomy of a Movie features in-depth, candid interviews with a huge cast of people already working in the film industry - from script readers to bank managers; from casting directors to costume providers; and from sound mixers to negative cutters. Case Studies tells the stories of a selection of low-budget movies, and how they were made. These include Chris and Genevieve’s own films, as well as international successes like The Blair Witch Project and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. The Toolkit is an amazing resource for new filmmakers, incorporating a huge range of sample legal contracts and agreements, as well as templates for production forms like locations checklists, shooting schedules, and call sheets.

Chris Jones has been making micro-budget features since he and Genevieve Jolliffe made ＂The Runner＂ in 1992. In 2009, his short film ＂Gone Fishing＂ was Oscars shortlisted, won the prestigious Producers Guild of America’s Best Short Film and collected over 40 international awards. He co-authored the bestselling ＂Guerilla Film Makers Handbook＂ in 1996, and also wrote the hugely successful ＂Guerilla Film Makers Movie Blueprint.＂ On top of writing and making films, Chris teachers new filmmakers and runs his business from the historic Ealing Film Studios in London.

Genevieve Jolliffe met Chris Jones at film school and the two went into independent filmmaking through their production company, Living Spirit Pictures. She directed their third film together, ＂Urban Ghost Story,＂ in 1998. After moving to Los Angeles, Genevieve was a major force in pulling together the US edition of ＂The Guerilla Film Makers Handbook,＂ and she also co-authored ＂The Documentary Film Makers Handbook＂ in 2006. With her husband and screenwriting partner Andrew Zinnes, she has sold projects to Warner Bros and has two indie features set to be filmed in 2010.