Jason van Genderen is a digital storyteller based in Sydney Australia. His production company Treehouse Creative helped brands such as Sony, Nokia, Nikon and Apple Australia tell their stories. In addition, Jason’s short movies have won awards at major festivals including Tropfest NY + Sydney and Sundance London.

After shooting his first smartphone video in 2008, Jason began giving presentations on the art of smartphone storytelling. He’s spoken at such venues as TEDx events and the Aspen Ideas Festival.

Recently, Jason launched an initiative to sign up 10,000 mobile moviemakers who would form the core of what he calls the Filmbreaker Movement. He believes that this new organization will make a major impact on culture around the world. In the following interview, Jason shares his vision. You can join the Filmbreaker Movement via the group’s Facebook page.

MMM: What’s your vision of the Filmbreaker Movement?

Jason: It’ll be a self-governing community for smartphone filmers.

MMM: Why is such a thing needed? After all, isn’t the point of mobile moviemaking that anyone can make movies? You don’t need a studio or a network or vast resources?

Jason: The best way for me to answer that is to give you some history. Time and time again, when I mentioned to another producer or cinematographer that I filmed a project on my iPhone, the reaction was totally negative. Even without looking at what I shot, they dismissed it. I got fed up with that reaction because I knew what smartphone cameras were capable of.

MMM: How did you know that?

Jason: I’ve been filming on them for 10 years. Shooting on mobiles, I won numerous prizes at film festivals around the world. And despite that, I and other smartphone filmers were treated like we were some sort of beggar, sub-class, below “real” cinematic storytellers. In response, I spent a couple of years doing lots of talks at festivals, colleges, and corporations to illustrate the potential smartphones have as creative tools.

MMM: I see you also gave a TEDx talk.

Jason: I’d talk anywhere that people would listen, calling myself a “filmbreaker” because it felt like an apt description. I was a creative outcast from the conventional industry. I was breaking the rules, which I saw as a good thing. But then I realized something was going on that was really major. A few months ago, while I was doing some research, I was stunned to discover that no new cinematic movement had been identified for more than 16 years. The last big one was Mumblecore in 2002. Prior to that was Dogme in 1995.

MMM: And now we have Filmbreaking?

Jason: Yes. It’s based on the fact that cameras have now become so accessible, we have the potential to democratize the art of film. And to nurture that potential, I felt we needed a formal movement that would give voice to the new generation of filmers out there.

MMM: Exactly how will the Filmbreaker community serve people?

Jason: It’ll provide education, product news, screen opportunities, career help…all those things. But perhaps more importantly, it’ll be a focal point for smartphone filmers to have a place where we ALL belong. An inclusive space. An encouraging space. A badge of honour not a career stain.

MMM: Career stain?

Jason: There is a general defensive position that most people make when they think of something filmed on a consumer device like a smartphone. The presumption is that it can’t be really good. And yet how many awful films have you watched that were shot for decent budgets and on super high-end cameras? It’s not the tool that makes the story, it’s the talent driving the tool and focusing the craft. Bad films can be shot on ANY camera, but so can great ones.

MMM: Are you predicting the eventual death of traditional cameras?

Jason: Certainly not. Film, video and DSLR will ALWAYS have their place, their look and their valued position. But so should the new story-capture tools. They equally deserve their space in the craft. And that’s what the Filmbreaker Movement aims to achieve.

MMM: Exactly where is it going to happen?

Jason: It’ll be a virtual space, where anyone, anywhere, can benefit from in any time zone. I’m embarking on a volunteer tour of any film festival that’ll host me for a talk or masterclass, to help spread the movement’s message.

MMM: In your video, you mentioned seeking 10,000 members. What’ll happen when you reach that number?

Jason: Well, to be honest, I thought that was going to take all my legwork in 2018 to achieve. But it moved so quickly, we’re already there. Am I surprised? Absolutely. So I need to fast-track a lot of the rollout I was going to gradually introduce in coming months. But that’s a wonderful challenge to be faced with. If we can find 10,000 participating souls so easily, we’re clearly onto something worth doing! We really have a chance of taking this from a cottage industry to a major cinematic movement!