Despite the critical and commercial success of his feature My Own Private Idaho, director Gus Van Sant has never been able to hustle a dime out of the project.

He sold the back end of the distinctive feature to complete it and ­ in what is a common story among western Canadian filmmakers -­ forfeited the lucre of distribution rights. Today, he chalks it up to ‘a learning experience’ that made him more savvy about the financial structures of subsequent projects.

It’s a background that qualifies him to headline the roster of speakers at the Film & Television Trade Forum of the 15th annual Vancouver International Film Festival, Oct. 4-20. This year’s forum, running Oct. 9-11, is dedicated to independent producing and the navigational aids required to reach success in a market dominated by the majors.

Van Sant ­ the Oregonian who has piloted films including Idaho, Drugstore Cowboy and To Die For ­ will speak at the Trade Forum’s opening luncheon Oct. 9.

For the Portland-based director, success has come through the market’s recognition of his unique vision. He talks about regionalism ­ the idea that depicting in film the places that you’ve lived builds both story and authenticity for audiences.

Van Sant, who is adapting the life story of a San Francisco transvestite dancer who eventually becomes a Zen master in the feature The Posture Queen, believes small-budget features (in the $2 million range) provide the best opportunity to mix creative autonomy with a package that entices investors and allows the director to retain world rights. After that, he’s always open to the notion of more high-profile studio work ­ like the Sony-backed To Die For ­ a strategy that isn’t incompatible with doing independent work, he maintains, but is less gratifying because ‘it’s about working for the company.’

Melanie Friesen, producer of the 11th annual Trade Forum, says Van Sant epitomizes the independent filmmaker. ‘He’s a non-conformist, a risk-taker and non-commercial,’ she says. ‘Unlike many young filmmakers, he’s not trying to be derivative of names like Spielberg or Scorsese. At the forum, we’re trying to emphasize what he’s already doing.’

As with past Trade Forums, the 1996 event promises a variety of panels with movers and shakers from a wide cross-section of the industry. In addition, the much-lauded New Filmmakers’ Day returns for its third appearance as an avenue for the freshest talents to study cases of debut projects recently completed.

Trade Forum sessions designed for the independent producer include: The Business of Film, a panel that explores new avenues of financing for small-budget films; Whipping it into Shape, a second development panel that focuses on the screenplay, publicity, and writers; Followers to Learners to D’ers, a panel dedicated to exploring how b.c. film workers can translate their experience with visiting American productions into Canadian work; The Tricks of the Trade, a panel on making low-budget films look more expensive on screen; and Best Buys, a panel on developing feature films, including finding good material, optioning and financing.

‘At the end of the 1995 Trade Forum, I interviewed as many local filmmakers as possible to see what they wanted for the 1996 panel. They told me it should focus on the independent producer,’ says Friesen. ‘The topics they most wanted to explore were related to development, distribution, financing (including coproductions), marketing and distribution.’

Other panels focus on entertainment law, casting and animation. Guest speakers include Todd Black, president of Peter Guber’s Mandalay Entertainment; Rosalie Swedlin, an agent whose clients have included Barry Levinson and Martin Scorsese; Betsy McLane, executive director of the International Documentary Association; Laurie Parker a producer of Van Sant’s films; and Peter O’Brian, a producer with Independent Pictures.

‘Because the local industry is growing in isolation, the Trade Forum is the only chance to bring the world to Vancouver,’ says Friesen of the importance of the business event. It’s one of the few times that Vancouver filmmakers and film industry suppliers (like sponsors) can schmooze with prominent players in other parts of the world, she adds.

About 300 to 400 people are expended to attend.

The third annual New Filmmakers’ Day, meanwhile, will feature Canadian directors Norman Jewison and Bruce McDonald. The duo ­ prominent as, respectively, the mentor to and talent indicative of young filmmakers in Canada ­ will moderate case-study panels. They will dissect the recently completed necrophilia feature Kissed and documentary How to Be A Model, as well as two projects in development: the feature DV8 and documentary Festival of the Babes.

‘Because we present projects both produced and unproduced by first-time filmmakers, it gives the audience a chance to mirror their own (filmmaking) experience,’ says Friesen, who originated New Filmmakers’ Day.

‘It’s also an exceptional meeting ground.’

The 1996 Trade Forum has attracted more than 50 sponsors including Rogers, the B.C. Council of Film Unions, WIC Western International Communications, Axium, CHUM Ltd., law firm Ladner Downs, the Union of B.C. Performers, Baton, B.C. Tel, Everest Entertainment, Maclean Hunter, Movie Vista Productions, and the B.C. Film Commission.