I went to see a film that wasn’t a documentary the other day (Egads!) Luckily for me it was a beautiful Australian film called Samson & Delilah that won the Caméra D’Or in Cannes last year. It’s a love story. Except it’s often fairly brutal. And there’s hardly any dialogue. I loved it. It opens in the US on October 15th. Go see it. Here’s the trailer:
This is an article I wrote for a UK publication so that’s why I’m talking about £s. Would love feedback so please comment away! What is independent film worth? The Strange Economy of the Arts. I recently discovered that there is an academic field called cultural economics. They have an association, a journal and a bi-annual conference. I know this because I have become obsessed with the economics of independent filmmaking. I have become obsessed because I have been spending…
On November 22nd, Shooting People turns 10. Whoo hoo! Filmmakers Cath Le Couteur and Jess Search set up Shooting People in 1998 after making their first short film and it has grown from 60 members to 37,000 over the past 10 years. I am hugely proud to work for an organization that fights so hard to create a vibrant independent filmmaking community that is all about collaboration and innovation. As Mike Figgis says: “Congratulations to Shooting People! Shooting People continue…
Rooftop Films are doing a bunch of great screenings this week. Here’s the info: __________________________ Tuesday, Sept. 16th, 2008 Rooftop and IFP Independent Film Week present Trinidad FREE SHOW, FREE OPEN BAR! 40 years ago, Dr. Stanley Biber transformed a sleepy mining town in Colorado into The Sex Change Capital of The World. Venue: Along the water at Solar One Address: East 23rd Street and the East River in Manhattan Directions: 6 Train to 23rd street and walk East to…
Manohla Dargis has an interesting piece in The New York Times about the current state of independent film. She traces a brief history of indie film in the US, and, reaching the present, draws a line between the “independent” of speciality divisions (basically cheaper, artier Hollywood) and the truly “independent” of filmmakers like Kelly Reichardt, Ronald Bronstein, Lance Hammer and Azazel Jacobs. The news [of speciality divisions shutting down] has inspired passionate response, as well as the usual gloom and…
The Times of Harvey Milk has been one of my favorite documentaries ever since I first saw it in a politics class at Berkeley (it won an Academy Award for best documentary in 1984). Now Gus Van Sant is bringing the story of the first openly gay city official in the United States back to the screens with Sean Penn in the lead role. I’m really thrilled that more people will get to know the story of this remarkable man…
Big indie film news this morning as SnagFilms launches a Beta site with free streaming features including Super Size Me, Run Granny Run and Dig! – films that you can also embed as a widget which I am very excited about (I’m a big fan of widgets). I’m desperate to have a play with SnagFilms but am so snowed with work in London that I only have time to write this very brief blog post. So check out all the…
Here’s the indieWIRE Critics Poll for 2007. Now I’m even more desperate to see Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood. Charles Ferguson’s No End In Sight tops the documentary poll and I’m really pleased to see Seth Gordon’s wonderful The King of Kong at number 3. Eugene Hernandez discusses the lists here.
