Kaufman’s Game is the award-winning, full-length drama by first time Writer/Directer Helier Bissell-Thomas. The film stars Jye Frasca as Stanley, an unemployed man with a passion for boxing, who becomes drawn into the violent operations of a powerful organization. The Independent’s editor caught up with Bissell-Thomas to discuss the film’s production and its influences.
Gloria Muñoz of Pitch Her Productions shares industry tips for emerging female filmmakers. Muñoz and her production company has just released Keep Me Posted, a comedic web series written and directed by Hillary Nussbaum. The series, which stars Maya Deshmukh, Terra Mackintosh, and Kim Blanck offers an unforgiving look at social media, notably the complexities of balancing online personas with authentic, real-world intimacy.
The Independent’s editor speaks with Ricardo Bouyett, filmmaker, writer, and photographer of the new short No Love For Fuckboys. The film, which won “Best Experimental Short” at the Short To The Point International Film Festival, is an exploration—at once personal and more broadly social—of the intricacies of navigating dating, friendship, love, and desire after the trauma of sexual assault.
The Independent catches up with Yvonne Michelle Shirley, creator of the new documentary, Miasia: The Nature of Experience. The film, which featured at BlackStar Film Festival, chronicles the life of Brooklyn teenager Miasia Clark as she navigates her everyday world and prepares to present at the first ever Black Girl Movement National Conference. Miasia is joined in this effort by members of her activist group, Girls for Gender Equity.
Mike Sullivan reviews Liyana, a new documentary directed by Aaron and Amanda Kopp (former 10-to-watch series winners!) The film, which employs stunning animation, tells the story of five orphaned children living and dreaming in Swaziland. Liyana premiered at the LA Film Festival in June, where it won “Best Documentary.”
The Independent speaks with gough, a screen writer, director, and producer based in Australia. gough, who is legally blind, runs the successful company Beernuts Productions, which has produced a variety of documentaries, shorts, and other media content. Here gough reflects on how his disability informs his work and comedy.
Senior Film Critic Kurt Brokaw reviews Water and Sugar, a ten-film retrospective on the life and work of Director Carlo Di Palma. Brokaw examines highlights of Di Palma’s biography, connecting these to the artist’s unique and celebrated output. Water and Sugar shows at the Walter Reade theater in Lincoln Center from Friday, July 28th through Thursday, August 3rd.
Mike Sullivan profiles Washington D.C. Filmmaker Daniel Lombroso on his path toward becoming a documentarian. Lombroso recounts the making of several documentaries including 2014’s Mountain of Servants and his most recent film, Church Militant: A Right Wing Empire in the Making. Lombroso is an Associate Video Producer for Atlantic Studios, the video division of The Atlantic magazine.
Writer, Director, and Producer Harry Assouline talks with The Independent about his award-winning, sci-fi thriller New York 2150. The film stars Kalen J. Hall as intergalactic bounty hunter Jaydon Jaxon, who partners with Mac Cole (Marcus Brandon) to apprehend a psycho-killer. Together the two face a variety of haunts, surreal and actual, in the futuristic terror-world of New Manhattan.