https://independent-magazine.org/2019/08/28/interview-leave-your-hat-on-ed-polgardy/
Obsessed with Independent Film Since 1976
Obsessed with Independent Film Since 1976
“What exactly does a producer do?” People outside the movie industry always want to know. So The Independent’s Rebecca Reynolds finds out from one the most prolific producers she knows: Ed Polgardy, the quintessential indie producer who has independently financed large and small films outside the studio system in a plethora of genres, all while wearing his signature black hat.
A conversation between editor Michele Meek and contributor Emily Watlington about the new book Independent Female Filmmakers, which recounts the legacy of 15 groundbreaking female filmmakers from Deepa Mehta to Cheryl Dunye to Martha Coolidge, while also highlighting the history of The Independent itself.
Directors, Writers, and Editors Deragh Campbell and Sofia Bohdanowicz are adept at indie film budgeting or what they call the “microbudget.” In this interview, they talk about creating and funding their film, sharing some of the tips they’ve learned along the way, such as keeping the shoot to a minimal number of days, finding locations that would offer space for free, and raising funds from Canadian grants and screening fees.
Artist/ Writer Neil Kendricks talks with Filmmaker Just Philippot about the inspiration behind his apocalyptic vision of environmental collapse in his terrifying film, Acid. The short was one of 73 featured at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.
Macedonian filmmaker Teona Mitevska’s film Gospod postoi, imeto i’ e Petrunija or God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya, begins on an ordinary day in the life of Petrunija. Her mother brings her breakfast, which Petrunija eats under the covers, but her mother has actually come to inform her that she has set up (another) job interview for… Read more »
Filmmaker Robert Machoian recruited his father Bruce Graham and this three sons Arri, Ezra, and Jonah to create the short film The Minors. The Writer/Director/Producer spoke with Neil Kendricks about the end result: the film not only gave Machoian’s family an opportunity to combine quality time with creating cinematic art, but The Minors premiered at Sundance winning a Short Film Jury Award for directing. Not bad for a family with artistic aspirations finding an audience on the film-festival circuit.
Jennifer Reeder’s Knives and Skin is a cult classic ready to happen. A truly original, weird, and eerie film that melds the genres of teen film, horror, feminist fantasy, and thriller, it brims with lush sets, ghostly acapella music, and strangely compelling characters. The film tells the story of one small midwestern town’s reaction to… Read more »
Winning the Generation KPlus Crystal Bear for Best Film at this year’s Berlinale, Une Colonie, directed by Geneviève Dulude-De Celles, tells the coming-of-age story of Mylia as she enters her first year of high school. The story is wonderfully depicted by several young actors—many of whom make their debut here—such as Emilie Bierre as Mylia, Irlande Côté as… Read more »
Filmmaker Soudade Kaadan lends her darkly comic voice to humanity under siege in the short film Aziza, winner of the Short Film Grand Jury Prize at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. In this interview, Neil Kendricks speaks with the filmmaker about how she transformed her experience as a Syrian exile into this award-winning short.
In this interview, co-writers and co-directors Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and Kathleen Hepburn talk with Michele Meek at Berlinale about some of the aesthetic and practical choices that went into making the film The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open.