https://independent-magazine.org/2015/05/05/10-to-watch-2015-thomas-ikimi/
Obsessed with Independent Film Since 1976
Obsessed with Independent Film Since 1976
Having lived on three continents, Thomas Ikimi brings an international perspective to his films. His latest is the short thriller Nostradamus, which revolves around drone warfare and premiered at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival, and coincidentally was chosen as one of the best films of the fest by our senior critic, Kurt Brokaw.
Comedian and storyteller, Hasan Minhaj, may be best known as one of the newest correspondents for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, but it was his work merging stand-up with storytelling that brought him to our attention. You can read about his latest project, a solo show, Sakoon, and its film adaption, Paint the Town, in 10 to Watch.
What happens to the tangible outpourings of grief and support – such as letters and teddy bears – that pour in during the aftermath of a tragedy like the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newtown, Connecticut? Director Ashley Maynor and producer Paul Harrill follow the trail of condolence items in their interactive documentary, The Story of the Stuff.
Using cameras on mobile phones with some clever adaptations, cinematographer Radium Cheung brought his vast experience and unique sensibilities to Tangerine, the story of a transgendered prostitute in Los Angeles. The result is an eye-popping yet humanistic look at a hard world.
Fort Bliss follows a single mother trying to reconnect with her son following her 15-month deployment in Iraq as a medic. It is, as producer and cinematographer Adam Silver says, “the kind of movie that gets you out of bed in the morning.” Silver worked with co-producer John Sullivan on the film. Silver spoke with… Read more »
Director Claudia Myers takes on the story of a female army medic and mother in her powerful dramatic feature Fort Bliss, starring Michelle Monaghan. Writer Catherine Epstein delves into the challenges Myers faced in bringing such a complex narrative to the screen.
Back in 2011, 10-to-Watch-2013 producer Katie Tibaldi was working on the TV series Are We There Yet when she met 10-to-Watch-2015 Mike Luciano. Starring Terry Crews in the Ice Cube role, the TV series filmed an amazing ninety episodes in one year in Stamford, Connecticut. The sheer number of episodes and the daily commute from… Read more »
Mike Luciano and Phil Matarese are on our 10 to Watch list for their series, Animals. Read about their inspiration and how they connected with indie filmmaking powerhouses Mark and Jay Duplass to be the first completed television series to debut at Sundance in hopes of landing a distributor.
The Independent seeks out the collaborators, mentors, colleagues, and friends of our 10 to Watch filmmakers in order to hear more about how they inspire others working in independent film. Steven Abrams talks with Eden Brolin and Danielle Brooks about what they learned from working with 10 to Watch’s Katie Cokinos.
Katie Cokinos returns to Austin, the scene of her ad-hoc film school in the red hot ’90s, for the world premiere of her directorial debut, I Dream Too Much, which puts her on our 10 to Watch for 2015. The Independent’s Steven Abrams caught up with her at SXSW to talk about the transition from script to screen and how in film, too, directors must kill their darlings.