https://independent-magazine.org/2010/02/04/10_to_watch/
Obsessed with Independent Film Since 1976
Obsessed with Independent Film Since 1976
Choosing The Independent’s 10 to Watch is like trying to predict the future, or the stock market, or the weather in New England. The films on this list are in all stages of production and the filmmakers range from seasoned professionals to debut artists. So you might wonder how we named this particular group. How,… Read more »
As the Writers Guild of America Strike seems to be finally nearing its end after three months, The Independent offers this concluding segment in its screenplay series. You can also read the other strike screenplays, written by Rufus Chaffee, Dorothy Blyskal, Dane Young and Randy Steinberg.
INT. STUDY – DAY A WRITER sits at his desk, hunched over a keyboard. He types in a few words; we see over his shoulder the words are FADE TO BLACK.
I first became aware of AIVF when Martha Gever was editor of The Independent. I marveled at this national organization that put out each month a magazine chock full of weighty, intellectual and critical articles on film and video. The magazine wasn’t glossy and was not determined to be a general “industry rag.” At that… Read more »
What happened at AIVF over the last 30 years? Coming up with a coherent and entertaining way to answer that question was not an easy task. Instead of recounting the factual history—which would put most readers to sleep—we decided to let the voices (of past and present) speak for themselves. What follows is a conversation… Read more »
I thought that making Monster’s Ball was rough. I vowed upon wrapping that film that I would never make another. After the accolades and success of that film, I was offered tons of projects from studios for lots of money (which I really could have used.) But all of them were jokes: Who’s My Baby’s… Read more »
Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me (2004) was an unqualified hit. The documentary, which followed Spurlock as he ate nothing but McDonalds for 30 days and interviewed a string of experts on the rapidly worsening American obesity epidemic, was nominated for an Oscar. It won at Sundance and at countless other festivals. It earned glowing reviews… Read more »
From time to time there is a banner year for female characters. A great fuss is made about how movie-land has changed, allowing women into a club that hadn’t previously given them more than a handful of meaty roles at a time. 2005 was not one of those years. Most of the movies that earned… Read more »
Five years ago, when Deepa Mehta was about to start making her film Water in the holy city of Varanasi, India, 11 people stood outside the set and threatened to light themselves on fire. Weeks before, protesters had stormed the film’s set on the banks of the river Ganges and destroyed it, causing hundreds of… Read more »
System Failure: Violence, Abuse and Neglect in the California Youth Authority has all the elements you’ve come to expect from an earnest, well-intentioned documentary. There are heartrending interviews with young people who have been incarcerated in California’s juvenile prisons, their parents, and the advocates who work with them. These interviews are well lit and seamlessly… Read more »