Independent Film Tag

Independent films don’t get the attention they deserve. Sound familiar? It should. Indie directors, producers, writers, and aficionados have been shouting this since the Sundance Film Festival hit the scene back in the late ’70s, with the intention of showcasing and promoting independently made films. Sadly, aside from the few cinematic darlings that are fortunate enough to earn a theatrical release, many great independent work goes unnoticed, while Transformers 11 makes 9 billion dollars and furthers the great reign of vacuous thrills and bad 3D. Luckily for us, there areRead More

Just prior to the third act in Lenny Abrahamson’s aggressively idiosyncratic ‘Frank’, the film’s mentally handicapped title character (Frank) announces to his band mates and devoted members of SORONPRFBS, an avant-grade rock ensemble begrudgingly prepped to take the stage at SXSW, that he has composed his “most likable song ever.” He’s done this, we learn, out of fear that the band’s experimental arrangements will alienate a virgin audience. Altogether hesitant, the mates listen as Frank, bent over a keyboard in a congested, Austin TX hotel room, plays a little dittyRead More

Another week, another thing I argue in favor of and think you should see. Last week I suggested Over the Top—a movie about truckers, arm wrestling, and family values. I hope you watched this film, and also hope that you’ve taken the high road and put aside whatever resentments you have for me post-viewing.  Dear reader, you give me a reason to continue, and much like Sylvester Stallone’s character in Over the Top, I need a second chance. It would thrill me to be able to say I could suggestRead More

EnterViews is Hilary’s weekly series of interviews with emerging artists via various forms of digital communication.  The Slamdance Film Festival, an anarchic underdog founded in 1995 by a group of filmmakers rejected from Sundance, held its 20th Film Festival in Park City this past January, but the film fun lives on outside the Utah state lines. Slamdance continues its year with a curated travelling series, Slamdance On the Road, taking their films across the country to audiences that otherwise would not have the opportunity to see them. Tonight, On the RoadRead More