In the film, based on a true story, Producer Elijah Wood stars as legendary FBI Special Agent—and reluctant Bundy confidant—Bill Hagmair. Opposite Wood’s Hagmair on the other side of the interrogation desk is an electric Luke Kirby (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s Lenny Bruce), whose interpretation of Bundy is at once a deeply unfathomable boogeyman and an utterly transparent, pitiful creature. The film’s director is 2013 Film Independent Fast Track and Directing Lab Fellow Amber Sealey (No Light and No Land Anywhere, How to Cheat), whose prior filmography is seemingly a harsh zig to No Man of God’s zag....

2017 has already been a fantastic year for indie film, with a couple months still left to go. And though the Spirit Awards are fun, they’re not frivolous. Now more than ever, it’s important to celebrate the visions of diverse and innovative filmmakers putting human stories into the world. The 2018 Film Independent Spirit Awards will return to it’s iconic tent north of the Santa Monica pier and broadcast live on IFC on March 3....

How did you guys get the ball rolling on Forev? The project began when our two lead actors, Matt Mider and Noël Wells, asked us if we’d direct a series of comedy sketches for them. We somehow convinced them to make a feature with us instead. Can you tell us about the screenwriting process? It all started with our actors! We included Noël and Matt in the outlining process, and once we brought in Amanda Bauer (who plays Matt’s sister in the movie), we had all three leads improvise scenes together....

The story of a brother and sister whose lives are turned upside down after the death of their cowboy father, Songs premiered at Sundance 2015, played as part of the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes and was eventually nominated for three 2016 Film Independent Spirit Awards: Best First Feature, Best Cinematography and the Kiehl’s Someone to Watch Award. The film is finally out today, August 2, on VOD and Blu-Ray/DVD and is also available on Netflix....

Unlike other subgenres, where low-fi production values are pretty much only ever a demerit, bargain-basement budgets can actually work in an independent horror film’s favor. Scant resources mean creators have to be more inventive in crafting their scares, and lo-fi production can serve to make a movie seem even grittier, real and intense. So here are five recent low budget horror titles (made for $1 Million or less—sometimes much less) worth staying at home for tonight....

In a modern context, and especially if you’re from the Western US, a trip in the desert could mean one of many things, including some very weird (and possibly R-rated) Coachella and Burning Man stories. But the 1953 film The Hitch-Hiker is most certainly not one of those stories. In fact, the noir thriller was a significant departure in genre for director Ida Lupino, who had previously worked on four films centered on female characters and social-issue storylines....

Carmen Osterlye, whose credits as producer and cinematographer include the upcoming docs Supergirl and Las Chavas, as well as the Film Independent Fast Track and Documentary Lab project Soledad, sat down with Film Independent Members back in May to discuss strategy for first-time documentarians. The California-raised, Brooklyn-based Osterlye has shot and produced non-profit and independent shorts, feature length documentaries, as well as fashion pieces, commercials and music videos. She is known for her unique aesthetic and narrative approach....

Official Synopsis: When MIT Media Lab researcher Joy Buolamwini discovers that many facial recognition technologies do not accurately detect darker-skinned faces or classify the faces of women, she delves into an investigation of widespread bias in algorithms. As it turns out, artificial intelligence is not neutral, and women are leading the charge to ensure our civil rights are protected. Coded Bias is a groundbreaking feature documentary that explores timely questions about technology and civil rights: What does it mean when artificial intelligence increasingly governs our liberties?...

In the first full scene of Larry Fessenden’s Habit—which earned the NY-based actor and filmmaker Film Independent’s Someone to Watch Award in 1997—a man clomps, semi-purposefully, around a New York City apartment, arranging boxes. That man, Sam (Fessenden himself), with his lanky frame holding up a large wool trench coat from which his head and flopping hair sprout like the top of a carrot, is so perfectly Gen-X and the wide-angle 16mm photography so perfectly ‘90s American indie that, watching it from a quarter of a century’s distance you might be forgiven for expecting a movie that has perhaps aged into self-parody....

Let’s go back to 1996, either the first or second year of existence for the Someone to Watch award, depending on how you count; Lodge Kerrigan had been granted the honor at the previous ceremony in recognition of Clean, Shaven but 1996 was the first year Someone to Watch emerged as a full category with nominees and everything. When Christopher Munch won for Color of a Brisk and Leaping Day (which had only premiered in January of the same year at the Sundance Film Festival; eligibility guidelines had apparently not firmed up yet in this inchoate phase of the award), being a “nerd” was not yet a desirable or self-applied moniker, and the epithet’s meaning went deeper than just describing someone who picked up a Captain America t-shirt at Target....

If you’re reading this, it’s probably because you clicked on over to the Film Independent website in search of distraction from more pressing filmmaking obligations. But unfortunately what I’m about to tell you will probably have you scurrying back to those time-sensitive obligations to finally finish up that all-consuming feature project, short or episodic series. That’s right: the 2017 LA Film Festival is now accepting submissions! Remarkably, 2017 will mark the LA Film Festival’s 23rd year, returning once again to ArcLight Cinemas in Culver City....

But that doesn’t mean we can’t still celebrate the incredible filmmakers who, had remarkable circumstances not intervened, would be on the ground in Austin, TX as we speak, proudly showing off their wares and stuffing their faces full of queso. In particular, we want to spotlight all of our amazing Fi Fellows whose work was accepted for inclusion into the 2020 SXSW film program—including four projects directly supported by Film Independent’s Artist Development labs and programs: Bull, I’ll Meet You There, Really Love and The Dilemma of Desire....

But more than that, this year’s cohort of freshly announced Screenwriting Lab Fellows are special. Why? Because! We’re in the midst of celebrating #AD30, aka the 30th anniversary of Film Independent’s Artist Development programs. And like its elder sibling Project Involve (which got the whole ball of wax rolling in ‘93), the Screenwriting Lab has been an essential industry resource, whether your looking to develop your own skills or tap new talent....

On October 23-25, Film Independent will take over the ground floor of the Directors Guild of America building in West Hollywood for three days of panel discussions, keynote speakers and networking opportunities. And now we’ve added three more great reasons to attend this year’s Forum. Trumbo announced as opening night film Every year, the Film Independent Forum kicks off with a screening of a major awards contender. This year’s opening night film, Trumbo, stars Bryan Cranston as blacklisted Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, who wrote two Oscar-winning screenplays but couldn’t claim either prize because of his alleged communist sympathies....

Happily, the Fox Global Directors Initiative (FDI) is one such program. Launched in 2014, the FDI aims to increase pipeline of diverse directing talent available to helm the studio’s myriad TV, commercial and feature film assignments—and specifically to create more opportunities for women and underrepresented filmmakers. The FDI tapped 20 female directors to participate in the inaugural directing initiative with established showrunners, directors and creative executives to help elevate participants’ careers....

That’s right—its June 1, the official start of this year’s LA Film Festival. Do you have your tickets yet? If not, don’t worry. There’s still time. The Festival officially kicks off tonight with a world premiere screening of Ricardo de Montreuil’s East LA car-culture drama Lowriders at the ArcLight Cinerama Dome in Hollywood. And if you haven’t secured a ticket to that prestigious event, there are eight more days of indie film premieres, special events, panels and parties for you to avail yourself of at our Festival headquarters in downtown Culver City, CA....

I love the indie film world and truly admire indie filmmakers. The playing field has changed so much in the last several years. If you can get your film made through the financial hurdles and the fickle marketplace, I raise my glass to you. That said, I find myself disappointed a lot these days. I receive scripts that aren’t quite “fully baked” so to speak; they’re not ready to hatch yet....

What do Christian Bale’s crack-stained t-shirts in The Fighter, Eminem’s baggy battle-rap wear in 8 Mile and Daniel Plainview’s itchy There Will be Blood cardigans all have in common? The answer—apart from each piece of clothing’s memorable iconography and stealth verisimilitude—is costume designer Mark Bridges. An Academy Award winner for his work on 2011’s The Artist, Bridges has helped shape the look of 21st century independent and art house cinema like few others—with credits that include (among others) Silver Linings Playbook, I Heart Huckabees, Greenberg, Fifty Shades of Grey and Captain Phillips....

“Cinema is independent only to the degree that it reflects the voice of one person, the director (in conjunction with his or her hand-picked creative team).” “I think on one level the only true independents are Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros., Universal and the rest of the major studios,” wrote Payne. “Say what you want about their imprisonment by corporate edicts and market forces; only they can make whatever they choose, and only they enjoy assured distribution....

“Last night, we lost one of the greatest directors who ever lived,” Jason Reitman said yesterday to a full house at LACMA’s Bing Theater. “Tonight is for Mike Nichols.” With that dedication, he kicked off this month’s installment of Live Read, part of the Film Independent at LACMA series, with Diner, Barry Levinson’s 1982 debut. As always, the reading was directed by Reitman and the event hosted by Film Independent curator Elvis Mitchell, and both commented on what an exceptional first film Diner was—Mitchell called it “one of the most remarkable debuts in the history of motion pictures....