By Jim Lichacz / LA Film Fest Guest Blogger Some of the best documentary films I’ve ever seen, I’ve seen at the Los Angeles Film Festival. So it was with great anticipation that I went through the film guide, looking for doc treasure. I’m happy to report that, within two days of attending screenings, I’ve hit the doc jackpot with The Act of Killing. There are a number of ways a director can use the documentary format to tell a compelling story....

It was fitting that at the start of last night’s Master Class session at The Grammy Museum with Atticus Ross, the Academy-Award winning composer was just one of four musicians performing on stage—and he wasn’t even center stage, but tucked off to one side. Throughout the evening’s conversation with Film Independent at LACMA curator Elvis Mitchell, Ross emphasized the importance of collaboration in his work. Ross—who along with Trent Reznor, won the 2010 Academy Award for Best Original Score for The Social Network—echoed Brian Eno’s sentiment that the more minds there are, the more ideas ensue....

Thanks to the weather gods for pushing the expected rain back by a day, the 39th Film Independent Spirit Awards returned to Santa Monica this Sunday under hot and somewhat muggy conditions, giving way to a gorgeous sunset which began to touch down just as the ceremony was ending. Which is to say, for the first time in years it was not freezing cold in the press tent (yay!). As in past years, Official Partner Bulleit Frontier Whiskey was back at the pre-ceremony outdoor reception with multiple stations serving custom cocktails, alongside the official beer of these Spirit Awards, Stella Artois....

Liu’s story certainly is eye-catching. He went from “Illinois-teen-shooting-skate-videos-with-his-friends” to the director and producer of a critically-acclaimed, multi-award-winning documentary feature; one that A.O. Scott of The New York Times called “a rich, devastating essay on race, class and manhood in 21st-century America”—a narrative that has all the hallmarks of one of those mythical tales of overnight Hollywood success. But Liu is first person to push back on the narrative, instead telling you what a long road it’s been from those early days shooting video at local skate spots with his friends....

This week: Political Animals tells the story of one of this century’s biggest Civil Rights struggles—the gay rights movement—through the eyes of four elected women, a group often left out of gay histories… until now. The film follows four groundbreaking lesbians who took the fight for their cause and their communities off the streets and into the halls of government. POLITICAL ANIMALS Type: Documentary Feature Directors: Jonah Markowitz & Tracy Wares Producers: Anne Clements, Jonah Markowitz, Chris Panizzon Budget: Under $500,000 Financing: Donations Production: 3½ years, 2013-1016 Shooting Format: Canon C300 Screening Format: DCP World Premiere: LA Film Festival 2016 Distributor: Gravitas Ventures Awards: 2016 Los Angeles Film Festival: Winner—Jury Award; Winner—Audience Award Website: www....

It’s clear from the heated Emmy debates in the cubicles around here that it’s been a spectacular year for storytelling on the small screen (Cranston v. Hamm! McConaughey v. Harrelson! House of Cards v. True Detective!) Celebrating great new work by innovative artists is woven into Film Independent DNA, so we’re always excited to see who’s nominated for the big TV and film awards and then root for our faves....

ROSIE HABER At the LA Film Festival last year, 2014 Project Involve Fellow Rosie Haber took home the Festival’s web series Audience Award for “Instababy”—an episode of New Deep South, a moving documentary series about the complex lives of queer youth in the US’s most staunchly conservative region. Currently, Haber is writing Brujas, a YA-specific TV show set in New Mexico. In discussing media consumption, they insist that media is never a distraction, only fodder for creativity....

In 99% of movies and TV shows, the original score is what unites, guides and colors the aural experience of cinematic storytelling. As a director, the score is arguably the biggest tool you have in your toolbox when it comes to dictating your project’s tone and intent. But getting your hands on interesting, high-quality original music from established composers isn’t usually an option for indie, low-budget filmmakers. Enter Danny Elfman’s Rabbit and Rogue....

Film Independent Documentary Lab Fellow Laura Nix, who was a producer on the last film, The Yes Men Fix the World, takes the director’s chair for this latest adventure. In anticipation of the film’s release this weekend, we caught up with Laura to discuss her history with the Yes Men, what’s different this time around, and the dilemma of shooting a documentary in which you can’t be completely transparent with the people you’re filming....

This year boasted a bumper crop of such alchemists, as duly reflected in a rich lineup of 2021 Film Independent Spirit Award Best Screenplay and Best First Screenplay nominees—six of whom joined us for Week Seven of our Spirit Awards edition of the Directors Close-Up: Kitty Green (The Assistant), Noah Hutton (Lapsis), Mike Makowsky (Bad Education) Andy Siara (Palm Springs), James Sweeney (Straight Up) and Alice Wu (The Half of It....

Held on January 22 at the Landmark Theaters in West LA and moderated by Film Independent President Josh Welsh, the roundtable consisted of Andrea Arnold (writer/director of American Honey), Robert Eggers (writer/director of The Witch) and Pablo Larraín (director of Jackie). From Eggers, who came to directing through a passion for art direction, to Arnold, who found inspiration in an impromptu road trip, to Larraín, who was literally commanded by his mother to take on former first lady Jackie Kennedy’s story, all three filmmakers exhibited sincerity of vision and creative problem-solving as they reflected on the making of their films....

Key Film Independent Fellow or Member Los Angeles Film Festival Alum Spirit Award Winner First-time Filmmaker Microbudget Female Filmmaker Filmmaker or Lead Characters of Color LGBT Filmmaker or Lead LGBT Characters title: “Don T Miss Indies What To Watch In September” ShowToc: true date: “2024-04-27” author: “Doris Spears” THE QUEEN OF SPAIN When You Can Watch: August 29 Where You Can Watch: Theaters, VOD Director: Fernando Trueba Cast: Penélope Cruz, Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin Why We’re Excited: Nominated for five Goya Awards earlier this year, this bilingual English/Spanish dramedy chronicles the antics of a Spanish film crew attempting to make a grand Hollywood picture in Franco’s Spain during the early 1950s....

Welcome to Me When: May 1 Where: Theaters Director: Shira Piven Starring: Kristen Wiig, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tim Robbins Why We’re Excited: After premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, buzz quickly built for this zany dramedy, mainly due to Kristen Wiig’s performance as a woman with borderline personality disorder who wins the mega-millions and spends the money on producing her own talk show. It’s always exciting when a film puts the spotlight on a strong female lead, especially if the character isn’t one we’ve often come across....

Giuseppe Makes a Movie When: October 17 Where: theaters Director: Adam Rifkin Why We’re Excited: In Ventura, CA, gonzo auteur Giuseppe Andrews makes movies in the trailer park community where he lives, using an ensemble of neighbors and homeless pals as his actors. Anyone inspired by the spirit of John Waters and Harmony Korine is sure to find a hero in Giuseppe, whose drive to make movies is fueled purely by passion....

So with summer movie season in full swing—with its attendant spectacle and hyperviolence in tow—we thought it’d be fun to run down some of our favorite action movies and edge-of-your-seat thrillers featuring female protagonists. THE OLD GUARD (2020) Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood Writer: Greg Rucka Producers: A.J. Dix, David Ellison, Marc Evans, Dana Goldberg, Don Granger, Toby Hefferman, Beth Kono, Charlize Theron Starring: Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Matthias Schoenarts Why We’re Excited: Winner of the Film Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay for Love & Basketball in 2001, Gina Prince-Bythewood’s centuries-spanning, hyper-violent comic book adaptation isn’t necessarily what you might expected from the woman responsible for nuanced character studies like Beyond the Lights and The Secret Life of Bees....

Chief among these, the city’s namesake New Orleans Film Festival has been bringing the best independent cinema to the ochre shores of the Mississippi River since 1989. This week, Film Independent’s Festival Visions series—our ongoing spotlight of the best programming picks from regional and specialty festivals nationwide—continues, with an online showing of the LGBTQIA+ short documentary House of Tulip, screening online and for free, July 27-28. Visit our events page for more details and find our Festival Visions Q&A playlist on YouTube....

It can be hard to predict, though end-of-the-year awards prognosticators have no doubt caught wind—or, in this case, a stiff Mississippi breeze—of Dee Rees’ upcoming period drama Mudbound, which has been wowing Festival audiences all year long. Acquired promptly out of Sundance by Netflix, Mudbound will soon be coming (November 17) to a theater and/or high-profile streaming service near you. But anxious film fans need not wait for the film’s release in order to gain some extremely personal, first-person insight into the creation what’s sure to be one of 2017’s biggest indie film success stories....

Ask yourself: what would it have been like to be a filmmaker 120 years ago? To be on the ground at the very dawn of celluloid: a brand-new storytelling tool just sitting there, waiting for a new class of artists to come and give it shape. Well, guess what? That’s precisely the situation at this very moment in the rapidly evolving VR/360 space. Unfortunately, there are still far too many filmmakers out there—weaned on and acclimated to traditional 2-D cinema—who regard VR as a novelty, or as something separate from what they aspire to....

Everybody knows how daunting the pitching process can be. Nevertheless it’s an essential skill that all would-be TV creators need to learn how to do. Why? Because: it might lead to the result you want—selling your project to someone who can actually make it happen. Identifying the right buyer for you and coming up with a fitting title, logline, etc. are all a part of the pitching process, which, contrary to what you may think, need not be a formidable challenge....

Chu was joined as co-host of the awards portion of Saturday’s festivities by Clemency star (and Best Female Lead nominee) Alfre Woodard—stepping up on short notice to fill in for the previously announced but unexpectedly waylaid LaKeith Stanfield. Introduced by Film Independent President Josh Welsh, the duo quickly assumed control of the clear-Plexiglas lectern and wasted no time getting down to business. “Today we celebrate the most talented emerging writers, producers and directors, working in fiction as well as non-fiction,” said Welsh, adding: “Year-round, Film Independent is fiercely committed to champion inclusion, equality and diversity....