Debra Granik, acclaimed director of award-winning films such as Winter’s Bone and Down to the Bone, seems to have a keen eye when it comes to spotting alluring qualities in characters for her films. As a feature director, her work helped jump-start the careers of Jennifer Lawrence and Vera Fermiga. Now, Granik’s latest work as a documentarian proves she can spot that star-quality in the real world just as well....
As we look forward to next Tuesday’s announcement of the 2016 nominees, let’s take a moment to look back at some of the great wins from Spirit Awards past. 1987: Spike Lee wins Best First Feature Two of the things that set the Film Independent Spirit Awards apart from other award shows are the awards they give for Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay. In 1987, the Best First Feature award was instituted and it went to a little-known filmmaker from Brooklyn and his film She’s Gotta Have It....
Or something. In reality, years don’t flip on and off like a light switch. They smear into each other like paint, until everything is the same weird shade of brownish-purple. But still: we all strive to make each new chapter in the Gregorian filing system a fresh start–a chance to break bad habits and begin good ones. The traditional way of kickstarting these self-improvement reboots is through the maddeningly self-deceptive ritual of setting New Year’s Resolutions–80% of which are inevitably abandoned by February 1, according to most studies....
This morning, the Film Independent Spirit Awards did its part to make things exciting by announcing the nominees of its 37th annual awards ceremony, set to return in-person (!!!) to the beach at Santa Monica on Sunday, March 6, 2022. For the second year, the Spirit Awards are recognizing outstanding achievement in uniqueness of vision, innovation and boldness in TV and streaming, as well as feature film. The nominees were revealed on Film Independent’s YouTube channel (smash that subscribe button!...
The Ruling Class: Peter O’Toole kills it. Or The Royal Tennenbaums because Gene Hackman and Danny Glover face off. Or Elizabeth because Cate Blanchett is married…to England. —Stephanie Allain, Festival Director Coming to America –Mel Jones, Festival Assistant The Private Life of Henry VIII, Henry V, The Last Emperor, Roman Holiday —Doug Jones, Associate Director of Programming The Madness of King George (Nicholas Hyntner), Edward II (Derek Jarman), The Lion King (Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff), Elizabeth (Shekhar Kapur), The Royal Tennenbaums (Wes Anderson) —Michael A....
The summer is finally coming to an end, and everyone’s getting ready to go back to school. But over the summer while all the kids were letting their brains turn to mush at the movies, it’s Hollywood’s turn to get a report card. Let’s see how Tinseltown fared this season in one of its worst subjects: the representation of women in film. A to Disney Maleficent, Disney’s revisionist “Sleeping Beauty” adaptation starring Angelina Jolie as the terrifying title character, rejects the classic “Someday My Prince Will Come” Disney princess model in favor of a story about female characters developing friendships and having agency, rather than being competitors and getting rescued....
This year is no exception, which is why we’re thrilled today to announce the host of the Spirit Awards, 2024 edition: the wonderful, hilarious Aidy Bryant! Yup—Lil’ Baby Aidy. Comedian. Showrunner. Writer. Actor. SNL alumna. National treasure. And now? Spirit Awards host. Welcome to the club, Aidy! “We’re thrilled to have the incandescently talented Aidy Bryant joining us to host the 39th annual Spirit Awards,” says Film Independent President Josh Welsh....
And as anyone who grew up quoting Cool Runnings or humming the Chariots of Fire theme while adjusting the treadmill incline can readily attest, Olympic movies go back nearly as far as the actual games themselves. No wonder, since the Olympics are inherently one of the most drama-filled situations on the planet, full of raw personal ambition, superhuman acts of physical achievement and international rivalry. And really, the only thing more compelling than fictionalized Olympics stories on film are Olympic-themed documentaries....
On Sunday, September 23 at the 2018 LA Film Festival, a free-to-attend “Blockchain 101” panel was held at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, which sought to provide a primer on the technology and its application to independent filmmaking. The presenting sponsor of the panel was blockchain entertainment studio SingularDTV and was one of two events at the Festival centered on the technology. Although blockchain remains mysterious to many, there are plenty of people within the entertainment industry who are laser-focused on how filmmakers might use blockchain to rethink the way entertainment is produced and distributed—not to mention how these changes might help further the careers of artist and creators as they break away from more traditionally centralized Hollywood production models....
Today, Film Independent Artist Development is thrilled to announce the 10 projects and 21 participants selected for our second annual Docuseries Intensive. Supported by Founding Sponsor CNN Original Series—the brand behind award-winning nonfiction series such as Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, United Shades of America and Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy—the intensive is a three-day remote workshop giving filmmakers the tools and access needed to develop and present their nonfiction series to potential collaborators....
Burn Notice’s Jeffrey Donovan—one of the stars of the 2017 LA Film Festival Gala screening Shot Caller—stepped into the moderator role, wasting no time delving into a variety of topics sure to be on the minds of aspiring actors: TV VS. FILM Angarano likes both mediums, but admits he appreciates the “spur of the moment” inherent to making smaller indie films (Sun Dogs was shot in 20 days)—even if the tight schedule doesn’t leave room for much else....
On June 5, Tyson appeared alongside Film Independent at LACMA curator Elvis Mitchell for an advance screening and discussion of the upcoming fifth season of StarTalk. Tyson spoke to his unending cosmic curiosity and personal philosophy, while also making time for some light Twitter-related talk. The evening also included special recognition of Project Involve—Film Independent’s annual diversity program, now celebrating its 25th anniversary. To honor the milestone, select Project Involve shorts have been screening ahead of all Film Independent at LACMA events during the month of June....
Joining this esteemed panel onstage at the Tateuchi Democracy Forum—masked and spaced a doctor-recommended six feet apart, of course—was filmmaker David France, whose newest project, How to Survive a Pandemic, had just screened as the Summit’s Closing Night film. Moderating the panel was New York Times reporter Soumya Karlamangla. Watch the full Q&A here and see the highlights below: Karlamangla began by asking France, who started shooting the film—a sort of thematic successor to his acclaimed 2012 AIDS crisis doc How to Survive a Plague—in April 2020, “What sort of story did you think you were going to tell?...
To purchase passes/tickets for the event, click here. (The early registration deadline is Jan. 17, 2014.) February 11: Alfonso Cuarón The acclaimed director will discuss his career trajectory and the intricacies of making the groundbreaking film Gravity, one of the most stunning cinematic experiences of all time. February 19: Scott Neustadter A panel featuring the writer/producer of The Spectacular Now, Neustadter will explore the writing process and the writer/director collaboration....
We’ve been doing these Fiscal Spotlight columns long enough that by now that you’re probably extremely aware of the incredible depth, breadth and diversity of film projects taking advantage of Film Independent’s ongoing Fiscal Sponsorship program. We’ve spotlighted comedy, drama, intimate character studies, genres thrills and pretty much everything in-between, in stories reaching from the frozen tundra of Alaska to the picaresque nooks and crannies of New England. But! Did you know that filmmakers from outside of the U....
What was the first horror film that scared the pants off you? As a kid, I found most horror movies more cool than scary. You’re talking to a guy who brought a handmade Freddy Krueger glove to his elementary school. For the record, it was promptly taken away—both times. I would say the thing that scared the pants off me most when I was younger was not a movie at all but an episode of Unsolved Mysteries....
In a truly momentous and unforgettable “An Evening With…” virtual event broadcast for Film Independent Members on December 10, the legend himself—Nicolas Cage!— joined Fi Producer-in-Residence and Maximum Film! podcast host Drea Clark over Zoom to celebrate the release of 2021’s Pig—and reflect on his extensive career and unique approach to acting. Plus cat ownership, lizard wrangling and a whole lot more. The free event was presented by Pig distributor NEON and Film Independent Presents program supporter the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA)....
For this week’s playlist, we’re celebrating Pride Month and Black Lives Matter by spotlighting nine of our favorite Black LGBTQ content creators. There’s plenty of stuff to dig into, so let’s go ahead and get started, shall we? First is Laverne Cox—known for her award winning role as trans inmate Sophia in the Netflix hit Orange is the New Black—has demonstrated a passion for producing documentaries dealing with trans issues: The T Word, profiling trans youth; Free Cece, which chronicles the story of Cece McDonald, a trans woman sent to prison for killing her attacker; and Disclosure, a brand new Netflix documentary about how Hollywood portrays transgender people....
In Cairo, I had the pleasure of meeting filmmakers Tamer El Said and Khalid Abdallah at Cimatheque, an alternative film center they have miraculously and painstakingly built in in a stunning and newly restored flat in Cairo’s historic downtown in the years following the revolution. And while El Said and Abdallah are not slated to participants in this year’s inaugural edition Global Media Makers, I was impressed enough with what they are doing that I felt compelled to shed some light on their current projects....
It’s time, people! We are rolling out the red carpet and manning the ticket office at downtown’s LA Live for the 2014 Los Angeles Film Festival, which opens Wednesday night with Snowpiercer. If you’re still on the fence about which films and events to check out, here are some hints from Programmer Roya Rastegar, Festival Director Stephanie Allain and Senior Programmer Maggie Mackay. Los Angeles “…it’s the essence, the feeling of Los Angeles and what it’s meant for so many different kinds of people…”—Roya Master Classes “…three amazing nights with artists who are at the top of their game....
