The Independent | Obsessed with independent film since 1978.

The Independent: obsessed with independent film since 1978

Wednesday 16th of May 2012

		Motherhood and Moviemaking (Not Always in that Order) Motherhood can't seem to escape controversy, even on the weekend meant to honor them. Yet three filmmaking moms are quietly figuring out what it means to parent, work a day job, and manage a passion project, and have generously shared their perspectives with The Independent.
		John Madden Acts His Age Though he makes major motion pictures with traditional distribution, John Madden pushes against age bias with today's US release of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, starring only actors over 60.
		Getting to Know Maryland Film Festival Maryland invites familiar faces from The Wire, Homicide: Life on the Streets, and past festivals, for the 14th year of this broad-based regional festival that takes place in Baltimore May 3-6.
		Tribeca 2012: Critic's Choice - Shorts From "delicious" to "enormously smart," senior critic Kurt Brokaw watched 60+ shorts in Tribeca's 2012 line-up, choosing Picture Paris, Stitches, Intermission Time, Curfew, and Donkey as his critic's picks.
		Tribeca 2012: Critic's Choice - Features Kurt Brokaw may be Tribeca's biggest fan. His critic's choice offerings from Tribeca Film Festival's 2012 feature line-up include Chris Kenneally's Side by Side, Susan Froemke's Wagner’s Dream, and Tracie Holder and Karen Thorsen's Joe Papp in Five Acts.
		Wim Wenders’ 3D Learning Curve: Dancers Take Flight in "Pina" As one of the first to embrace what Neil Kendricks calls the "immersive technology" of 3D, and with no fellow directors to consult, Wim Wenders morphs landscape into stage with his friend Pina Bausch's choreography as the centerpiece in Pina.
		Lindsay Utz, editor of "Bully," Wins Karen Schmeer Editing Fellowship Editor Lindsay Utz accepts the Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship at SXSW, just before her first feature documentary, Bully, opens in New York and Los Angeles. The Independent's Steven Abrams speaks with her about her approach to editing hundreds of hours of footage filled with the raw experience so prevalent among American kids.
		Postcard from Salem, Mass Michael Galinsky and Suki Hawley's documentary Battle for Brooklyn has made many stops this year. Galinsky sends his thoughts from the Salem Film Fest, after it wrapped year five as the region's largest doc-only festival.
		SXSW 2012: Where Transformation is the Norm Why do some marketers prefer SXSW to Sundance? If you go next year, will you get to see the movies on your list? Should you bring your laptop? And finally, did you know your Tweets can finally make it to the big screen?
		Redemption Hunters The Australian-helmed mercenary's tale, The Hunter starring Willem Dafoe, pushed the actor to re-think hunting and what it means to want, and receive, redemption. Now on VOD, the film opens in North American theaters on April 6th. Katherine Brodsky spoke to Dafoe and director Daniel Nettheim about the project.
		New Directors/New Films 2012 - Critic's Choice New Directors/New Films showcases the work of emerging filmmakers from around the globe. Senior critic Kurt Brokaw takes in the festival, now in its 41st year, and gives us his picks of what to seek out and why, including An Oversimplification of Her Beauty, The Raid: Redemption, Omar Killed Me, Crulic: The Path to Beyond, The Minister, and The End.
		Coolidge Corner Theatre Honors Viggo Mortenson He may appear small here but larger than life Viggo Mortenson accepted the 2012 Coolidge Award with grace and humility, according to The Independent's Mike Sullivan, who attended the ceremony celebrating Mortenson's accomplishments.
		Rendez-Vous With French Cinema 2012 - Critic's Choice Senior film critic Kurt Brokaw brings us a second consecutive year of critic's choices from Rendez-Vous With French Cinema, running March 1-11, 2012. His picks include Free Men, Unforgivable, Untouchable, 17 Girls, 38 Witnesses and The Well Digger’s Daughter.
		Fever Dreams, Middle-Eastern Video Diaries, the Quest for Inspiration, and Memories on Tap "The cumulative effect of both [5 Broken Cameras and ½ Revolution] makes you feel like you are there vicariously experiencing the events from the filmmakers’ subjective vantage points," writes Neil Kendricks about two standout features from Sundance 2012. He recaps fest highs and lows, including Grand Jury Prize winner, Beasts of the Southern Wild.
		Alchemy Springs from the Striking Artistry of Sundance Shorts Lucy Walker’s The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom picked up Sundance's jury prize for short non-fiction and an Academy Award nomination. Hers is one of many shorts on Neil Kendricks' must-watch list from Sundance 2012.
		Approaches to End of the World Docs Voice-over or not? When to animate? And where to leave your viewers? Two IDFA docs, Four Horsemen and Surviving Progress tackle the consequences of progress by making different stylistic choices.
		Reasons for the Cutting Room Floor An editor's technical toolbox may have changed since the 80s but there are still lessons to be learned from classic ensemble dramas like The Big Chill. All those adults in one kitchen, dancing? Editor Mike Sullivan caught up with editor Carol Littleton to ask how she cut that scene and about the significance of leaving Kevin Costner on the cutting room floor.
		IDFA 2011 - In Touch with the "Planet of Snail" "I think every doc director is an activist, their army is visual images," says director Seung-Jun Yi. His film, Planet of Snail, about the blind and deaf poet Young-Chan, just won the best feature-length documentary award at IDFA. Seung-Jun Yi has made documentaries for Korean television and is among a growing movement of filmmakers to break out and expand the form.
		IDFA 2011 - Int'l Perspectives on Digital Distribution and Doc Financing Even though funding and distributing your doc can feel like a confusing quagmire, to some it's the new sexy. IDFA panelists have their say on the evergreen questions, including an announcement of a new source for financial support: BRITDOC.
		Of-the-Moment Tips on Funding Indies, Social Media, Genre Films, TV Pitches and More "Self-distribution is not for the faint of heart," is just one of the most salient bits of commentary and advice The Independent's Katherine Brodsky overheard at the Annual BNA Atlas International Film & TV Finance Summit. Jodi Piekoff, Josh Braun, Warren Nimchuk, Ira Deutchman, Wilder Knight, Karrine Behr, Vinca Jarrett are mentioned.
		New York Film Festival 2011 - Critic's Choice The Independent's senior film critic, Kurt Brokaw, is viewing the entire main slate of the 49th New York Film Festival, showing at Lincoln Center September 30-October 16th. His critic’s choices—from among 27 feature films plus numerous ‘special event’ features, masterworks, “views from the avant garde” and shorts—begin here.
		Casting His Bell The premise sounds like either a miracle or a gimmick: thousands of hours of visual and audio footage off a cell phone turned into a meaningful personal documentary. Yet Bosnian filmmaker Nedžad Begović's Mobitel (A Cell Phone Movie) manages to make cell phones ring like they're centuries old.
		Postcard from Northern Ontario For 23 years, the Cinefest Sudbury International Film Festival has come at the heels of the Toronto International Film Festival. But Cinefest has no red carpet, and the only big name you’re likely to see is on the screen. John Charrette introduces us to one Ontario filmmaker whose name you should know, Benjamin Paquette. His fourth feature, (Non) Fiction premiered at Cinefest over the weekend.
		State of the Film Industry in Southeast Europe Tax incentives. Public and private funding. Transnational co-productions. During a year abroad to study regional film festivals and exhibition, Courtney Sheehan takes in Southeast Europe through the lens of presenters at the third annual industry Cinelink forum during the Sarajevo Film Festival.
		Afghan Life According to Afghan Filmmakers From the long walk between work and home to squeezing water from the desert dust, The Fruit of Our Labor depicts daily life in post-9/11 Afghanistan, as told by 10 Afghan filmmakers trained by Community Supported Film.
		Friend Your College Film Programmer, Pronto! Every minute you let your nearest college film program go by without becoming acquainted with its schedule, leadership, and selection process, is a day you miss of fresh, often free cinema (and popcorn), and a chance to get eyes on your latest masterwork. Courtney Sheehan gives a behind-the-scenes account of running a college film program in Iowa and suggests that filmmakers and distributors should seek out these venues now, before they disappear.
		The Lasting Effects of "Buck" Normally literature is what moves fiction writer Peggy Rambach. Then she met Buck Brannaman through the documentary portrait of his life. Rambach's is part of a series of personal essays inspired by a particular film experience.
		Governments Behaving Badly "In the emerging wave of new Romanian cinema, the misery index runs high," writes Brokaw. Cristian Mungiu and company's collection of light but critical vignettes in Tales from the Golden Age pairs well with the Emily Watson-powered drama, Oranges and Sunshine, which Brokaw suggests prompted two Prime Ministers to beg pardon for their governments' wrongdoing.
		Just Like Us: The Truth About Light What happens when a friend accomplishes something huge, like finishing his film, when you're still struggling to find your own artistic way? Ahmed Ahmed's new documentary about comedy in the Middle East inspired poet and memoirist Lisa Pegram in more ways than one.
		It's Alive! If you thought the electric car died a slow, tragic death, you're right. And if you're like filmmaker Chris Paine, who helped document its demise in Who Killed the Electric Car? or the inventors and advocates in his new film, Revenge of the Electric Car then you believe, beyond a shadow of the doubt, electric can and will power vehicles of the future. Read what Paine told the The Independent's Katherine Brodsky after his film premiered.
		10 Filmmakers to Watch in 2011 Wondering who will be named to The Independent's 10 to Watch 2012 list? Here's a reminder of last year's inspiring filmmakers as we put the finishing touches on this year's roll out.
		Crowd Funding 101: How to Maximize Your Online Campaign Crowd Sourcing. Crowd Funding. Kickstarter. IndieGoGo. Everyone's either doing it, talking about it, or wishing they knew enough to utilize these new approaches to making a movie from the ground up. Here's your primer on who, what, and how.
		"Losing Control" Melds Science and Romance Thanks to the candid film journal written by Valerie Weiss throughout the making of Losing Control, The Independent had an insider's view throughout its production. Now it's screening at venues throughout the US and Maddy Kadish explains why it's must-see viewing.
		Tips on Securing Broadcast on National Public Television In this guide to securing public television broadcast, filmmaker and station relations consultant Jennifer Owensby Sanza spills the beans on how to reach the staggering potential only public television can offer--reaching 99 percent of American homes.
		Are Pitch Sessions the New Black? Pitch sessions are becoming the go-to attraction at film festivals and conferences. Maddy Kadish hears from Sean Flynn, Lesley Norman, and Elizabeth Karr about how to swing that pitch out of the park.
		Securing Distribution with Netflix Indie filmmakers and DIY distributors are vying for a shot at Netflix distribution. Though Netflix added 300 streaming independent films to their service one year ago, the submission and selection process for indie films is still evolving.
		Maximizing Film Exhibition Quality at Festivals Finally, your work screens at a festival. But the sound is off and it looks terrible. Kelly Gallagher asks festival programmers and filmmakers how to increase exhibition quality at festivals. In addition to post-production, improve your audience's experience through preparation and developing rapport with festival staff.
		Exhibitor FAQ: Emerging Pictures With the largest network of digital theaters in the US, Emerging Pictures is helping exhibitors and filmmakers grasp hold of the future, which VP of distribution Josh Green says includes one-time screenings, easy access to classics, and front row seats to elite cultural programming.

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Above photo is from Pina, by Wim Wenders. The Independent's interview with Wenders by Neil Kendricks can be found here.

Note: The Independent was formerly The Independent Film & Video Monthly published by the AIVF (Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers).

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