What are the greatest indie films ever made? Probably a silly question, as any list is bound to be arbitrary and subjective. Still, I found a pretty decent one, Empire Magazine’s 50 Greatest Independent Films
This is worth spending some time looking at -and you’ll be forced to, as each of the 50 films is on its own separate page! There are some great ones there, to be sure, such as Mean Streets, Donnie Darko, Pi, Slacker, The Terminator…yes, they’re calling The Terminator an indie film, and provide some semi-legitimate justification for this…see what I meant by subjective and arbitrary? But, the list is definitely worth checking out, if only to remind yourself of what films are worth seeing again when the current crop of blockbusters, remakes and sequels has you bored enough to forsake films for YouTube videos forever.
For a more accessible, and much less detailed Best Of list, here’s one compiled by the IMDb, based on customer reviews: Best and Worst Indie Films. The Worst Of in this case are pretty obscure.
John and Mary is one of those period piece films that is all but forgotten today. I happened to find it on Netflix, and don’t recall ever having seen it before. That’s always fun -at least for me- finding an obscure film that has well known actors that was made decades ago. In this case, the well known actors are Dustin Hoffman and Mia Farrow, who play an ultra modern (for their time) pair of single people who meet in a New York City bar, spend the night together and contemplate where, if anywhere, it’s all going to go.
John and Mary is by no means a great film. Looking over reviews from when it came out, it wasn’t especially well received, and for justifiable reasons. The film, directed by Peter Yates, is from a novel, and every so often we hear the characters’ thoughts and it sounds like words taken from a novel. Much of the rest of the time it feels more like a play, as much of it is set in John’s apartment and there’s a lot of back-and-forth and somewhat repetitive interaction as the two new lovers are alternately affectionate and combative with each other. There are also attempts at humor, but the mix of drama and comedy is a little uneven. Even though it only runs about 90 minutes it feels long.
If you like low key, character driven, and especially dialogue driven films, as I do, John and Mary will appeal to you. Unfortunately, it’s not the greatest example of this type of film. Yet, any student of independent films, anyone who lived through the 60’s or has an interest in that period may want to see it, if only for its historical interest.
The trailer that accompanied the Netflix version of the film was amusing -the slogan “Not your mother’s love story” must have been repeated a half dozen times, showing how eager they were to shock the public with this tale of contemporary urban amorality. Ultimately, however, the film’s desire to be ultra hip and blase are its undoing, as the characters don’t really have much depth, almost as though the filmmakers knew even then that this was more a commentary on a generation than about real people.
We can add the Napa Valley Film Festival to the growing number of popular and influential showcases for the latest independent films. We can only see it as a healthy trend that more festivals are getting publicity and the indie film world is getting more decentralized and, well, indie. If there’s anything to complain about with this trend, it’s that the vast majority of these film festivals are in scenic or glamorous locations. This makes perfect sense, of course –why not give people a chance to see some innovative films while they’re vacationing in California wine country or the South of France? But now maybe it’s time for some film festivals to appear in places no one would want to go otherwise, somewhere like…well, we wouldn’t want to insult anyone’s home town, but insert your stereotype middle-of-nowhere location.
“Celebrating the best new independent films from around the world, along with the food, wine, hospitality and natural beauty of the legendary Napa Valley, the world’s top wine country destination. Inaugural festival Nov 9 – 13, 2011”
The San Diego Latino Film Festival may not be the best known film festival in the world, but more films from Spanish speaking nations are being made all the time, and many are receiving acclaim. This festival is a good sampling of these films that will hopefully receive some mainstream attention as well.
The film series includes: Without Men: In this offbeat comedy, the women of a secluded Latin American village are left to rebuild their society after all of the men are recruited by a bumbling group of guerrillas. …
All of the films on FUTURESTATES are amazing resources, these are just a few that center Latino and Latino experiences. I got to show special love to Greg Pak who creates marvelous films. …
The Toronto Film Festival has been gaining in popularity in recent years -the lineup for the 2011 festival, which starts next month, has been announced:
The Toronto International Film Festival, which has become an important platform for awards-seeking films in recent years, has announced its 2011 lineup. The.
Distributing independent films can be even more challenging than making them in the first place -or at least, it can raise a whole new set of obstacles. This article discusses possible ways to revive a film that seems to be going nowhere.
Even if your project seems dead, it isn't. It's a zombie, undead and angry, just waiting for the right time to attack…
Publish Date: 07/26/2011 0:19
http://www.filmthreat.com/features/38824/
Continuing with the theme of indie film distribution, in this video, veteran producer Michael Phillips discusses alternative independent film strategies:
www.myfilmis.com for independent film distribution Hear from academy award winner Michael Phillips on independent distribution through a new independent film distributor called MyFilmIs.com www.myfilmis.com Michael Phillips is a veteran film producer…
It’s not always easy to fund an independent film. Some people, of course, manage to make films on extremely low budgets, but not everyone is able to do this. Here is some advice for finding funding for an indie film:
And like in any business investors are searching for a number of good options available for them to get involved in the independent film making industry to finance your films. The best way to gain funding for your film …
For another perspective on financing films, here’s a discussion on how The King’s Speech was financed and what aspiring filmmakers can learn from this:
www.filmmakeruk.com – Paul Brett, CEO of Prescience Film Finance, discusses how he and his company supported the Oscar-winning The King’s Speech with financing. He outlines how to obtain funding for your own film – and the steps you should go through…
This is an inspiration for anyone on a shoestring budget thinking of making an indie film -a recent film called For Lovers Only, made on a DSLR camera on virtually no budget has reached the iTunes Top 100 movies and already grossed $200K!
Here's a story that everyone will love, except Hollywood. An Indie film, made with absolutely no money and a DSLR camera, has grossed over $200000 and climbed into iTunes Top 100 Movies.
Filmmaker Magazine identifies some of the most recent notable contributions to independent film, including documentaries, animation and even video games…
For another source of new, as well as classic indie films, check out myfilmis.com – this is a fairly new resource worth checking out –
www.myfilmis.com new indie films online MyFilmIs.com is a fresh, new and innovative independent films distribution network… So, for all your indie favorites, brand new independent films, even those cool, classic cult indie films too, then visit MyF…
iLounge news discussing the Film Festival TV showcases indie films from around the world. Find more iPad news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.
