Read more: www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-may-24/

• Jeanne du Barry
• Wildcat
• The Last Stop in Yuma County
• The Idea of You
• Lost Soulz
• Little Wing
• Poolman
• The Blue Angels
• RIPLEY
• Slow

Read more: www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-april-24/

• Monkey Man
• The Beast
• Wes Schlagenhauf Is Dying
• Sasquatch Sunset
• Civil War
• Abigail
• We Grown Now
• The Moon and Back
• Challengers
• The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed

Read more: www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-march-24/

• Love Lies Bleeding
• Cabrini
• The Regime
• Silver Haze
• Arthur the King
• Road House
• Wicked Little Letters
• La Chimera
• Problemista
• Shambhala

Read more: www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-february-24/

• How to Have Sex
• Suncoast
• Drift
• Here
• Ordinary Angels
• Drive-Away Dolls
• They Shot the Piano Player
• The Taste of Things
• Man from Reno
• Tigers Are Not Afraid

Read more: www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-january-24/

• The Lady Bird Diaries
• Good Grief
• Anselm
• Society of the Snow
• Some Other Woman
• Self Reliance
• Expats
• Miller's Girl
• Sometimes I Think About Dying
• Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project

Read more: www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-december-23

• Eileen
• Poor Things
• Origin
• The Boy and the Heron
• The Zone of Interest
• American Fiction
• The Iron Claw
• Society of the Snow
• Merry Good Enough
• All of Us Strangers

Read more: www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-november-23/

• Fingernails
• Radical
• Your Lucky Day
• The Curse
• Maxine's Baby: The Tyler Perry Story
• Next Goal Wins
• Saltburn
• Maestro
• Leave the World Behind
• May December

Read more: www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-february-2023/

• A Lot of Nothing
• Magic Mike's Last Dance
• Sharper
• Somebody I Used to Know
• Cocaine Bear
• Blueback
• Return to Seoul
• Of an Age
• Close
• All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt

Read more: www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-august-2023/

• Shortcomings
• A Compassionate Spy
• Passages
• The Pod Generation
• Aporia
• Medusa Deluxe
• Oldboy
• Bottoms
• Problemista
• King on Screen

Read more: www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-october-23/

• Foe
• Cat Person
• Anatomy of a Fall
• NYAD
• Sight
• The Holdovers
• Five Nights at Freddy's
• The Pigeon Tunnel
• Priscilla
• The Persian Version

Read more: www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-september-23/

• Scout's Honor: The Secret Files of the Boy Scouts of America
• Poor Things
• King on Screen
• El Conde
• Cassandro
• Dumb Money
• Peter Case: A Million Miles Away
• Rotting in the Sun
• Priscilla
• Challengers

Read more: www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-july-2023/

• Earth Mama
• Flamin' Hot
• Mama Bears
• I'm a Virgo
• George & Tammy
• Biosphere
• Afire
• Theater Camp
• 20 Days in Mariupol
• Stephen Curry: Underrated

Read more: www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-june-23

• The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster
• Padre Pio
• Dalíland
• Users
• Blue Jean
• Asteroid City
• Past Lives
• Lynch/Oz
• Mama Bears
• Unidentified Objects

Read more: www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-may2023/

• A Small Light
• Polite Society
• What's Love Got to Do with It?
• STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie
• Hypnotic
• It Ain't Over
• Monica
• Master Gardener
• You Hurt My Feelings

Read more: www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-april-2/

• Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields
• Juniper
• Air
• BEEF
• How to Blow Up a Pipeline
• Carmen
• Chevalier
• Beau Is Afraid
• Dead Ringers
• Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.

Read more: www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-march-2023/

• My Happy Ending
• Unseen
• Champions
• Punch
• Inside
• All the World Is Sleeping
• A Good Person
• John Wick: Chapter 4
• Smoking Causes Coughing
• Palm Trees and Power Lines

Learn more:
www.filmindependent.org/spirit-awards/

Full nominee list:
www.filmindependent.org/spirit-awards/nominees/

• The African Desperate
• After Yang
• Aftersun
• All That Breathes
• All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
• Beba
• Bodies Bodies Bodies
• Bones and All
• Bruiser
• The Cathedral

...plus 37 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Read more:
www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-january-23/

• The Whale
• M3GAN
• The Pale Blue Eye
• House Party
• Saint Omer
• When You Finish Saving The World
• Alice, Darling
• One Fine Morning
• Good Night Oppy
• Women Talking

Read more:
www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-december-22/

• Blonde
• Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me
• Argentina, 1985
• Nanny
• The Territory
• Retrograde
• Bad Axe
• Sr.
• To Leslie
• Turn Every Page - The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb

Read more:
www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-november-22/

• Causeway
• BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths
• Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams
• Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
• Nocebo
• My Policeman
• The Fabelmans
• She Said
• Lady Chatterley's Lover
• The Son

Read more:
www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-october-22/

• Amsterdam
• Armageddon Time
• Call Jane
• Decision to Leave
• Halloween Ends
• The Good Nurse
• Till
• Triangle of Sadness
• White Bird
• TÁR

Read more: www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-september-3/

• Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul.
• Orphan: First Kill
• Peter von Kant
• Hold Me Tight
• Blonde
• Don't Worry Darling
• Sidney
• Carmen
• The Silent Twins
• Cat Daddies

Spirit Awards: www.filmindependent.org/spirit-awards/

• Blood Simple
• After Hours
• Platoon
• The Dead
• Stand and Deliver
• sex, lies, and videotape
• To Sleep with Anger
• Rambling Rose
• One False Move
• Short Cuts

...plus 28 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Spirit Awards: www.filmindependent.org/spirit-awards/

• After Hours
• Platoon
• River's Edge
• Stand and Deliver
• sex, lies, and videotape
• The Grifters
• Rambling Rose
• The Player
• Short Cuts
• Pulp Fiction

...plus 27 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Spirit Awards: www.filmindependent.org/spirit-awards/

• Blood Simple
• Salvador
• The Big Easy
• Stand and Deliver
• Drugstore Cowboy
• To Sleep with Anger
• My Own Private Idaho
• Bad Lieutenant
• American Heart
• Pulp Fiction

...plus 27 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Spirit Awards: www.filmindependent.org/spirit-awards/

• The Trip to Bountiful
• Blue Velvet
• Anna
• Five Corners
• sex, lies, and videotape
• The Grifters
• Impromptu
• Gas Food Lodging
• Ruby in Paradise
• The Last Seduction

...plus 27 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Spirit Awards: www.filmindependent.org/spirit-awards/

• Street Smart
• Stand and Deliver
• Drugstore Cowboy
• Longtime Companion
• City of Hope
• Reservoir Dogs
• Twenty Bucks
• Bullets Over Broadway
• The Usual Suspects
• Basquiat

...plus 25 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Spirit Awards: www.filmindependent.org/spirit-awards/

• The Dead
• Stand and Deliver
• sex, lies, and videotape
• To Sleep with Anger
• Rambling Rose
• Passion Fish
• Household Saints
• Bullets Over Broadway
• Georgia
• Lone Star

...plus 25 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Read more: www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-august-2022/

• Sharp Stick
• Bodies Bodies Bodies
• They/Them
• Summering
• Spin Me Round
• Emily the Criminal
• Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams
• The Good Boss
• Three Thousand Years of Longing
• Back to the Drive-in

Read more: www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-july-22/

• Poser
• Clara Sola
• Both Sides of the Blade
• She Will
• Don't Make Me Go
• Nope
• House Party
• Vengeance
• Queen of Glory
• Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris

Read more: www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-june-2022/

• Crimes of the Future
• Fire Island
• Watcher
• After Blue (Dirty Paradise)
• The Janes
• Cha Cha Real Smooth
• My Fake Boyfriend
• Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
• Flux Gourmet
• Brian and Charles

...plus 1 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Read more: www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-may-2022/

• Montana Story
• All My Puny Sorrows
• Wuhan Wuhan
• Operation Mincemeat
• Pleasure
• Firestarter
• Men
• To Chiara
• Paris, 13th District
• Anaïs in Love

Read more: www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-april-2022/

• You Won't Be Alone
• Memoria
• Waterman
• Midnight
• Cow
• We're All Going to the World's Fair
• The Northman
• Under the Banner of Heaven
• Petite Maman
• The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Read more: www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-march-22/

• After Yang
• Fresh
• Lucy and Desi
• Alice
• I Am Here
• Everything Everywhere All at Once
• X
• Jane by Charlotte
• The Dropout

Read more: www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-february-2022/

• I'm Your Man
• The Sky Is Everywhere
• Kimi
• Catch the Fair One
• Strawberry Mansion
• Dog
• Streamline
• The Last Bus
• Mothering Sunday
• The Worst Person in the World

Read more: www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-december-2021/

• The Hand of God
• Benedetta
• Wolf
• Encounter
• Flee
• Red Rocket
• Swan Song
• The Tragedy of Macbeth
• The Lost Daughter
• The Power of the Dog

Read more: www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-november-2/

• Spencer
• Licorice Pizza
• House of Gucci
• C'mon C'mon
• Mayor Pete
• Belfast
• The Beta Test
• Beans
• A Cop Movie
• Passing

Read more: www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-october-2021/

• The Guilty
• Maid
• Fauci
• The Starling
• V/H/S/94
• Needle in a Timestack
• The Harder They Fall
• The French Dispatch
• Last Night in Soho

Read more: www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-september-2021/

• Worth
• Really Love
• Mogul Mowgli
• Language Lessons
• The Card Counter
• Blue Bayou
• The Eyes of Tammy Faye
• Everybody's Talking About Jamie
• The Many Saints of Newark
• My Name Is Pauli Murray

Read more: www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-august-2021/

• No Ordinary Man
• Val
• Annette
• Beckett
• CODA
• Ema
• The Night House
• No Man of God
• Memoria
• Whirlybird

Read more: www.filmindependent.org/blog/dont-miss-indies-what-to-watch-in-july-2021/

• False Positive
• Summer of Soul (...or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
• Gunpowder Milkshake
• Pig
• How It Ends
• Old
• Ailey
• The Last Letter from Your Lover
• The Green Knight
• Stillwater

...plus 1 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Guest moderator Janelle Riley (Variety) talks to the folks behind LAST STOP IN YUMA COUNTY: writer/director/producer Francis Galluppi, EP/actor Jim Cummings, actor Jocelin Donahue and cinematographer Mac Fisken.

Film Independent promotes unique independent voices by helping filmmakers create and advance new work. To become a Member of Film Independent, just click here. To support
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New York’s Tribeca Film Festival is turning 22 this year (one year since the Festival has been able to drink, three more years until it can rent a car), and from June 5-16 will be bringing another bumper crop of American and international indies to film screens in lower Manhattan. And sure, we’d all like to eat cannolis with Robert De Niro at one of those fancy bakeries they have down there, but unfortunately not all of us are talented enough to create a Tribeca-worthy feature or short. Luckily, we have proxies available in the form of three Film Independent Fiscal Sponsorship supported projects!

Read the full article

Film Independent promotes unique independent voices by helping filmmakers create and advance new work. To become a Member of Film Independent, just click here. To support
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Filmmaker Ethan Hawke (Chelsea Walls, Blaze) talks to Film Independent President Josh Welsh about his new film WILDCAT, starring his daughter Maya Hawke (Stranger Things) as author Flannery O'Connor.

Film Independent promotes unique independent voices by helping filmmakers create and advance new work. To become a Member of Film Independent, just click here. To support
us with a donation, click here.

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Film Independent's Alana Waksman talks to Oscar-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville (20 Feet from Stardom, Won't You Be My Neighbor) about his new two-part Steve Martin documentary on Apple+.

Film Independent promotes unique independent voices by helping filmmakers create and advance new work. To become a Member of Film Independent, just click here. To support
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With a career spanning 25 years, music supervisor Matt Biffa is a specialist in source music research and copyright clearance. His projects include Sex Education, I May Destroy You, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Paddington, Carol, The End of the F**king World and, most recently, the Max comedy series Hacks.

Read the full article

Film Independent promotes unique independent voices by helping filmmakers create and advance new work. To become a Member of Film Independent, just click here. To support
us with a donation, click here.

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As creative people who care about making a difference with our art, can we afford not to care about the impact we make on our environment? What's the story we tell about our place in the world with the way we make our films? Can you save money on production costs while saving the planet?

Featuring: Stephanie Dawson (Down with the King, Maya and Her Lover), Michael Kaliski (Good Planet), Jon Michael Kondrath (The Hyperions) and sustainable production specialist Jennifer Sandoval (Earth Angel).

Film Independent promotes unique independent voices by helping filmmakers create and advance new work. To become a Member of Film Independent, just click here. To support
us with a donation, click here.

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“We are not there to be the sex police. We actually want it to look really good and we’re very highly trained in how to do that” –Rebecca Johannsen, on the role of an intimacy coordinator
 
As the film community continues to process the fallout of the #MeToo movement and keeps growing in its awareness of the trauma caused by the mishandling of actors on set, a critical new production role has emerged: the intimacy coordinator (IC). But while the role has been largely welcomed by the industry since it started appearing on call sheets in 2017 the job is still widely misunderstood.

To teach our community more about the value a skilled IC can bring to a project, Film Independent Education’s Filmmaker Tuesdays invited intimacy coordinator Rebecca Johannsen–of Intimacy Professionals Association (IPA)–to hold a group workshop around the topic on April 23 at Film Independent’s Wilshire Boulevard HQ.

Read the full article

Film Independent promotes unique independent voices by helping filmmakers create and advance new work. To become a Member of Film Independent, just click here. To support
us with a donation, click here.

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From the sweeping vistas of The Searchers to the towering Transformers of Age of Extinction, the mesas and monuments of Utah’s southern half have been a regular presence in film since the earliest days of the medium. In fact, throughout 2024 the “Beehive State” has been celebrating its considerable cinematic heritage with the exhibition “100 Years of Utah Film and Television” on display now at the Capitol Building in Salt Lake City.

But balancing responsible land use with tourism and commercial exploitation is forever a hot topic in Utah—a regular theme in Western states—and there are few exceptions made for the arts. Which is why collaboration with the steady guiding hand of local film commissions is so critical; someone to steer visiting filmmakers in the correct direction (both legally and creatively) and keep the reciprocal ecosystem of commerce between film crews and local businesses on the good foot.

An assertive and fast-talking native New Yorker, Bega Metzner perhaps seems an unlikely steward of John Ford’s favorite Old West stomping ground. But the former fashion model and wardrobe supervisor fell in love with Moab’s craggy red rocks decades ago, going from part-time resident to full-time head (and often sole staffer) of the Moab to Monument Valley Film Commission, the oldest active film commission in the entire industry. 

Read the full article

Film Independent promotes unique independent voices by helping filmmakers create and advance new work. To become a Member of Film Independent, just click here. To support
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Film Independent Senior Programmer Jenn Wilson talks to the filmmakers behind the Paramount+ original feature LITTLE WING: director Dean Israelite, producer Naomi Despres, writer John Gatins and journalist Susan Orlean.

Film Independent promotes unique independent voices by helping filmmakers create and advance new work. To become a Member of Film Independent, just click here. To support
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A film set is a remarkable place, with infinite possibilities: a societal microcosm full of creative craftspeople performing their individual roles. Everyone on set plays their part and works hard (making movies is hard work, after all) to create a smooth workflow and contribute to their project’s success. But too often, film sets are also incredibly wasteful places—from discarded plastic bottles to leftover food, inefficient energy use, idling vehicle emissions and more.

Fortunately, things are changing thanks to sustainability organizations and studio leadership initiatives helping to make productions more environmentally friendly. Just remember: consistent small changes add up to a big impact. With more conscientious planning, sensitivity and a little bit of effort—not to mention a designated “sustainability leader” on hand to keep people accountable—we filmmakers can help to build an enduring culture of “The Green Set.”

Read the full article

Film Independent promotes unique independent voices by helping filmmakers create and advance new work. To become a Member of Film Independent, just click here. To support
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Do you remember the very first moment when you realized a movie could be far more than just a brief, amiable diversion from the temporal slog of life as an extant human? That first moment you realized film could be art capable of providing a fully nourishing spiritual experience? That perhaps even made you want to become a filmmaker in order to provide that experience to someone else? Just as important: Do you recall the most recent movie that gave you that same feeling or fit of inspiration?

Well, in this week’s Survey Says that’s just what we asked: What’s the first movie you saw that you considered a masterpiece… and the most recent?

Read the full article

Film Independent promotes unique independent voices by helping filmmakers create and advance new work. To become a Member of Film Independent, just click here. To support
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So you want to be a filmmaker or work in entertainment, but have no clue where to start? Well, thank God you’re reading this right now! Each year, Film Independent provides programs and Labs dedicated to helping filmmakers from marginalized communities get their stories made.

Does that sound like you? Great! Keep reading, ’cause here are some application tips and tricks to impress, as shared by Film Independent Artist Development team members including Francisco Velasquez (Associate Director, Project Involve), Dea Vasquez (Senior Manager, Project Involve) and Daniel Cardone (Artist Development Associate, Nonfiction and Fiscal Sponsorship).

In this conversation, Francisco, Dea and Daniel break down what types of Lab projects they’re looking for, what makes an application stand out, the dos and don’ts of applying, and the opportunities that our Artist Development programs provide.

Read the full article

Film Independent promotes unique independent voices by helping filmmakers create and advance new work. To become a Member of Film Independent, just click here. To support
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Since its inception, Film Independent’s Fast Track Finance Market has been a powerful ally to filmmakers, providing a structured-and-stacked space within which to pitch projects to independent media’s most adventurous advocates. Each year, Film Independent selects up to 10 fiction and five non-fiction feature projects to participate in an intensive film finance market that takes place over four days in November.

Read the full article

Film Independent promotes unique independent voices by helping filmmakers create and advance new work. To become a Member of Film Independent, just click here. To support
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Exterior. Establishing: Film Independent HQ. Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles. PRELAP the sounds of passionate conversation and laughter. CUT TO: Interior, Conference Room, Film Independent HQ. Seven new screenwriting FELLOWS are arrayed around a table, the Hollywood Sign visible on the distant hills outside the window.

They’re here to develop six deeply personal and wholly original feature film projects under the steady guiding hand of Film Independent’s SCREENWRITING LAB (31, strong-willed but nurturing; seasoned but not too stuffy it can’t still cut the rug, especially when an open bar is involved). A fun, creative, safe space.

Read the full article

Film Independent promotes unique independent voices by helping filmmakers create and advance new work. To become a Member of Film Independent, just click here. To support
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Film Independent promotes unique independent voices by helping filmmakers create and advance new work. To become a Member of Film Independent, just click here. To support
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It’s true! No, seriously: it’s true. And by “it” we of course mean the stories at the heart of Film Independent’s 2024 Doc Story Lab. A one-week intensive designed to provide support for filmmakers whose projects are in post-production, the Doc Story Lab is one of two Documentary Labs amid the larger Film Independent Artist Development umbrella of talent incubators, which for over 30 years have been the place to spot future media-visionary movers-and-shakers.

This year’s participants will engage in five days’ worth of workshops, guest speaker sessions, and one-on-one mentorship with leading professionals in the nonfiction film space. including Doc Story Lab Lead Creative Mentors Chris Shellen (Steve! (Martin) A Documentary in 2 Pieces) and Anayansi Prado (Paraiso for Sale) and Editing Mentors Christy Denes (Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult) and Sara Newens (Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields). Not to mention plenty of networking opportunities with advice on the craft and business of documentary film.

Read the full article

Film Independent promotes unique independent voices by helping filmmakers create and advance new work. To become a Member of Film Independent, just click here. To support
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Film Independent’s Fiscal Sponsorship program supports an inclusive variety of projects,narrative and nonfiction, shorts and features, as well as the occasional new media project, special event or advocacy initiative. Each month, our Fiscal Spotlight column introduces three new fiscally-sponsored projects worth supporting.

But maybe you’re curious how some of those prior subjects have turned out? That’s right: it’s time for another FiSpo Update highlighting the recent achievements of previous Fiscal Spotlight subjects.

Read the full article

Film Independent promotes unique independent voices by helping filmmakers create and advance new work. To become a Member of Film Independent, just click here. To support
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If you’re as deeply immersed in the particulars of the independent film world as we are, you’ve probably sensed a sort of crisis of career sustainability recently boiling over. More and more, indie makers across all disciplines are finding it difficult to build protections around the financial aspects of their work.

Why, it’s almost (almost!) like budding auteurs are flushed out of the soft surroundings of film school into the real world with no training in basic business fundamentals–the kind any independent contractor might need, as a matter of course. Luckily there are folks stepping in to provide a framework for filmmakers to thrive, both economically and creatively.

Read the full article

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Do you thrive on taking copious notes, observing minute details, and working closely on set with a director? Yes? Then you might want to consider a career as a script supervisor—the person who makes sure that the visual details in a scene (action, wardrobe, props, set dressing, hair and makeup—you name it) are consistent from shot-to-shot and even scene-to-scene.

And you might want to consider these insights from expert script supervisor, Sarah Horton, whose credits over a 12-year career include Mutt & Stuff, Aftermath, Behaving Badly, and Liza On Demand. Continuity and consistency are crucial for the development of your project. Your movie simply has to make sense. Script supervising—and filmmaking in general—is all about helping to answer these questions: “How are you getting into a scene?” and “How are you getting out of a scene?” And, most importantly: “How are your scenes blending together to make a beautiful piece of art?”

Horton recently returned to Film Independent to discuss her role on set a liaison between director and editor—not to mention her highly organized notes process, which records every action and ever detail of every day. Film Independent’s Paul Cowling served as moderator. Long story short: it’s not such a simple process.

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Film Independent's Kate Mason talks to filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher (Happy as Lazarro) about her new feature LA CHIMERA, coming soon from NEON.

Film Independent promotes unique independent voices by helping filmmakers create and advance new work. To become a Member of Film Independent, just click here. To support
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Most filmmakers only really get going when the pain of not making a movie finally boils over to the point where it exceeds the pain of making a movie. And once this pivotal point-of-no-return is reached, the accumulated velocity of ambition will not allow petty inconveniences to impede the ultimate realization of its goal. Not even a punishing lack of start-up capital–or even, it turns out, a torrential Southern California downpour choking the streets of LA to a frigid standstill.

So despite being rescheduled from February 6 due to an aggressive late-winter rainfall, Fi’s Filmmaker Tuesday session, The Evolution of Microbudget Filmmaking, finally happened last week on March 19, featuring a panel of four acclaimed indie producers and directors (not to mention Fi Fellows!) who have all managed to make big waves with their work despite microscopic production budgets. They were: Iram Parveen Bilal (Wakhri, I’ll Meet You There), Ron Najor (Short Term 12, I Am Not a Hipster), Gia Rigoli (Plastico, Anchorage) and Avril Speaks (African America, Jinn).

The panel was moderated by filmmaker Felix Werner, founder of new online creative hub HieronyVision–who sponsored the evening’s event. Turns out there’s a lot to say about the current state of microbudget moviemaking. 

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Film Independent promotes unique independent voices by helping filmmakers create and advance new work. To become a Member of Film Independent, just click here. To support
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“The visions of yesterday have all caught up to us and we must start looking towards the next visions,” stated moderator and veteran TV writer and producer Wendy Calhoun (Station 19, Empire) emphasizing a recurring theme of the June 22 Sloan Salon panel “Storytelling and Tech: Crafting Human-Centered Stories About Technology.”

The online conversation delved into timely subjects such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and ChatGPT, raising ethical questions about how we represent technology in stories and highlighting some optimistic views on where it could all be headed.

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Film Independent promotes unique independent voices by helping filmmakers create and advance new work. To become a Member of Film Independent, just click here. To support
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