Declare Your Independents — Vol. 37
GITS development assistant Wendy Cohen here, and welcome back to Declare Your Independents, our series highlighting the latest developments in the world of independent film!
This week…
The Films of Christopher Nolan, Ranked
Meet THR’s Next Gen Class of 2014
Record-Breaking 83 Films Submitted For Foreign Film Oscar Race
Oscar Watch: The Latest Standings Prior to AFI Fest
Scott and I encourage any of you who go to see an independent movie to post your reactions to the film in these posts. Good, bad, indifferent, whatever. If there’s a film you want to recommend, do it. Use your words to inspire readers to transport themselves into a local cinema.
INDIE SPOTLIGHT: MOVIES TO SEE IN THEATERS THIS WEEK
OPENING FRIDAY (11/7)
Starring Eddie Redmayne (“Les Misérables”) and Felicity Jones (“The Amazing Spider-Man 2”), this is the extraordinary story of one of the world’s greatest living minds, the renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, who falls deeply in love with fellow Cambridge student Jane Wilde. Once a healthy, active young man, Hawking received an earth-shattering diagnosis at 21 years of age. With Jane fighting tirelessly by his side, Stephen embarks on his most ambitious scientific work, studying the very thing he now has precious little of — time. Together, they defy impossible odds, breaking new ground in medicine and science, and achieving more than they could ever have dreamed. The film is based on the memoir Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen, by Jane Hawking, and is directed by Academy Award winner James Marsh (“Man on Wire”).
Watch the Academy’s Q&A with writer/producer Anthony McCarten and the film’s cast here.
With our time on Earth coming to an end, a team of explorers undertakes the most important mission in human history; traveling beyond this galaxy to discover whether mankind has a future among the stars. Co-written and directed by Christopher Nolan.
Watch THR’s interview with Nolan and the film’s cast here.
It’s been said that the first 21 years defines the career of an artist. Few directors have single-handedly shaken up the film establishment like the godfather of indie, Richard Linklater. From the groundbreaking SLACKER to his innovative BOYHOOD, Linklater has reached the 21-year mark and has unapologetically carved his signature into American pop culture. Get a raw and honest perspective on Richard through candid conversations with Ethan Hawke, Jack Black, Keanu Reeves, Billy Bob Thornton, Matthew McConaughey, Jason Reitman, Julie Delpy and others, and see their stories brought to life through hilarious animated sequences. For a man who became famous for celebrating the cool and casual, Linklater emerges as a surprisingly strategic and visionary director who has already established a legacy and perfected a style that can’t be denied.
A powerful, brooding love story that examines the seemingly implausible relationship between Frankie and Lev, two radically different personalities that somehow were always meant for each other. Set against the country-tinged, singer‐songwriter hipster music scene of East Los Angeles and Hollywood, the film chronicles the couple’s struggle with their personal demons as they try to hold on to one another against insurmountable odds.
Filmed in India, this drama traces the lives of those living in Bhopal during the lead-up to what is still the world’s biggest chemical disaster through to its tragic aftermath, which continues to have a major impact on peoples’ lives today.
Watch an interview with writer/director Ravi Kumar here.
“Elsa and Fred” is the story of two people who, at the end of the road, discover that it’s never too late to love and make dreams come true. Elsa has lived for the past 60 years dreaming of a moment that Fellini had already envisaged: the scene in ‘La Dolce Vita’ at the Fontana di Trevi. The same scene without Anita Ekberg in it, but with Elsa instead. Without Marcello Mastroiani but with that love that took so long to arrive. Fred is a bit younger than Elsa and has always been a good man who did everything he was supposed to do. After losing his wife, he feels disturbed and confused and his daughter decides that it would be best if he moves into a smaller apartment where he ends meeting Elsa. From that moment on, everything changes. Elsa bursts into his life like a whirlwind, determined to teach him that the time he has left to live - be it more or less ‐ is precious and that he should enjoy it as he pleases. Fred surrenders to Elsa’s frenzy, to her youth, to her boldness, to her beautiful madness. And this is how Fred learns how to live. When he learns about Elsa’s terminal illness, he decides to make her dream come true and takes Elsa to Rome to reenact with her the famous scene at the Fontana di Trevi.
Nick (Elijah Wood) has won a dinner with Jill Goddard (Sasha Grey), his favorite movie star. But on the evening, he is told by Chord (Neil Maskell), a representative of the film company, that Jill has refused to attend the dinner. The next thing he knows, Nick is given access to Jill’s mobile phone, seeing and hearing her most intimate moments on his computer. But that is only the beginning of what seems to be a much larger, darker plan. Nick begins watching the unknowing star on her webcam, not realizing that this decision will put both himself and Jill at risk as they enter a terrifying world of cat-and-mouse where nothing — and no one — are as they seem.
Indiana, 1817. The entire nation, only 40 years old and a few years removed from a second war of independence, is raw. Men, women, and children alike must battle nature and disease to survive in remote log cabins. This is young Abraham Lincoln’s world. Spanning three years of the future president’s childhood, The Better Angels explores his family, the hardships that shaped him, the tragedy that marked him forever, and the two women who guided him to immortality. Written and directed by A.J. Edwards, The Better Angels delves into visual and narrative poetry to express the Lincolns’ world. The stark wilderness they inhabit comes alive in stunning black-and-white cinematography, and the story follows the lyrical course of the characters, who struggle physically and emotionally. They are forced to take on new additions to the family, learning what acceptance and empathy really mean. With an elegant touch and extreme attention to historical accuracy, Edwards shows the austerity of the era and reveals what shaped one of history’s most distinctive leaders.
Watch a 25-minute interview with the film’s writer/director, A.J. Edwards, at Sundance here.
When Eddie lands his first teaching gig at an inner city middle school, he quickly finds that his highly pubescent pupils are receiving no form of sexual education. Eddie isn’t exactly equipped to teach them — he’s not exactly experienced romantically. And he’s falling in love with the older sister of one of his students. But Eddie goes off lesson plan anyway, delving into the world of menstrual cycles and sexually transmitted infections, and in doing so, incurs the wrath of the local reverend.
NOW IN THEATERS
NIGHTCRAWLER is a pulse-pounding thriller set in the nocturnal underbelly of contemporary Los Angeles. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Lou Bloom, a driven young man desperate for work who discovers the high-speed world of L.A. crime journalism. Finding a group of freelance camera crews who film crashes, fires, murder and other mayhem, Lou muscles into the cut-throat, dangerous realm of nightcrawling — where each police siren wail equals a possible windfall and victims are converted into dollars and cents. Aided by Rene Russo as Nina, a veteran of the blood-sport that is local TV news, Lou thrives. In the breakneck, ceaseless search for footage, he becomes the star of his own story.
Watch DP/30’s interview with writer/director Dan Gilroy here.
Showrunners: The Art of Running a TV Show
Directed by Des Doyle, SHOWRUNNERS is the first ever feature-length documentary to explore the fascinating world of U.S. television showrunners and the creative forces aligned around them. These people are responsible for creating, writing, and overseeing every element of production on one of the United State’s biggest exports — television drama and comedy series.
The only film to get a round of applause mid-screening at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Prix du Jury), the 3D marvel Goodbye to Language alights on doubt and despair with the greatest freedom and joy. The idea is simple, in its way: a stray dog wanders from town to country, and over the course of some seasons observes a married woman and a single man as they meet, love, argue and fight. Or perhaps it’s the audience viewing one couple, or two couples, or an alternate version of the same couple. At 83, Godard works as a truly independent filmmaker, unencumbered by all concerns beyond the immediate: to create a work that embodies his own state of being in relation to time, light, color, and cinema itself. The artist’s beloved dog Roxy is the de facto “star” of this film, which is as impossible to summarize as a poem by Wallace Stevens or a Messiaen quartet. This might be a farewell to words — but it’s a warm welcome to the legendary director into the world of 3D, in which it must be seen and experienced to fully appreciate Godard’s wondrous use of the technology.
Watch an interview with director Jean-Luc Godard here.
Overeducated and underemployed, 28 year old Megan (Keira Knightley) is in the throes of a quarterlife crisis. Squarely into adulthood with no career prospects, no particular motivation to think about her future and no one to relate to, Megan is comfortable lagging a few steps behind — while her friends check off milestones and celebrate their new grown-up status. When her high-school sweetheart (Mark Webber) proposes, Megan panics and- given an unexpected opportunity to escape for a week — hides out in the home of her new friend, 16-year old Annika (Chloë Grace Moretz) and Annika’s world-weary single dad Craig (Sam Rockwell). Lynn Shelton, whose unique directorial voice created such astutely observed comedies as YOUR SISTER’S SISTER and HUMPDAY, crafts a sweet, romantic coming-of-age comedy about three people who find their lives intertwined in the most unconventional way as they make through the imperfect realities of modern day life. Keira Knightley shines as Megan, a rare female slacker hero who shows us that while you never stop growing up, you can choose stop lagging, and start living on your terms.
Watch Vanity Fair’s interview with writer/director Lynn Shelton here.
Andrew Neyman (Miles Teller) is an ambitious young jazz drummer, single-minded in his pursuit to rise to the top of his elite east coast music conservatory. Plagued by the failed writing career of his father, Andrew hungers day and night to become one of the greats. Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons ), an instructor equally known for his teaching talents as for his terrifying methods, leads the top jazz ensemble in the school. Fletcher discovers Andrew and transfers the aspiring drummer into his band, forever changing the young man’s life. Andrew’s passion to achieve perfection quickly spirals into obsession, as his ruthless teacher continues to push him to the brink of both his ability-and his sanity.
Watch TIFF’s interview with Damien Chazelle, director and writer of the 2012 Black List script, here.
Many thanks to Wendy for today’s post. Remember to Declare Your Independents by going to a theater or use V.O.D. to watch an indie feature this weekend.