Declare Your Independents: Volume 4
GITS development assistant Wendy Cohen here, and welcome to another edition of Declare Your Independents, our new series highlighting the latest developments in the world of independent film. This week…
Indiewire’s 7 Films You Must See This August
“The Canyons,” Brian De Palma’s “Passion,” “On The Road” & More On VOD This Week
TIFF Announces Its Canadian Lineup
Brie Larson Talks Her Breakout Role in Upcoming Sundance Favorite “Short Term 12”
Trailer for “Enough Said,” James Gandolfini’s Final Film, Released
10 Things Learned from Lee Daniels’ “The Butler” Press Conference
Writer/Producer Melissa Clay Tells Her Story
Again, a reminder from last week’s post:
- 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.
- When you go to the theater, why not whip out your cellphone and snap a shot of something that demonstrates you were there? A photo of the movie poster in the lobby. A shot of your ticket stubs. An image of the movie theater itself. You and your iconoclastic indie film freaks.
- For any conversations on Twitter re: this initiative, let’s use these two hashtags: #independents and #declareyourindependents
- While we’re at it, why not add our photos to CydM’s fantastic Pintrest page for everyone to enjoy?
- And if we come up with a nifty Declaration of Independents, we could try to make it go viral. If you were going to write a Declaration of Independents, what would you include? What if we made it a video manifesto?
We can’t make this work without your participation. Share your experiences with the community so we can open up readers to the fantastically diverse, exciting and evolving world of independent film. We’ll all be extremely grateful that you did!
INDIE SPOTLIGHT: MOVIES TO SEE IN THEATERS THIS WEEK
OPENING FRIDAY (8/9)
Lake Bell (“Children’s Hospital”) stars in In a World…, a hilarious romantic comedy about a struggling vocal coach who strikes it big in the cutthroat world of movie-trailer voiceovers, only to find herself in direct competition with the industry’s reigning king — her father. Written and directed by Bell, who won the Sundance 2013 Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for the script, In a World… also stars Fred Melamed (A Serious Man), Rob Corddry (Hot Tub Time Machine), Demetri Martin (“Important Things with Demetri Martin”), Michaela Watkins (“Enlightened”), Ken Marino (“Burning Love”), Nick Offerman (“Parks and Recreation”), Alexandra Holden (The Hot Chick) and Tig Notaro (“The Sarah Silverman Program”).
We will be posting audio of Lake Bell’s Los Angeles Q&A prior to the release of the film.
An odd couple of sorts, meditative and stern Alvin and his girlfriend’s brother, Lance, dopey and insecure, leave the city behind to spend the summer in solitude repainting traffic lines down the center of a country highway ravaged by wildfire. As they sink into their job in the remarkable landscape, they learn more than they want to about each other and their own limitations. An unlikely friendship develops through humor and nasty exchanges, leading to surprising affection.
Read Indiewire’s interview with David Gordon Green here.
We will be posting audio of a special Q&A with director David Gordon Green and star Emile Hirsch prior to the release of the film.
Small-time pot dealer David (Jason Sudeikis) learns the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished; trying to help some teens, he is jumped by thugs and loses his cash and stash. Now, David’s in big debt to his supplier and — to wipe the slate clean — he must go to Mexico to pick up the guy’s latest shipment. To accomplish his mission, Dave devises a foolproof plan: He packs a fake family into a huge RV and heads south of the border for a wild weekend that is sure to end with a bang.
A Q&A with director Rawson Marshall Thurber and star Nick Offerman will be posted soon.
The Fairburn brothers (Paul Bettany and Stephen Graham) are detectives who have lived under the shadow of their police chief father (Brian Cox) — a man known for doing whatever it takes to get a confession. When the brothers take an interrogation too far, they raise the suspicions of their colleague (Mark Strong) and suddenly find themselves having to cover up their own crimes.
In 1972 — before the internet, before the porn explosion — Deep Throat was a phenomenon: the first scripted pornographic theatrical feature film, featuring a story, some jokes, and an unknown and unlikely star, Linda Lovelace. Escaping a strict religious family, Linda discovered freedom and the high-life when she fell for and married charismatic hustler Chuck Traynor. As Linda Lovelace she became an international sensation — less centerfold fantasy than a charming girl-next-door with an impressive capacity for fellatio. Fully inhabiting her new identity, Linda became an enthusiastic spokesperson for sexual freedom and uninhibited hedonism. Six years later she presented another, utterly contradictory, narrative to the world — and herself as the survivor of a far darker story.
Read an interview with directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman here.
JUG FACE tells the story of a pregnant teen trying to escape a backwoods community when she discovers that she may be sacrificed to a mysterious pit. The entity in the pit requires a life for keeping the community safe. The face of the person to be sacrificed is crafted onto a ceramic jug. When ignored, the entity unleashes an evil onto the community. Now no one is safe as tragedy befalls each member one by one and they soon realize that the pit wants what it wants.
Since they met at a party, ambitious high-flyer Nat (Rose Byrne) and struggling novelist Josh (Rafe Spall) have been deliriously happy despite their differences. Josh is a thinker, Nat’s a doer, but the spark between them is undeniable. Their wedding is a dream come true, but no one — family, friends and even the minister who marries them — is convinced that they will last. Josh’s ex-girlfriend, Chloe (Anna Faris), and Nat’s handsome American client Guy (Simon Baker) could offer attractive alternatives.
Read an interview with director Dan Mazer here.
Filmmakers Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher probe the U.S. pharmaceutical industry and the desperate American’s whose lives it has destroyed in this eye-opening documentary. Stories include that of an army medic who put his faith in pharmaceuticals to fight PTSD; an African American Muslim who was subject to experiments while serving time in Philadelphia; a homeless couple who finances their wedding by taking part in paid drug trials; and a grieving mother whose son committed suicide while taking part in a marketing study on anti-depression.
While calculating young movie producer Christian (James Deen) makes films to keep his trust fund intact, his actress girlfriend, Tara (Lindsay Lohan), hides an affair with an actor from her past. But Christian becomes aware of her infidelity, which leads the young Angelenos into a violent, sexually-charged tour through the dark side of human nature.
Read director Paul Schrader’s interview with Tribeca Film here.
A special Q&A with director Paul Schrader will be posted soon.
NOW IN THEATERS
In this Sundance favorite Michael Cera (Juno, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) invites an eccentric woman on a road trip with his friends. His devil-may-care journey however soon becomes a battle of wills, as the two lock horns before they try a hallucinogenic concoction.
Listen to the exclusive Q&A with writer/director Sebastian Silva below:
[soundcloud]https://soundcloud.com/scott-myers-15/sebastian-silva-q-a-crystal[/soundcloud]
Set over the course of a weekend tournament for chess software programmers thirty-some years ago, this film transports viewers to a nostalgic moment when the contest between technology and the human spirit seemed a little more up for grabs. We get to know the eccentric geniuses possessed of the vision to teach a metal box to defeat man, literally, at his own game, laying the groundwork for artificial intelligence as we know it and will come to know it in the future.
A special Q&A with director Andrew Bujalski will be posted soon.
Murielle (Emilie Dequenne) and Mounir (Tahar Rahim) love each other passionately. Ever since he was a boy, the young man has been living with Doctor Pinget (Niels Arestrup) who provides him with a comfortable life. When Mounir and Murielle decide to marry and have children, the couple’s dependence on the doctor becomes excessive. Murielle finds herself caught up in an unhealthy emotional climate that insidiously leads the family towards a tragic outcome.
This weekend, Declare Your Independents by checking out one of these movies in a theater near you!
Comment Archive