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What Is an “Independent Film” in 2013?

By Jason Bailey on

In all the hubbub over the Oscars on Sunday night, we didn’t get a chance to say much about the weekend’s other big movie awards ceremony: the Independent Spirit Awards, held the previous evening. As usual, it was a chance to spotlight little movies that weren’t going to get attention the next night — movies like, um, Silver Linings Playbook, which won four awards for Best Director, Best Feature, Best Screenplay, and Best Female Lead. Coincidentally enough, Silver Linings Playbook was up for the equivalent of those same four awards (and four more) at the Academy Awards. Jennifer Lawrence won Best Actress at both. Yay, independence! … Read More

Film

The 30 Best Movie Posters of 2012

By Alison Nastasi on

Before we close another chapter in cinema history, take a look at some of our favorite film posters from 2012. We kept our inner movie critic in check and focused on the retro, minimal, satirical, and striking artwork representing this year’s slate of incredible (and yes, terrible) movies. These designs did what every successful movie poster should: pique our curiosity, grab our attention, invite us to explore the story deeper, and give us great style. Do the best posters of 2012 meet your design-savvy expectations? Check out our selections after the jump. … Read More

Film

Flavorwire’s Guide to Indie Flicks to See in June

By Jason Bailey on

Well kids, summer blockbuster is in full swing, and though we love a good blow-’em-up as much as the next moviegoer, it’s easy — particularly in this season — to overlook the smaller and more challenging flicks that are rolling into your local multiplexes and arthouses. So it’s time for another installment in our new monthly feature here at Flavorwire, where we take a look at some of the exciting indies of the month to a come, and a few smaller titles from previous weeks that you might’ve missed. Check them out after the jump! … Read More

Film

Why Is Indie Film Dying While Indie Music Thrives?

By Judy Berman on

[Editor's note: This post was originally published February 8, 2010.] You know a situation is dire when Gawker puts away the snark and gets serious. And that’s just what they did Friday, in a guest post by film industry expert Edward Jay Epstein in which the author asks the question, “Can Indie Movies Survive?” His thorough, well-considered response, which cites everything from the huge profits major studios need to project to purchase a movie to the rapidly disappearing world of independent distribution, pretty much amounts to “no.”

Reading Epstein’s piece, it occurred to us that while indie film may be in the midst of a crisis, indie music has never been stronger or more vibrant. The number of new and exciting bands out there seems to increase exponentially every few years, bigger groups like Animal Collective and Vampire Weekend are all over the Billboard charts and vinyl sales are growing every year. So what gives? Why is indie film dying while indie music thrives? We’ve listed our best guesses after the jump. … Read More

Film

10 Emerging Indie Directors to Keep Your Eyes On

By Paul Hiebert on

Are you someone who likes to know what’s new and fresh and happening right now in the world of indie film? If you are, you’ll be glad to hear that Filmmaker Magazine just announced this year’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film. We’ve selected 10 directors from the list who have a recently completed or just-around-the-corner project for you to get your hands and eyes on. Most directors in this year’s roundup deal with the miserable, horrific, and tragic aspects of being human, but the films themselves are never without life. … Read More

Film

5 Indie Film Recs From a Brooklyn International Film Festival Filmmaker

By Paul Hiebert on

Last Friday, the Brooklyn International Film Festival opened with a delightful film by Lawrence Michael Levine and Sophia Takal, called Gabi on the Roof in July. It’s the story of a 20-year-old art student named Gabi who leaves college for the summer to stay with her older brother in New York City. During her visit, Gabi’s academic idealism and stubborn refusal to conform clash with the mundane necessities of getting a job and paying the rent. Throughout the film, lies are told, conversations are misunderstood, and cell phones die as the characters strain to communicate with each other — a theme Levine is deeply invested in. … Read More

Web

What’s on at Flavorpill: Links That Made the Rounds in Our Office

By Caroline Stanley on

Today at Flavorpill, we went inside of Michael Jackson’s closet. We enjoyed the visual irony of a cloud umbrella. We watched a festival founder and a controversial filmmaker duke it out in the ring over the state of indie film. We couldn’t wait to DVR TLC’s newly-announced reality series BBQ Pit… Read More

Film

Video of the Day: It’s Humpday

By Alexandra Wexler on

A perfect choice for a Wednesday: Check out the trailer for Humpday after the jump, a smart new indie that opens at New York’s Angelika Film Center this Friday. Admittedly, the premise is a little out there (two straight guys decide to make a porno for an amateur film festival), but it’s one of the funniest (and most honest) films we’ve seen this year.

Stay tuned for an interview with director Lynn Shelton later this week. … Read More

Film

Grill and Chill: Dia Sokol and Lauren Veloski of Sorry, Thanks

By Caroline Stanley on

Welcome to Grill and Chill, a new feature made possible by our friends at Weber, who gave Flavorpill one of their electric grills to try out in our office this summer as long as we promised to interview interesting cultural figures and feed them free hot dogs. Read on for an interview with Dia Sokol and Lauren Veloski, the talented filmmakers behind Sorry, Thanks — a quirky film about 20-something relationships that refuses to embrace the tired happy ending formula — and if you live in New York, be sure to check out the premiere at BAMcinemaFEST on June 24th.… Read More

Film

Indie Film Deathwatch: An Ode to New York’s Shuttered Pioneer Theater

By Caroline Stanley on

New York’s home for offbeat film, the Pioneer Theater officially closed — fittingly enough — after a midnight screening of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD on Halloween. Their lease was up and rent hikes were inevitable. There’s a goodbye party tomorrow night starting at 6 p.m. to celebrate the nearly 10 years that it held court on Avenue A and Third Street in the East Village.

As the Pioneer Web site promises, there will be “free movies, popcorn and reminiscences.”

While this bash is billed as a celebration, we can’t help but be in mourning. We’ve watched so many great and deliciously offbeat films at this single-screen, indie-oriented theater through the years. PRIMER, LAST RESORT, and LA CIENAGA, are among the standout films that quickly come to mind. Not to mention such high jinks as the Mormonsploitation! series or the most recent Schlocktober that unspooled the likes of big-screen rarity BLOOD SUCKING FREAKS. … Read More