Skip to main content

All the rules & secrets re: indie film & film festivals to be revealed on 4/17 in Atlanta!

How's that headline as an attempt to make an informative (probably) discussion sound ultra-dramatic?

I am heading down to Atlanta for a few days in a week & a half or so to check out the Atlanta Film Festival (4/16 - 25), and the following discussion is one that I plan on attending - I've heard about both books & authors, and the 4/17 event would be a good opportunity to catch up with them:

" Friday, April 17, 4:00- 5:00 PM

The Film Festival Circuit: A discussion with authors Heidi Van Lier (The Indie Film Rule Book) and Chris Holland (Film Festival Secrets).

Participants include: Heidi Van Lier, Director, Chi Girl
Chris Holland, Manager Of Festival Operations, B-side"

For more about ATLFF discussion events, go here.

- Sujewa

Full Movie - SNEAK PREVIEW - Cosmic Disco Detective Rene And The Mystery Of Immortal Time Travelers

NEW - COSMIC DISCO DETECTIVE RENE (2023) - TRAILER!

Popular Posts

Written notes/review plus live video review of By the Stream (2025) by Hong Sang-soo

By the stream review - from Lincoln Center, NYC viewing - no spoilers The hype is real - By the Stream is very good by Hong movies standards and also normal comedy-drama standards. There were like 30-40 people at Lincoln Center for the 1PM Fri 8/8/25 (opening day) screening of By the Stream.  People in that neighborhood are serious about their foreign films. Cinematography is very simple, from a canon XA small sensor HD cam, I could see familiar details, how those cams film the moon, scenes at night - it’s like a 1980s or 1990s early indie cinematography style that we do not see much these days - works well for Hong’s movies. No color grading, very simple video/cinematography. A more fleshed out movie than some recent Hong movies. In the movie a skit is prepped, and we actually get to see it performed. A couple of serious issues are discussed.  Some unexpected, light things happen. It’s a comedy-drama chill hangout movie w/ creative South Korean people - good times. Probably o...

The case for using AI for indie film reviews (if tech is developed to be able to write good reviews)

Regardless of how it is presented to the public, everything in US film (and probably worldwide) - Hollywood and indie - is about money.  If you have the money, you can make and release films, buy ads in publications, and get reviews.  There are 200+ reviews for a mediocre Hollywood movie now at Rotten Tomatoes site - for the new Fantastic Four movie. At the same time there were less than 10 reviews for an indie movie that was playing at IFC Center in NYC last week. Outside of even IFC runs, there are 100s of indie movies - fiction features and doc features - that come out on VOD and YouTube every week these days that do not get reviewed and do not get any articles written about them. With some effort I and many other indie filmmakers are able to get some reviews for our movies. However, the vast majority of new indie films are not reviewed. Film is art, it is easier to make and release films now than it was in the past, and all films deserve reviews and articles about them. ...

Cosmic Disco Detective Rene (2023) Full Movie + The Last Days of Joseph Koch Comics Warehouse (2025) feature documentary, full movie

    *  

Reading Material