ARTHOUSE FILM NEWS - Cosmic Disco Detective Rene at Facets, Chicago 11/29/23

Found out about this project from one of my commenters (on the diversity in indie film post/re: iW article, couple of posts below), sounds interesting. Here is a little bit from the press release: " The Momentum Experience marries the live urban theater model with the traditions of African-American filmmakers who self-distributed in the early 1900s, such as Oscar Michaeux. Momentum will offer an enhanced entertainment component to the price of each ticket. From a live concert performance by soundtrack artists to a cast meet-and-greet to a comedy pre-show, each feature presentation will be preceded by a unique added-value attraction for ticket holders." Read the rest here . The press release is from '05, so I'll have to search & learn about the current status of this project. UPDATE: Looks like Momentum's The Seat Filler did well theatrically & was acquired by Magnolia for home video - so says this 2/06 press release . If anyone has any info. on where to g

Quiet City trailer!: Now, just because I keep an eye on ethnic diversity in indie film & speak up about it does not mean that I do not appreciate a good (possibly good for many indie filmmakers; including minority indie filmmakers) thing when it happens; an ultra-low/"no" budget DV (or is it HD?) film by a promising young director starting a week long run in the media capital of the world, at a venue owned by a cable television company that deals in indie film - OR - Aaron Katz's (of Dance Party, USA fame; which plays today 8/28 & tomorrow 8/29 also @ IFC Center by the way) new & beautiful looking feature Quiet City opening tomorrow (Wed 8/29) in NYC @ the IFC Center. If I were in NYC, I would be at a screening. LINKS!: Quiet City page at IFC's Generation DIY program Quiet City MySpace Quiet City review at New York Magazine Quiet City review at indieWIRE Quiet City review at eFilmCritic Interview with Aaron Katz at Spoutblog Buy tickets for Quiet City &

This iW article from May '04 is still relevant & interesting; re: ethnic diversity in American indie film. Here is the introduction to the article by Eugene Hernandez: "The genesis of this article was a recent SXSW panel discussion on the "state of independent film" that included panelists Michael Barker from Sony Classics, former producer and rep John Pierson, Film Movement's Larry Meistrich, Micah Green from Cinetic Media, Newmarket's Bob Berney, Magnolia's Eamonn Bowles, and former UA and October head Bingham Ray. During the session, New York Times film critic Elvis Mitchell raised a question about the lack of new African-American filmmakers emerging since the movement led by Spike Lee back in the '80s. Sitting in the audience listening to the panel of white males tackling the topic I was reminded that ethnic diversity is a major challenge within the specialized and/or independent film industry." And later in the same article, here's

Hmmm, retiring from blogging is not such a bright idea, in second thought, 'cause the blog helps with promoting my movies & flicks by other interesting filmmakers (in these sad days of relatively uninteresting/apolitical/disengaged from the wider world low budget real indie fiction feature movies getting a ton of hype, it would be useful for many to keep this blog active). So I am back. :: Check out this great interview with Jonas Mekas at Sense of Cinema. Although I have only seen very little of his movies (so far just a few of the 365 shorts project that he is doing this year), the amount of work he's done over the years on behalf of avant-garde cinema is staggering & deserving of much respect. The Anthology Film Archives, an organization that Mekas had a key role in creating, is still around & contributing to the NYC film scene (i saw the place with my own eyes last week, scroll down a couple of posts for a pic of the venue). Here is an interesting segment from

hey, if i am very bothered by the heavy lack of minority presence in current indie films (see post a couple of posts below), maybe i should see this thing as an opportunity & go make some good features with minority leads/multi-ethnic casts. so, i am retiring from blogging right now. i believe a lot of good things were accomplished during my blogging "career"; providing assistance with the popularization of DIY filmmaking & self-distribution, promoting some interesting movies, building networks/getting to know other filmmakers & bloggers, etc. very cool. in the future this blog/space will only be used to announce screenings of my films or their DVD & other availability. look for Date Number One on DVD announcement (before 9/15) & DNO screening announcements here soon. then, w/ in the next 3 months (before 11/27), i will be releasing my new feature Stranger Than Hollywood . both films will have minority actors in lead roles as well as multi-ethnic casts.

Anthology Film Archives Great World Of Sound poster at Angelika Angelika Film Center That's Brian (The Film Panel Notetaker blog), Amy (The Film Panel Notetaker blog), Stu (The Reeler) :: I have to go through a few steps to get the photos up on this blog, so the process takes some time. But, since I had a great time in NYC 8/22 - 8/24, I'll start sharing some of the photos now. The rest coming later today (Mon 8/27). - Sujewa

Those words are from a Village Voice review of the indie film Police Beat . Here is the full sentence: "Dreamlike in style, Police Beat is also a real-world vision of what American indies could be if they dared to recognize the drama in our own neighborhoods." The review is by Rob Nelson, check it out here . And, from the same review : "Police Beat didn't seem to belong at Sundance, where it stood out for being what we used to call an independent film—the sort made with unknown actors, modest budgets, innovative production strategies, and regional specificity." The film is about a Seattle bike-cop. Here's the official website for this innovative sounding movie (adding it to my "to watch" list). The movie is available on DVD . - Sujewa

According to this San Francisco Chronicle article about 1 in 3 people in the US are non-"white". Mumblecore filmmakers or as the IFC Center calls them - Generation DIY, have been identified as a grass roots movement in the indie film press & also in the mainstream press. So, I would think that it is reasonable to expect a movement that comes from "the people" to have some key players who are not "white". Yet, pretty much (if I recall correctly) all the Mumblecore movies I 've seen so far (Kissing On The Mouth, LOL, Funny Ha Ha, Mutual Appreciation, The Puffy Chair, Dance Party, USA, Hannah Takes the Stairs) have featured an all-"white" cast and all the celebrated Mumblecore directors who are on their way to Hollywood & indiewood fame & wealth are all-"white". Mumblecore may have aesthetic/film technique differences from mainstream American film & television, but, when it comes to not collaborating with minority talen

The non-profit organization Brooklyn Young Filmmakers Center have a blog up & running. Here is an interesting portion from one of the recent entries: " This is my first blog entry, ever. But I’ve been reading everywhere about the potential power of blogs. The goal of Brooklyn Young Filmmakers Center’s blog is to test out the “THE POWER OF US” (see the BYFC News, Winter 2007 ). We are a non-profit run by volunteers of diverse ages, mostly women of color. We are working to open up a Career Guidance & Networking Center for jobs in film that will serve both adults and teens. This blog will help us get out information about film careers and film literacy to working-class people – and we hope it will help us raise support to open our center. Me, I’m a middle-age, working-class black woman. I have no health plan or savings. I have very irregular income based on freelancing jobs and teaching. I’m a renter hanging by fingertips in rapidly gentrifying Fort Greene, Brooklyn. I ca

Even though Pamela does not call the historically significant event - The iW Blogger/Indie Film Blogger NYC Meet Up #1 - by it's name, there are some good details of the fun had in the second half of her post . My own impressions of the Meet Up: First, I expected it to be not attended very well - only by like 5 or so people, or just me & Brian Geldin. But, I was pleasantly surprised to see close to 20 bloggers & filmmakers in the room (back room at Botanica bar) at one point during the night & also to see NYC indie film press heavy weights such as Eugene Hernandez of indieWIRE fame & ST Van AirsDale of The Reeler fame at the event. And of course let's not forget Matt Zoller Seitz from New York Times & The House Next Door. I spent the 2 hours or so at the Meet Up going around & saying hello to pretty much everyone - trying to be a good host, and got into some relatively long conversations with some of the bloggers present. Hmmm, I think I'll conti

I saw Tom DiCillo's new film Delirious on Thu 8/23 evening - well, the 12:15 or so show, at the Angelika in NYC (no matinee discounts/$11 for a noon show! - i guess that's new york :( Flick was well made, many of the audience members at the show seem to dig it, some laughed out loud several times. On the surface the overall mood of the film seems bitter, with the relative innocence & the openness of the young central character mixed in for some sweetness. Steve Buscemi was fun to watch. The worlds depicted in the movie (the mainstream entertainment industry, homeless kid with big dreams of fame) are not ones that I am too interested in so I guess I am not really the target audience for the movie (i'm like more into movies that only like 50 people are really into - made for "no money" on DV & making "no money" at theaters, unfortunately for all concerned :), but Delirious seems like it would have sold well as just a regular wide release comedy -