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

Stephen Holden's review of Aaron Katz's new film Quiet City (opening today at the IFC Center in Manhattan) makes the movie sound interesting & good (at least for me, I like that under populated & beautiful urban look/feel in movies - as seen in Mystery Train, also possibly a tiny bit Before Sunrise type story). Here is the opening paragraph of the review: "Aaron Katz’s film “Quiet City” is punctuated with images of New York at twilight that cast a mood of reflective melancholy reminiscent of the loneliness at the heart of Edward Hopper paintings. Silhouettes of television aerials against a glowing orange and purple sky; yellow traffic lights on a nearly deserted avenue; a silvery subway train in the middle distance slipping through the dusky, blue-gray light; an industrial landscape at sunset: These and other beautiful images, photographed by Andrew Reed, resonate with the characters’ lives." Read the rest of the review here . Get info. on show times &

Aaron Katz's first feature Dance Party, USA is screening today at the IFC Center in Manhattan. Here is the link to my review of the movie, from last year. And here is the link to my interview with Katz re: DPUSA. Screening times & ticket info. for IFC Center here . - Sujewa

Since I've been catching all manner of heat from friends, fellow indie filmmakers, & friends of Mumblecore re: pointing out (in this post ) that there is a significant lack of minority (dark skinned people was my specific complaint) participation in Mumblecore (even though the US reportedly has over 100 million minorities) I thought about why I even thought of this topic in the first place (in relation to this one group of ultra-indie/low/"no" budget/DIY filmmakers - filmmakers who I often write positive things about re: their DIYness). Then I remembered (while responding to a comment by David Lowery at AJ Schnack's blog today) something I read last year; a quote from an interview with Joe Swanberg (who I otherwise think is cool, I talked to him briefly when I went to see his movie Hannah Takes the Stairs premiere in NYC last week, and even this quote has many possible interpretations, but this was what was - in part/a significant item - on my mind, no doubt, re:

From Kamp Katrina review at New York Times : "Mr. Cross and Ms. Pearl kept the camp open despite not-in-my-backyard complaints from neighbors and attempts by Mayor C. Ray Nagin to shut it down. Their blunt-spoken decency is inspiring. So is the movie’s portrait of New Orleans after the flood, a debris-strewn ghost town where human kindness is overflowing." From Pioneer's site : "screening to coincide with the two year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina "Riveting . . . It's hard to overstate the impact of KAMP KATRINA's honesty; fresh off their acclaimed venture MARDI GRAS: MADE IN CHINA, the filmmakers' six-month survey arguably captured the city's wounded spirit more frankly than any of its contemporaries. The result is a disturbing yet essential record."- S.T. VanAirsdale, THE REELER "You settle in with these people and become immersed in the chaos, brutality and surreal humor of their situation, seen close-up and often in fragments. Th

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