Proto-Punk Pioneers Get Their Due in A BAND CALLED DEATH
Back in 1971, brothers Bobby, David and Dannis Hackney formed a band called Death and began cutting the kind of loud, fast, ragged rock tunes that the Ramones would become famous for six years later. In the new film A Band Called Death, directors Jeff Howlett and Mark Covino tell the incredible story behind the Detroit trio; here, you can take an exclusive first look at its trailer… read more >>
David O. Russell as LA Film Fest Guest Director; Master Class with Maya Rudolph & More
Academy Award®-nominated and Film Independent Spirit Award-winning filmmaker David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook, The Fighter) will serve as the Guest Director at this year’s LA Film Fest, where he’ll host a special screening of Three Kings that will also include a discussion about his body of work… read more >>
Variance Films And FilmBuff Acquire Comedy Pic ‘THE HISTORY OF FUTURE FOLK’
Variance Films and FilmBuff announced today that they are releasing festival favorite THE HISTORY OF FUTURE FOLK, the debut feature from filmmakers J. Anderson Mitchell and Jeremy Kipp Walker. Variance will release the film in US theaters beginning at New York City’s Cinema Village on May 31st, 2013 and Los Angeles’ Sundance Sunset Cinemas on June 7th, 2013… read more >>
‘I’M SO EXCITED’ for the LA Film Fest 2013 Opening Night Film
It’s that time of year again: time to get ready for the LA Film Fest! This year, the Festival kicks off with the North American Premiere of Pedro Almodóvar’s I’m So Excited!. “Film Independent and the Los Angeles Film Festival are thrilled to host the brilliant Pedro Almodóvar’s North American premiere of I’m So Excited!,” said Festival Director Stephanie Allain. “Los Angeles, fasten your seatbelts for a fun, comedic ride…” read more >>
Interview Magazine — Discovery: Laura Colella
Breakfast with Curtis is coming-of-adolescence story. At 14, the socially awkward Curtis is far from the traditional Bildungsroman trope; he does not run away from home, lose his virginity to an older woman, or trip on acid. Rather, the cripplingly shy teenager befriends his pompous, 60-something neighbor, a bookseller named Syd. Together, the two make YouTube videos of Syd pontificating about wine… read more >>
Film Movement Acquires Domestic Rights to IRAN JOB
Film Movement has acquired domestic rights to helmer Till Schauder’s docu The Iran Job, with plans to release the film across all platforms in June. The Iran Job follows Kevin Sheppard, an American athlete who is contracted play for a professional basketball league in Iran… read more >>
Drafthouse Films Signs A BAND CALLED DEATH
About four years ago, a friend had asked me if I had heard Death before… Psssshh….duh! At that time “Leprosy” was a brutal mainstay on my turntable, of course. However, as awesome as that always was for me, I quickly gathered that he wasn’t referring to the Tampa based death metal pioneers, but rather an African American punk band from Detroit, pre-1977(!)… read more >>
Tribeca Nabs Karpovsky Pic Pair
LA Film Fest ’12 premiere Red Flag was nominated for “Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You” at the Gotham Independent Film Awards. Tribeca Film hopes to change that, having just acquired North American rights to the film with release plans for February, including select theatrical and VOD… read more >>
DEAD MAN’S BURDEN Acquired by Cinedigm
Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. has acquired North American distribution rights to writer-director Jared Moshé’s stunning western Dead Man’s Burden, which premiered at the 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival. Cinedigm’s theatrical distribution will begin in 2013, with subsequent roll out across on-demand, digital and DVD… read more >>
Todd Berger’s IT’S A DISASTER is Anything But
LA Film Fest 2012 premiere It’s A Disaster has just been acquired by Oscilloscope Laboratories. The specialty distributor plans both a theatrical and digital release for the hilarious apocalyptic comedy early next year… read more >>
SnagFilms Take THE HOUSE I LIVE IN
SnagFilms is set to distribute Eugene Jarecki’s The House I Live In. A selection in the LA Film Fest 2012 Summer Showcase, this award-winning documentary exposes the monumental failure of the 40-year, trillion dollar war on drugs… read more >>
2011 Festival Opener BERNIE out on DVD
The 2011 LA Film Fest opener Bernie is out on DVD/Blu-Ray today. Based on a true story, the Richard Linklater film stars Jack Black as the titular Bernie, a kind-hearted undertaker so beloved, no one will say a bad thing about him — not even when he commits a nasty crime! Get it now on iTunes or Amazon >>
MAGIC MIKE Reveals Himself and Critics Like What They See
So far the early buzz has been positive, especially with regard to Channing Tatum’s performance. While the film has been described as “‘Showgirls’ with men,” critics say the film offers more than just hot guys in g-strings… read more >>
LA Film Fest Journeys Into Music’s Lost and Found
In a year in which the Los Angeles Film Festival has been heavy on music-related films, the spotlight this week turned to music lost, music found and music that’s been in front of us all along… read more >>
A BRAVE New World for Women in Animation
Take Part covered the Festival’s Women in Animation panel which sought to examine the broader challenges for women in the industry. Writer Stephen Saito asked the question: is Pixar’s rebellious female lead point person for a new wave of animated heroines? read more >>
FOUR is the Loneliest Number, but Beautifully So
This condition of being alone, of lacking a friend, lover, or confidant in which to share your most personal self is the subject of “Four,” written and directed by Joshua Sanchez. In its relatively brief 76 minutes, the film provides a beautiful commentary on this state, a quiet and poetic meditation on the solitude of the human condition… read more >>
BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD Captures the Crowd
Magical films that win prestigious awards are like superheroes: they capture the viewer’s imagination and they have interesting origin stories. Which is why the appearance of director Benh Zeitlin was sure to be a highlight… read more >>
Never Mind the Slump, We’re In for an Indie Renaissance
So said Cinedigm Chair and CEO Chris McGurk this morning at the Keynote Address for this year’s Festival. The Wrap covered McGurk’s speech, which highlighted the ways the movie-business prophets of doom are wrong, noting that the industry is in fact on the verge of a renaissance in independent film. read more >>
Whether truly narcissistic or an eloquent portrait of narcissism, Alex Karpovsky’s Red Flag is an utterly hilarious ode to the modern struggles of the microbudget American filmmaker. While the prolific Karpovsky has starred in Andrew Bujalski’s “Beeswax” and Lena Dunham’s “Tiny Furniture” — and more recently appears in Dunham’s “Girls” — his trajectory behind the camera predates those notable turns… read more >>
IndieWire’s 10 Movies to See at the LA Film Fest
Here are 10 films that you should check out, both brand new and worth a second look, screening during the fest’s 10 days. You can’t see everything, so just print this out, check the dates and times, get in line and let us know later what you thought of the recommendations… read more >>
The Los Angeles Film Festival kicks off its 18th edition Thursday in downtown Los Angeles — premiering an Italy-set film by a New York-based director. Woody Allen is expected to appear for the North American preem of “To Rome With Love,” which already opened in Italy. That’s a coup for the 11-day fest… read more >>
LA Times Cheat Sheet: LA Film Fest Puts Diversity on the Screen
The 18th Los Angeles Film Festival has embraced diversity in a number of ways. The selections were culled from more than 5,000 submissions and come from 30 countries, eight of which are in Latin America. The lineup spotlights films that feature African Americans, includes 19 feature films directed by women… read more >>
IT’S A DISASTER – Exclusive Clip
We’ve all seen movies following everyday characters dealing with the world coming to a cataclysmic end. But what about a disaster film in which the characters are more focused on their awkward relationship issues than the annihilation of civilization as we know it? That’s the comic premise of It’s a Disaster, an ensemble indie comedy starring Julia Stiles, David Cross… read more >>
After wowing audiences (and winning the Grand Jury Prize for Drama!) at Sundance, our Gala selection Beasts of the Southern Wild gets a new trailer and website to match the mesmerizing beauty of this magical film: Welcome to the Bathtub >>
It’s Raining Men on EW’s New Cover
Check out Entertainment Weekly’s May 25 issue featuring cover boy Channing Tatum, star of the Festival’s closing night world premiere, Magic Mike. Like Tatum’s character in the Steven Soderbergh-directed film, the cover does a little striptease, revealing the rest of the cast beneath a flap… read more >>
First Look: Gorgeous Images From DEAD MAN’S BURDEN
Catch two new photos exclusively at Indiewire from Dead Man’s Burden, which will have its world premiere in the Narrative Competition at this year’s Festival. The images feature newcomer Clare Bowen as Martha, a struggling homesteader in post-civil war New Mexico… read more >>
Putting the Latino in the LA Film Fest
We’re all about increasing diversity in the film industry here at Film Independent, and our programming for the LA Film Fest is no exception. Get the run down from Chicana in Chicago on how our Latino representation in this year’s line-up stacks up: read more >>
2012 LA Film Fest – Black Film List
We take seriously our mission to not only champion the cause of independent film, but to support a community of artists who embody diversity—and we try to bring that through in our Festival programming. Here’s The Blackhouse Foundation’s run down on how this year’s line-up rates in Black representation: read more >>
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