Motherhood and Moviemaking (Not Always in that Order)
Filmmaker-moms Sara Archambault, Jenny Alexander, and Anna Fitch share behind-the-scene stories about the influence of motherhood.
May 11th, 2012
Motherhood can't seem to escape controversy, even on the weekend meant to honor them. Yet three filmmaking moms are quietly figuring out what it means to parent, work a day job, and manage a passion project, and have generously shared their perspectives with The Independent.
Sara Archambault has been thinking about how women in her life extend their roles as mothers into the way they think about social justice, fairness, and equality. As it happens, the women who came to mind are also making documentary films.
John Madden Acts His Age
Known for directing major movies, John Madden explains how "Marigold" breaks mainstream rules.
May 4th, 2012 | Katherine Brodsky
Though he makes major motion pictures with traditional distribution, John Madden pushes against age bias with today's US release of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, starring only actors over 60.
Director John Madden, who started out in producing British television, has made a name for himself across the pond helming films such as Shakespeare in Love, Proof and more recently, The Debt.
Getting to Know Maryland Film Festival
Baltimore hosts features, docs, shorts, and a John Waters pick for the 14th annual Maryland Film Festival.
May 3rd, 2012 | Steven Abrams
Maryland invites familiar faces from The Wire, Homicide: Life on the Streets, and past festivals, for the 14th year of this broad-based regional festival that takes place in Baltimore May 3-6.
The Maryland Film Festival (MFF) is a regional film festival that takes place annually in Baltimore, Maryland, this year from May 3-6. Entering its 14th year, the festival is known as a filmmaker friendly experience that reflects the character and atmosphere of its host city.
Tribeca 2012: Critic's Choice - Shorts
Senior film critic Kurt Brokaw surveys highlights of the 11th annual downtown fest and presents critic’s choices of features and shorts.
April 30th, 2012 | Kurt Brokaw
From "delicious" to "enormously smart," senior critic Kurt Brokaw watched 60+ shorts in Tribeca's 2012 line-up, choosing Picture Paris, Stitches, Intermission Time, Curfew, and Donkey as his critic's picks.
For Brokaw's feature choices and an overview of the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival click here.
Critic's Choice - Shorts
Picture Paris
(Brad Hall. 2011. USA. 28 min.)
Tribeca 2012: Critic's Choice - Features
Senior film critic Kurt Brokaw surveys highlights of the 11th annual downtown fest and presents critic’s choices of features and shorts.
April 24th, 2012 | Kurt Brokaw
Kurt Brokaw may be Tribeca's biggest fan. His critic's choice offerings from Tribeca Film Festival's 2012 feature line-up include Chris Kenneally's Side by Side, Susan Froemke's Wagner’s Dream, and Tracie Holder and Karen Thorsen's Joe Papp in Five Acts.
America’s leading brands hold onto their core essences and mission while they line-extend their flavors, colors, sizes and packaging, and they do it endlessly.
Wim Wenders’ 3D Learning Curve: Dancers Take Flight in "Pina"
Neil Kendricks goes behind the scenes of "Pina" with director Wim Wenders.
April 16th, 2012 | Neil Kendricks
As one of the first to embrace what Neil Kendricks calls the "immersive technology" of 3D, and with no fellow directors to consult, Wim Wenders morphs landscape into stage with his friend Pina Bausch's choreography as the centerpiece in Pina.
Wim Wenders’ films seduce viewers, leaving them punch drunk with his intoxicating imagery. Such is the case with Wenders’ Oscar-nominated documentary Pina, which blossoms as a cinematic poem of dancers in motion paying tribute to the filmmaker’s friend, the late choreographer Pina Bausch.
Lindsay Utz, editor of "Bully," Wins Karen Schmeer Editing Fellowship
Steven Abrams catches up with Lindsay Utz to talk about finding the heart, soul, and storyline of "Bully" amidst hundreds of hours of footage.
April 2nd, 2012 | Steven Abrams
Editor Lindsay Utz accepts the Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship at SXSW, just before her first feature documentary, Bully, opens in New York and Los Angeles. The Independent's Steven Abrams speaks with her about her approach to editing hundreds of hours of footage filled with the raw experience so prevalent among American kids.
During the 2012 SXSW Film Festival Award Ceremony, the Karen Schmeer Film Editing Fellowship was awarded to Lindsay Utz. The fellowship continues the legacy and honors the memory of respected film editor Karen Schmeer (Fast, Cheap & Out of Control, The Fog of War), and is meant to foster the careers of up-and-coming film editors.
Postcard from Salem, Mass
Filmmaker Michael Galinsky reports from Massachusetts, where he screened "Battle for Brooklyn" at the Salem Film Fest.
April 2nd, 2012 | Michael Galinsky
Michael Galinsky and Suki Hawley's documentary Battle for Brooklyn has made many stops this year. Galinsky sends his thoughts from the Salem Film Fest, after it wrapped year five as the region's largest doc-only festival.
In it's fifth year, the Salem Film Fest (an all-doc festival) put cement at the base of the flag it planted many years ago. Strong programming, an active volunteer base, enthusiastic business support, and wild audience response made for a powerful week for filmmakers and film lovers alike.
SXSW 2012: Where Transformation is the Norm
Steven Abrams gets reactions from an actor, marketer, fest programmer, and a local about SXSW over the years and in 2012.
March 30th, 2012 | Steven Abrams
Why do some marketers prefer SXSW to Sundance? If you go next year, will you get to see the movies on your list? Should you bring your laptop? And finally, did you know your Tweets can finally make it to the big screen?
Over the last 25 years, South by Southwest has transformed from a music festival to the now familiar South by Southwest Interactive, Film, and Music Festival with 2012 additions SXSW Edu, which focuses on innovations in learning, and SXSW Eco, which focuses on environmental sustainability.
Redemption Hunters
Willem Dafoe and director Daniel Nettheim discuss themes from their latest collaboration, "The Hunter," in which Dafoe's character stalks an endangered tiger.
March 14th, 2012 | Katherine Brodsky
The Australian-helmed mercenary's tale, The Hunter starring Willem Dafoe, pushed the actor to re-think hunting and what it means to want, and receive, redemption. Now on VOD, the film opens in North American theaters on April 6th. Katherine Brodsky spoke to Dafoe and director Daniel Nettheim about the project.
In The Hunter, Willem Dafoe plays Martin, a mercenary who is sent from Europe by a mysterious biotech company to the Tasmanian wilderness on a hunt for the last Tasmanian tiger, something that most people believe does not exist. There, he discovers something even more precious than the tiger.
New Directors/New Films 2012 - Critic's Choice
New Directors/New Films screens in New York from March 21 - April 1, 2012.
March 9th, 2012 | Kurt Brokaw
New Directors/New Films showcases the work of emerging filmmakers from around the globe. Senior critic Kurt Brokaw takes in the festival, now in its 41st year, and gives us his picks of what to seek out and why, including An Oversimplification of Her Beauty, The Raid: Redemption, Omar Killed Me, Crulic: The Path to Beyond, The Minister, and The End.
The Independent’s senior film critic Kurt Brokaw is viewing the entire 41st annual edition of New Directors/New Films, which includes 24 narrative features, 5 documentaries, and 12 short films representing 28 countries. His critic’s choices begin here:
An Oversimplification of Her Beauty
(Terence Nance. 2011. USA. 90 min.)
Coolidge Corner Theatre Honors Viggo Mortenson
Given annually since 2004, the Coolidge Award is one of many ways that Brookline's Coolidge Corner Theatre leads other indie cinemas by example.
March 9th, 2012 | Mike Sullivan
He may appear small here but larger than life Viggo Mortenson accepted the 2012 Coolidge Award with grace and humility, according to The Independent's Mike Sullivan, who attended the ceremony celebrating Mortenson's accomplishments.
At least 45 different groups of film critics and professionals give out annual awards and it’s become part of the territory for heated debate to follow. Is the process fair? Do the right people win? Are awards just one more way to draw attention to celebrity culture?
Rendez-Vous With French Cinema 2012 - Critic's Choice
Kurt Brokaw reviews his top choices from the 17th annual showcase of contemporary French film.
February 28th, 2012 | Kurt Brokaw
Senior film critic Kurt Brokaw brings us a second consecutive year of critic's choices from Rendez-Vous With French Cinema, running March 1-11, 2012. His picks include Free Men, Unforgivable, Untouchable, 17 Girls, 38 Witnesses and The Well Digger’s Daughter.
Senior film critic Kurt Brokaw is viewing the prescreened main slate of the 2012 Rendez-vous With French Cinema showing March 1-11, at the Walter Reade Theatre, BamCinematex, and IFC Center. His critic’s choices from among 20 films include:
Free Men (Les Hommes Libres)
(Ismael Ferroukhi. 2011. France. 99 min.)
Fever Dreams, Middle-Eastern Video Diaries, the Quest for Inspiration, and Memories on Tap
Neil Kendricks on the feature films from Sundance 2012.
February 1st, 2012 | Neil Kendricks
"The cumulative effect of both [5 Broken Cameras and ½ Revolution] makes you feel like you are there vicariously experiencing the events from the filmmakers’ subjective vantage points," writes Neil Kendricks about two standout features from Sundance 2012. He recaps fest highs and lows, including Grand Jury Prize winner, Beasts of the Southern Wild.
Utah, PARK CITY – For filmmakers, screenwriters, video artists and actors looking for inspiration or funding, or both, the 2012 Sundance Film Festival was the destination of choice. I started making the trek to Park City circa 2001, and I’ve been going, on and off, ever since, always on the lookout for undiscovered diamonds in the rough.
Alchemy Springs from the Striking Artistry of Sundance Shorts
From hand-drawn stick figures to real life pirates, Neil Kendricks describes the most captivating shorts from Sundance 2012.
January 26th, 2012 | Neil Kendricks
Lucy Walker’s The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom picked up Sundance's jury prize for short non-fiction and an Academy Award nomination. Hers is one of many shorts on Neil Kendricks' must-watch list from Sundance 2012.
Utah, PARK CITY – When it comes to challenging and adventurous short films, the 2012 Sundance Film Festival’s mojo was in top form as the nation’s most prominent tastemaker for the state of indie cinema, both in America and abroad.
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