On Being Laidback & Independent

While I was positively delighted at being quoted in The Guardian Unlimited Arts Blog piece on the Tribeca Film Festival, what made it that much more special was author Danny Leigh's description of me as "usually laidback." Those who know me well will no doubt let out a healthy guffaw over that, but it warms my heart to know that the unbelievable cloud of stress I've been living under the past four or five months hasn't extended itself to these pages. As for the piece itself, I was pleased that Leigh drew attention to the lack of American Indies at the festival. However, I find his conclusions bordering on the flippant, and proof of the inherent danger of grouping filmmakers under the 'Mumblecore' moniker, which leads to generalizations like "pasty, middle-class naval-gazing." The American Indie scene is thriving at the moment, and the lack of attention from Tribeca is a combination of geographic snobbery and a desire to distance itself from other festivals that showcase this work (Slamdance, SXSW, Boston, Miami, etc.) Last year's festival featured a small handful of Indie films by NYC-based directors, many of which were, quite frankly, awful (or otherwise forgettable). Though NY is certainly not lacking in talented filmmakers, many of the more interesting Indie films are coming out of small towns and cities, giving the traditional Indie hubs a run for their money. After a several-year slump, and millions of dollars of corporate co-opting (cf. Little Miss Sunshine), American Independent cinema is once again interesting and, well, independent. Filmmakers such as Joe Swanberg, Aaron Katz, Ronnie Bronstein, Todd Rohal, Kentucker Audley, Frank Ross, Jennifer Shainin, Randy Walker, and Michael Tully (to name but a few) are producing unique, challenging, personal works that are infused with a true sense of Indie spirit, and driven by something other than dreams of a six-figure deal at Sundance. Yet more importantly, they're simply damn good films. Jeff Nichols' Shotgun Stories (whose appearance at Tribeca was most likely due to its success at Berlin) is easily one of the best films I've seen this year. The dearth of American Independent cinema at this year's Tribeca Film Festival (sorry, Kevin Connolly's Leo DiCaprio-produced Gardener of Eden hardly qualifies) is in no way indicative of the current state of the Indie scene, but rather the result of disinterested programmers, and/or the festival's emphasis on premieres. Now I need a nap.

Comments

[girish]

Filmbrain, I'm ashamed to say that on your list of filmmakers, I know of only Swanberg. Thanks for mentioning them; I'll be looking out for their films.

[Filmbrain]

I'm ashamed to say that on your list of filmmakers, I know of only Swanberg

Yes, exactly, and that's part of the problem. It's going to be a while before any of them are household names, but I'm doing my part to change all that. . .

[Karsten]

Very well put, Filmbrain - from what I'm reading about these independent films (and their makers) that you mention, and as we talked a bit about in Berlin back in february, it is quite obvious that Tribeca missed the mark (if their intention is to hit a mark at all). Whenever I think of going to an American film festival to watch interesting films and talk with engaged filmmakers, Tribeca never occurs to me. But SXSW 08 and a few others have certainly piqued my interest. It might be, y'know, that the european festivals actually might pick up these filmmakers in the BIG way before any of the huge American fests do... look out for next years Berlin, par example...

[cynthia]

'flippant' is a good word to describe pretty much that whole guardian blog post...

[ShortEnd Magazine]

And, how! I love Hohokam & Quietly on by, and if the former doesn't find its way into a respected handful of festivals next year, I'll be terribly dissappointed.

[David Lowery]

Yeah, Hohokam deserves some festival love.

[Brian]

Todd Rohal's The Guatemalan Handshake is a great film and deserving of wider exposure.

[Arden]

Go Mumblecore! They are all great guys and so inspiring. Love this blog!