Although the major categories tend to resemble those at the Oscars, the Independent Spirit Awards are still an event that highlights the hardworking American and global visionaries that put their sanity, financial stability, and overall well-being on the line to bring a movie into existence. Small budgets and limited theatrical releases come with the territory, but so does audacity, innovation, and much more consistent efforts for inclusion and representation than their corporate counterparts.
MovieMaker was on the blue carpet at Film Independent’s crowing award show to catch up with some of the directors that delivered undeniably thought-provoking content last year. From legendary documentarian Agnès Varda, who took home the Best Documentary prize alongside artist JR for Faces Places, to emerging talents from abroad like Antonio Méndez Esparza, who beat out tough competition for the Best First Film award, or Atsuko Hirayanagi, whose lovely debut Oh Lucy! just opened in American cinemas.
We asked all of them what was the biggest lesson they learned while making their nominated films. Their answers were eclectic, but all spoke to the concerns and artistic challenges that independent moviemakers face today.
San Luis Obispo International Film Festival executive director Skye McClennan opened the festivities Thursday by…
Cinematographer Robert Humphreys got creative with lighting to recreate the warm glow of fire and…
Hugh Grant went full-send on his homemade audition tape for his Tony the Tiger role…
A 1950s dinner party that gets spiked with LSD and characters who decide to flip…
Zendaya is opening up about the challenges of starring in the new Luca Guadagnino movie…
It’s no surprise that Kamloops, British Columbia was named one of MovieMaker’s Best Places to…
View Comments
Do you know of all the organizations that tried to push for a fighter union have there been, and how many still exist? Are they collaborating or competing with each other? Seems like these guys are farther along in the process than all other attempts. As an independent contractor myself, this is kind of interesting. I have no idea what the actual laws around independent contract work are, despite doing this for over 10 years ?