“I know it’s not the U.S. government or the President’s job to understand how movies are made,” says entertainment consultant Kathryn Arnold, “but if you understand how complex and interconnected the global film market is—both on a production and a distribution level—it’s devastating and doesn’t make any sense
Alamo Drafthouse employees at the lower Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn locations announced their union had successfully struck a deal in which all laid-off staffers will be rehired. The union went on strike in mid-February after months of bargaining with management over key issues like scheduling, wages and safety concerns. The agreement, which was ratified on Sunday, will reinstate the roughly 70 workers who were let go. It will also restore those employees’ previously accrued paid time off, sick days, seniority and hire date, the union said. Struck staffers will resume work on Friday.
In these turbulent, uncertain times, No Film School reports that the indie funding ecosystem is still intact.
Here’s a list of opportunities for the Independent Filmmaker in 2025.
They can try to take everything from us, but they can’t take this!
Fight the machine, make movies!
“ We want it to be an experience to come into the store and browse the shelves like you did back in the day, the idea of being able to find something new purely on the cover art or because of a blurb is much more exciting than finding a listing on Amazon… I think that these Blu-rays and 4Ks, these new editions, are sort of where vinyl records were 15 years ago, there’s no question it’s a niche market, but that niche is passionate, rabid and is growing all the time.” Night Owl Video opens April 11th
Filmmaker Tom DiCillo talks collaborating with Steve Buscemi,
why his Director of Photography purposely sabotaged his film,
receiving a heart-warming letter from Peter Dinklage’s parents,
his battle to cast an unknown actor named Brad Pitt in his first leading role,
and much more on the Film Situation Podcast.
You Are Here draws on this rich archive of movies set in New York, combining thousands of cinematic moments across 16 screens. Sources include Hollywood blockbusters, independent films, documentaries, and experimental works. By juxtaposing these multiple visions, the dazzling montages of You Are Here make connections and contrasts that allow movies to comment on each other across time and space. Now through 10/5/2025 @ Museum Of The City Of New York.
I sat down and watched “The Royal Tenenbaums” with my son. He had never seen it. I hadn’t watched it since I lost my own father. I found myself getting emotional, thinking about my dad, and the experience
of making the movie all those years ago, and getting a chance to actually work with one of my idols.
In recognition of Sean Baker’s speech on indie filmmaking at the Spirit Awards,
we rehash a video from 2017 of when Baker gifted the Academy Museum the iPhone
he used to shoot his 2015 feature “Tangerine.”
This Valentine’s Day weekend, visit the Anthology Film Archives in NYC for the Willem Dafoe retrospective.
Spanning from Dafoe’s early works like THE LOVELESS, LIGHT SLEEPER and STREETS OF FIRE;
to his contemporary titles from Abel Ferrara & Lars Von Trier,
and the David Lynch romance classic, WILD AT HEART.
Domingo talks going to High School with Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff,
the rejection that nearly made him quit show business; and the experience of making
“Sing Sing” with former members of a prison theatre troupe.