When asked in a 1970 interview about the future of music, Jim Morrison said, “I can envision one person with a lot of machines singing or speaking.” And though the disc jockey has been around for over a century (the first DJ is thought to be a college student in 1909), it’s currently in something of a golden age. The person once known for spinning records to keep partygoers entertained at functions, or dead air from occurring on the radio, is now the main attraction at sold-out stadium shows. In a stroke of genius (or pure insanity, depending how you […]

On Aug. 19, 2011, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr. entered an Arkansas courtroom for the final time. This was the last place these men, known better as the West Memphis Three, thought they’d be on this summer day — Baldwin and Misskelley were currently serving life sentences and Echols was on death row. But 18 years and 78 days after being sentenced for murdering three 8-year-old boys in West Memphis, Ark., there was finally a glimmer of hope that the state would recognize that these now mid-30-year-old men were not the killers and let them go free. […]

Since becoming the poster girl for indie film’s most scrutinized subgenre – mumblecore – Greta Gerwig has transformed herself from a twentysomething aspiring playwright to a diverse character actress who can hold her own with the likes of Ben Stiller, Russell Brand and even the particular direction of Woody Allen. Her latest role once more shows her expanding range as she delves into the obscure and mannerist comedic world of indie vet Whit Stillman with his first film in 14 years, Damsels in Distress. In the film, which Sony Pictures Classics opens in March, Gerwig plays Violet, the angst-driven leader […]

Now on our VOD calendar are titles available for the month of January 2012. Some highlights: Nicolas Winding Refn‘s ’80s flavored pulp thriller Drive, Danfung Dennis‘ fantastic doc Hell and Back Again, Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie (which will also be at Sundance), Moneyball, The Ides of March and Steven Soderbergh‘s disaster movie Contagion. For titles from previous months go to our VOD Calendar homepage.

As 2011 comes to a close it’s time to look back on the year in movies. It’s always tough for me to come up with a yearly best movie list because I never feel I’ve seen everything by Jan. 1. By this time of year I’m still trying to finish watching the award contenders (still on my list: Hugo, War Horse, Moneyball, Tinker Tailor Solider Spy, The Help). So here are 10 movie moments from 2011 (in no particular order) that have stayed with me. “I Want You To Help Me Find A Killer of Women” I know you’re probably […]

After winning the Breakthrough Director award at this year’s Gotham Independent Film Awards, Dee Rees sat down with us for a brief chat about her highly anticipated debut, Pariah. Which opens this week. If you’re an avid reader our site (or the magazine), you already know a bit about Rees. She was one of our 25 New Faces of Independent Film in 2008 and already this year you’ve seen her in our video pieces from Sundance and the NYC taxi cab spots we produced. But that’s not all. Later this week you’ll see another video with Rees from Sundance, which […]

Four titles have been added to the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Listed below, these films join latecomers in recent years like Miranda July‘s The Future and Lisa Cholodenko‘s The Kids Are All Right. We’re certain these filmmakers would be more than happy with just an ounce of the critical and box office praise those two films got (or any of this year’s Sundance entries for that matter). The 2012 Sundance Film Festival will take place Jan. 19-29. Find all the previous news so far on the fest here. PREMIERES Predisposed / U.S.A. (Directors & Screenwriters: Philip Dorling, Ron Nyswaner) — […]

The Slamdance Film Festival announced today the films screening in their narrative and documentary competition programs for the 2012 edition. From nearly 5,000 submissions 10 narratives and 8 docs were chosen. The complete list of titles are below. The festival will take place in Park City, Utah from Jan. 20-26. NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION PROGRAM BINDLESTIFFS – Director: Andrew Edison, Screenwriters: Andrew Edison, Luke Loftin. (USA) World Premiere Three smart-mouthed high school virgins, suspended from school on a graffiti charge, flee to the inner city to live out the plot of The Catcher in the Rye. Cast: Andrew Edison, Luke Loftin, […]

Below are the titles that will be screening as part of the Sundance Institute’s Sundance Film Festival USA screening series. Designed in 2010 to bring the festival experience to movie-goers nationwide, nine films and their filmmakers will travel from Utah to one of the following cities: Ann Arbor, MI; Boston, MA; Brooklyn, NY; Chicago, IL; Houston, TX; Nashville, TN; Orlando, FL; San Francisco, CA; and Tucson, AZ. during the Sundance Film Festival. The films and cities they’ll be playing in are listed below. Tickets will be available through the theater’s box office. Attendees of screenings at Sundance Film Festival USA […]