Authors — Meredith Alloway
-
“We’re Looking for People Who Think Weirder and Bloodier”: Eli Roth and Crypt TV Execs on Making Horror Shorts
“What we’re doing is building our own Marvel universe and ecosystem of characters”: Eli Roth on Horror & CryptTV at Tribeca Raise your hand if you’re trying to get a horror film made. I thought so. That’s a lot of us — myself included. It’s been a fantastic year for the genre, too, with Get Out breaking a number of records and becoming the third highest-grossing R-rated horror film of all time — and that’s behind The Exorcist and Hannibal. I was too terrified to finish either, and I saw Get Out twice (and alone) so it wins in my […]
by Meredith Alloway on May 2, 2017 -
“I Relate to Gambling — Not as a Card Player but as an Independent Filmmaker”: Joe Swanberg and Jake Johnson on their Netflix Original, Win it All
With his new, SXSW-premiering Netflix Original, Win it All, the famously improvisatory writer/director Joe Swanberg has dealt his fans a real surprise: a picture with a much clearer plot, rhythm and character journey than his previous films. Indeed, with this movie about risk-taking, Swanberg has taken on a risk many successful filmmakers have avoided — the risk of artistic evolution. Pairing up again with collaborator Jake Johnson (Swanberg’s Drinking Buddies, TV’s New Girl), Swanberg puts his focus on gambling and the addiction to both winning — and perhaps losing too. Johnson, who co-wrote the script, plays Eddie Garrett, a down-and-out […]
by Meredith Alloway on Apr 10, 2017 -
Don’t Bring Your Business Card to Borscht
I missed my 6am flight on the last day of the Borscht Film Festival. I blame Moonlight. And Miami. It had been an insanely inspiring weekend of art, film and new friendships at the festival’s 10th year down in Miami. Borscht ran February 22-26, encompassing live performances, film screenings, art installations, parties on islands and even a viking funeral — which I, regretfully, missed. I’d been hearing about Borscht for years through a number of my friends in the film community and via co-founders Jillian Mayer and Lucas Levya’s visionary films/art. Over and over, I was told the fest was […]
by Meredith Alloway on Mar 21, 2017 -
“What’s Your Secret?”: Eight Sundance Directors on Short Filmmaking and the Festival Circuit
“Do you have a film in the festival?” The first thing people say to you when they meet you at a festival is usually this question. And for many of us, the answer is a negative. We’ve emptied our bank accounts, called out of our day jobs, skipped out on weekends upstate or by the beach to work on beckoning projects. And when we get rejected by a film festival, it can feel like those sacrifices and hard work were for naught. For new filmmakers like us, festivals, along with a good online distribution plan, are a coveted way to […]
by Meredith Alloway on Feb 13, 2017 -
Justin Chon’s Gook, and Why New, Diverse Voices are Still the Most Exciting Part of Sundance
“Investors said, ‘But what if one white cop stops by?’” “No man. That’s ridiculous,” said Chon. “Get a white famous friend as a day player?” ”It was intentional,” said Chon on his decision to have an entirely diverse cast. There’s always a film (or two) at Sundance that re-instills your faith in the festival as a whole. For me, that usually means the discovery of an electric new voice. This year in particular there were a lot of returning faces — Alex Ross Perry (Golden Exits), David Lowery (A Ghost Story), Ry Russo-Young (Before I Fall), Eliza Hittman (Beach Rats) […]
by Meredith Alloway on Jan 28, 2017 -
The Artist, the Audience and The Space In Between: Marina Abramović Talks Pushing Boundaries in her Latest Film
What is an artist’s role in the current universal climate? An audience? How can an artist move forward with their own internal exploration and simultaneously share that journey with their audience — making it something significantly more kinetic? These are questions Marina Abramović has pioneered throughout her decade-spanning career, breaking waves with her “Rhythm” series in the 1970s and up until recently with perhaps her most well known piece, “The Artist Is Present,” at MoMA in 2010. She continues to examine themes around pain, performance and healing with her new film, Marina Abramović in Brazil: The Space In Between. The […]
by Meredith Alloway on Dec 13, 2016 -
“Story Drives the Form”: Laura Poitras and Charlotte Cook on Creative Tag-Teaming
Before IFP Film Week fades too far in our rearview mirror, we’re elaborating upon several of our snaps from our Instagram feed with further comments by the filmmakers, speakers and panelists. View all of Meredith Alloway’s Instagram diaries here at the link. Laura Poitras and Charlotte Cook talked their visual journalism platform, Field of Vision, on an IFP Film Week panel called “Creative Tag-Teams” last month. Poitras, of couse, shook the world with her Oscar-winning doc, Citizenfour, in 2014. Cook, who was Director of Programming at Hot Docs, is an executive producer and co-founder of this new creative platform with […]
by Meredith Alloway on Oct 3, 2016 -
The Wanted and the Ones Who Want: Financiers and Distributors Offer Advice at IFP Film Week
Before IFP Film Week fades too far in our rearview mirror, we’re elaborating upon several of our snaps from our Instagram feed with further comments by the filmmakers, speakers and panelists. View all of Meredith Alloway’s Instagram diaries here at the link. The financiers are the wanted. The people looking for financing are the ones who want. That’s always been the dynamic, the power play. And no matter how genius you are, how many people support you creatively, how many outstanding New York Times reviews you get, you still someone to believe in your next film and give you money […]
by Meredith Alloway on Oct 3, 2016 -
Content vs. Art: Online Comedy Creators Talk at IFP Film Week
Before IFP Film Week fades too far in our rearview mirror, we’re elaborating upon several of our snaps from our Instagram feed with further comments by the filmmakers, speakers and panelists. View all of these Instagram diaries here at the link. “There’s a huge power today in building a following.” — Mark Lieberman, Above Average On Monday, September 19, at “The Faces of Comedy: Platforms that Look for (and Bring) the Funny,” IFP Film Week panel it was clear that having an audience is crucial. When you find out who that audience is, well that’s another thing. And for these […]
by Meredith Alloway on Oct 3, 2016 -
“Life is Not a Ladder”: Amy Emmerich and Jacqueline Novak at IFP Film Week
“Life is not a ladder. It’s a lattice.” — Amy Emmerich outside panel in the street, via Instagram On Sunday, September 18, Refinery 29’s CCO Amy Emmerich and comedian/author Jacqueline Novak discussed their creative partnership at IFP Film Week. Refinery29’s new YouTube channel, Riot, is home to Novak’s series “How to Weep in Public,” which deals with mental health and sharing positive advice around topics like weight, anxiety and depression. Oh, and it’s super funny. In one of her articles, kicking off the series on Refinery29’s website, “How to Take Car of Your Body When You’re Depressed,” Novak advises on a workout […]
by Meredith Alloway on Oct 3, 2016
