If independent film is going to prosper well into the 21st century, many would agree that there must be some sort of interdependence between filmmakers, a collective effort that will help everyone to communicate and share resources. Thankfully, there is already a driven group of Americans who are doing exactly that, providing a template that indie film can examine and emulate. It’s the Occupy movement. No matter how you feel about their politics, Occupy has utilized new technology and social media better than many organizations and affinity groups in the United States. And if you look closely at how they […]
by Marty Lang on Sep 17, 2012And like that it was gone. Funny thing about film festivals — no one seems to really miss them when they’re over, although within the provisional community that pops up during such events, no one seems to be able to talk about much else (except what they’d rather be doing). So it was with the 11th Tribeca Film Festival, which came to a close on Sunday. Even at the party for The Fourth Dimension, perhaps the most undeniably hip film in the selection (Vice! Grolsch!), the mood was sort of dutiful. As for the actual film, I, like many, left after the Harmony […]
by Brandon Harris on May 1, 20121. A sense of outsideness. Buildings turned inside out on 9-11, and people outside in the streets of Manhattan. The mind, outside of itself with disbelief. The brutal and temporary restoration of the natural world in the middle of one of the world’s largest cities. Located a block from the World Trade Center, Zuccotti Park, terribly damaged on 9-11 and slowly restored, would become the locus of the Occupy Movement. Encampments. Tents. The incongruous sight of camping gear in urban spaces and beneath the shadows of skyscrapers, in a forest of steel and concrete and glass. It is not films […]
by Nicholas Rombes on Dec 19, 2011At her Iva Asks blog, Iva Radivojevic looks at how the spreading Occupy Wall Street movement is inspiring a new protest culture at CUNY. “This is a document about the struggle of students and adjunct faculty at Cuny,” she writes. “This local struggle is part of an international student movement against neoliberal dictatorship. This is only the beginning. The time for action is now.” As she often does, Radivojevic writes on her blog the inspirations for her work. For this new video piece, one influence is a film by Jean Rouch and Edgar Morin. From the blog: And the latest […]
by Scott Macaulay on Nov 6, 2011Indie-Current is a monthly heads-up tracking developments effecting the indie film scene. It’s a big — and forever getting bigger – world out there, so readers are encouraged to e-mail me stories I’ve missed or something you believe is important for others in the indie community. I can be reached at drosennyc@verizon.net. * * * Occupy Wall Street rocks To shouts of “We Are the 99%,” the Occupy Wall Street movement is spreading throughout the country and the world. Indeed, the whole world is watching. FCC latest scam On October 27th the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced a plan to reform the […]
by David Rosen on Nov 2, 2011Last weekend I posted a great short video by Iva Radivojevic, “No One Can Predict the Moment of Revolution,” about the Occupy Wall Street protests. Radivojevic, along with her collaborator Martyna Starosta, returned to Liberty Plaza at night, and they have just posted “We the People Have Found our Voice,” which again captures the energy and political ambitions of the protestors. Visit the post on her site for her further thoughts, including a beautiful quote from an article about Alain Resnais’ Night and Fog.
by Scott Macaulay on Oct 10, 2011I meet-up with documentarians Audrey Ewell and Aaron Aites in downtown New York, they introduce me to Joanna Arnow, and Joanna and I are off to Liberty Plaza. Two streets north of Wall Street — in the former shadow of the World Trade Center towers — Liberty Plaza Park was created in 1968, renamed Zuccotti Park in 2006 for a real estate baron, and then renamed back to Liberty Plaza a few weeks ago by the Occupying Wall Street protesters. The park is one long block long and one short block wide, paved in stone with several colorful flower beds, ringed […]
by Stewart Nusbaumer on Oct 10, 2011