Last night, I had the great pleasure of attending The Reeler’s special screening of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s film HALF NELSON. (Thanks Stu!) The film is just astonishingly good. Perhaps, dare I say it, GREAT??? It has been receiving much hype and accolades on the indie blogosphere. Indiewire reported that at Sundance, the film

was the overwhelming favorite among a group of 50 members of the media — reviewers and writers — who were surveyed this week by indieWIRE. The poll included top film critics and journalists who write for an array of U.S. newspapers, magazines and publications.

To write of the plot undermines the power of the film, which is a richly detailed portrait of humanity more than a story about two people. The narrative skeleton — a drug-addicted history teacher and basketball coach (Ryan Gosling, with whom I am now enamored) strikes up a (wince) “unlikely friendship” with his troubled young student Drey (Shareeka Epps, who the directors found at an open casting in Brooklyn), This, unfortunately, conjures up a mental amalgam of unremarkable, sappy Disney films. Yet, please move beyond these associations and give this film a chance. Every character is so unique, so layered, so beautiful and weak and strong and troubled, and every detail is so remarkably crafted that I fail to comprehend how such reality was written on a laptop. It is magical how the script — such a great script — was given so much life onscreen, and how naturally the actors embody these characters. I have seen strong films recently — the other Sundance hit, Quincineara, among them. Good as that was, this movie makes it seem average. What I loved most about HALF NELSON, I think, is the humor. It is actually incredibly funny; a rare thing in a movie this intense and dark. In fact, the whole thing ends with a joke that is simultaneously so funny and hopeful and incredibly sad; one wants to laugh and cry at the same time, much like at the end of Fellini’s NIGHTS OF CABIRIA, one of my favorite films. It is this enduring hope, even in the worst of conditions, that makes both of these films so powerful. Contrary to the opinion of one provocative British fellow in the audience, HALF NELSON is not a film of hopelessness and misery, but rather, that enduring, sometimes foolish aspect of the human condition — the ability to find that kernel of goodness in the darkest of places. The savvy people at ThinkFilm have smartly snatched this gem up for distribution. I BEG you to see it.

Mmm. Film merchandise. I LOVE stuff like this. Criterion just released a beautific line of caps and tees emblazoned with their lovely logo. The shirts are form-fitting and come with two images - the Janus Films coin (my personal choice) and the low-key ‘C’ for the more under the radar buffs - also quite nice! You can get them online at the Criterion Storefront now.

Back when I was a student in the New School’s M.A. in Media Studies program, I made sure to take every class possible taught by the brilliant and amazing documentary scholar Deirdre Boyle. The very first class I took with her, “New Directions of Documentary,” changed my thinking about the form, introducing me to such innovative greats as Chris Marker, Nathaniel Dorsky, and of course, my hero, Peter Forgacs. Near the end of the semester, Deirdre showed a film called Blue Vinyl, a documentary about polyvinyl chloride (PVC), America’s most popular plastic, which has led to countless cases of disease and environmental decay. Helfand is the film’s most powerful presence, as she, in a way that is much less confrontational and abrasive than that of Michael Moore, but with just as much humor, exposes plastic’s dark side and looks for healthier alternatives. Never has the feminist mantra of “the personal is political” been so nakedly powerful. Helfand has wild, curly hair, a round, open, face, and a husky voice. She is a loud woman who wears her strength, chutzpah, and humanity on her sleeve. After viewing Blue Vinyl, she stayed for a question and answer session, and was just as engaging as she had been on film. What is most remarkable about the filmmaker however, is that she is a true activist — an artist who does not stop fighting for a better world after her film has played Sundance, but who makes every effort to use it as an effective tool for social change. Which is why I was not surprised when I ran into Helfand at the Full Frame Festival this past May that she has created Working Films , an organization devoted to this sort of community outreach for filmmakers. According to the website,

Working Films brings the persuasive, provocative and personal narratives in independent documentary films and video – vividly illustrating the struggles and triumphs of our lives – to long-term community organizing and activism.
At Working Films, content + intent = change.

This is a much-needed organization in the documentary film world, and I would encourage filmmakers to use their resources.

“Most filmmakers make movies with their eyes. I make them with my testicles”…one of the many memorables quotes from my latest obsession, Chilean filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky. Today’s Most Wanted DVD of the Day (the first in what promises to be a lively ongoing series!) is most surely the “Holy Trilogy” collection of his three films: “El Topo”, “Santa Sangre”, and “Holy Mountain”. From the IMDB’s description of “El Topo”: “See the naked young Franciscans whipped with cactus. See the bandit leader disemboweled. See the priest ride into the sunset with a midget and her newborn baby. What it all means isn’t exactly clear, but you won’t forget it.” Director, producer, composer, mime and psychotherapist (!), Jodorowsky is also a well known comic book illustrator and Tarot card reader. He once said, “I ask of cinema what most North Americans ask of psychedelic drugs.” His first feature length, Fando Y Lis, caused a riot at its premiere in the Acapulco Film Festival. Fun fact: John Lennon and Yoko Ono completely financed his second film. The collection is available now!

Danielle’s last post got me thinking: is there an indie film out there that has made use of concept art? And moreover, is the conceptual artist only alive and well in Hollywood nowadays? What’s a good indie film that has featured the work of talented illustrators? Does “Waking Life”/ “Scanner Darkly” count? This would exclude films from the 60s and 80s which by today’s standards may be called independent, by the way. I’m talking more about that vintage 70s/80s style of production, films such as “The Dark Crystal”, which had an estimated budget of $15 million. Actually, the illustration-heavy “A Scanner Darkly” qualifies as a mid-Indie, with a budget at $6 million. And there are thousands of film artists still working in animation today, often on miniscule budgets. One of my favorites is Signe Baumane, a friend of Indiepix. Her work, brash and inventive, often deals with sex, pain, and pleasure in a uniquely humorous squirm-in-your-seat kind of way. One of my favorites is perhaps “The Witch and the Cow”, a short from 1991 all done up in faded yellows and browns. A little witch on a farm must contend with maneuvering around her broomstick while immersed in giant cow dung. There’s racier stuff here as well. Indeed, a warning on her website urges that her work is “not for children, the easily offended, the delicate of sensibility, or the faint of heart!” It’s good to know that there’s still some of this stuff being made out there, without the aid of a giant superstudio making it possible.

So, reading my Indiewire daily e-newsletter, I saw an ad for the Hollywood Film Festival , which read: “Our mandate is to bridge the gap between Hollywood and independent filmmakers.” This really caught my eye. It also really “tickled my grits.” (Am I confusing, conflating, or misusing this expression? I admit, I’m taking a risk. Please write in.) Why would we WANT to bridge the gap between Hollywood and independent filmmakers? Isn’t the point of “independent” cinema that it exists on the margins of, and as an alternative to, the corporatized studio mega-conglomerate. In recent years of course, Indie-wood has started to resemble Hollywood, led by the fraternal force that are the Weinstein brothers. When Miramax became an Oscar-winning powerhouse, the big boys on the lots took notice, and flashed their gazillions to the indie powers, buying and merging with them. Others, such as Sony and Fox, created their own “independent” arms — Sony Pictures Classics and Fox Searchlight. The lines between “mainstream” and “indie” have become increasingly blurry. My mandate, and that of Indiepix.net is: (as the polite, British-accented robot can be heard saying over and over on the London Underground) “Mind the Gap.” To keep independent cinema interesting, let’s keep it as far away from corporate sanitation and focus groups as we possibly can.