“Indie” Film has become little more than a boondoggle…
and to use that name "Indie" now, makes me ill.
Seriously. I am not exaggerating.
“Indie” makes me sick.
As someone who has ALWAYS loved authored cinema, someone who was (and is) deeply inspired by the early explorations of artists making a more personal and non-corporate type of work, and particularly on humble means and with bold approaches, I’ve always dreamed of a time when it might feel safe for this type of cinema and artist — and perhaps for a little while in the 90’s and late 2010’s it did. I pretty much owe my career to Sundance and a few ‘90’s “indie” focused companies, as well as my present ability to survive to that first burst of the global streaming platforms but to examine the state of “Indie” now… breaks my heart.
We did something far worse than just let “Indie” die. We let it grow corrupt. We stripped it of its integrity. And then sucked out its meaning. Handed the corpse to the sponsors to gnaw on as they snapped their selfies on ad-draped step and repeats. We never clarified priorities and turned “Indie” over to the already powerful to become a grooming factory for their selfish plans. And the entities that one might have thought would stand firm at the barricades may possibly be now our worst offenders. They lost sight of the mission long ago.
We can’t just keep doing the same thing, but that seems like what the stewards of “Indie” want to do. It is a little bit like sticking your head in the sand, friend. Doesn’t it feel a wee bit… empty? Meaningless? Misguided? Outright wrong?
Yes, we need film festivals.
Yes, awards can help foster attention.
Yes, we want our work screened, audiences to show, and to know we are part of a meaningful community.
We all want to keep learning and finding a better way.
But when was the last time that it felt that these events and ongoing programs contributed truly contributed to that goal?
Why do you pretend that is going to be okay? It isn’t. It won’t. Why don’t we admit that that experiment has come to an end?
Pump up the volume.
We need a new beginning and we need it right now. My dear “Indie” Stewards, we need you to show you are part of a new beginning, or we need you to just jump off that sinking ship into the deep cold sea right the eff now.
In the 90’s, yes, we needed to demystify film development and production. We needed to enable a wide swath of diverse artists to make films and hopefully make them well. We needed to make this sort of work known to a wider audience. We needed to build an economic model where there could be a regular cadence of releases of such work. And all of this got done, at least to a reasonable degree. Checkcheckcheckandcheck.
Perhaps it was too successful because somewhere along the way… the mission got lost. We didn’t evolve the theme. We lost the thread and lost the plot. How come Sundance, IFP/Gotham, Film Independent, Tribeca, SXSW, or any of the other “indie” film supporters never got serious about how to make “Indie” sustainable for such art, artists, audiences, and the ecosystem that could support it? How come the Ford Foundation, Anneburg, MacArthur, and Doris Duke don’t really take the initiative to build something better? I know many people had plans, but very few ever felt interested in helping.
