Indy Film Fest kicks off today! I’ve been volunteering with the festival for many years now, and the magic that unfolds over ten days never ceases to amaze me – the community of film geeks, the traveling filmmakers, the wide range of 100 films – it’s all so transporting. While I believe the best way to take in the fest is to get an all access pass and see as many films as possible, not everyone has that kind of time. The tentpole events are always a good bet, but here are a few others that I am particularly excited about.
Tangerine is the story of two transgender friends and prostitutes living in a seedy part of LA. It’s become known as the film that was shot on the iPhone.
Consider this glowing review from Fresh Air , which calls Tangerine “at once wildly funny and painfully honest about the everyday degradation and inhumanity that its characters experience,” it’s 93% Rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and the fact that Indy Film Fest is donating $1 from every ticket sold to this movie to Indy Pride.
Trailer:
Crocodile Gennadiy earns the distinction of being the film on the slate I’ve been waiting for the longest. I actually kickstarted it many moons ago. The director, Steve Hoover, is the same fellow behind Blood Brother, a 2013 Indy Film Fest selection. That film was heart wrenching and beautiful, and to this day, I’ve never experienced a crowd sit so still and quiet through the full credits. I imagine this one will be just as hard-hitting.
Trailer:
Crocodile Gennadiy Teaser from Crocodile Gennadiy Documentary on Vimeo.
A Space Program features NY artist Tom Sachs as he hand builds a mission to Mars.
I’ve been fascinated by his work since I first saw Ten Bullets (below). One of it’s pinnacle scenes is a clip of Alec Baldwin from Glengarry Glenn Ross, except instead of “Always be closing!” the overdub changes closing to knolling, which basically means to align objects in a tidy, designerly, and perhaps one might say OCD manner. Anytime we have out the art supplies for a sketch sprint or something like that, my coworkers and I find ourselves knolling.
You can warm up for this one by watching this most wonderful manual with instructions for working in the studio:
Ten Bullets, By Tom Sachs from Tom Sachs on Vimeo.
Notice anything with these picks? They’re all incredibly different! And there are 90+ more short films, documentaries and features from as close as Indy and from all around the world too. Come by and take a chance on some wild and wonderful films!
The festival runs July 16-25, 2015 at the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the IMAX Theater at the State Museum. See the schedule and get tickets