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Welcome to the IMDb's Independent Film section, a resource for movie buffs and filmmakers alike. New to the IMDb? Click here.
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Indie Update... |
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 In Theaters
Now open in limited release is Whale Rider, writer/director Niki Caro's moving adaptation of Witi Ihimaera's novel of the same title. Caro's camera captures the simple and refreshingly powerful way of life in Whangara with a careful eye, striking a fine balance between familial struggle and personal triumph that is sure to resonate with people around the world. Focusing on the modern lives of a Maori tribe living on New Zealand's east coast, the film centers specifically on Pai (Keisha Castle-Hughes), a 12-year-old girl who is being raised by her grandparents Koro (Rawiri Paratene) and Flowers (Vicky Haughton). Pai leads a fairly normal life, with one major exception -- her grandfather Koro is chief of the tribe, and she is the next in line to lead their people. Koro vehemently refuses to acknowledge that Pai, a mere girl whose birth brought his people bad luck, should be allowed to be the chief, while Flowers quietly realizes that their granddaughter may have the very skills and spirit to be the leader they need. As Koro struggles to find a more suitable successor from such unlikely choices as his distant son (and Pai's father) Porourangi (Cliff Curtis) and the local 12-year-old boys, a pod of whales appears in the local harbor, where they become beached. This event, while initially seen as a tragic omen for the tribe, actually inspires help from an unexpected source, changing the course of the future for everyone.
Read more about Whale Rider.
Browse the photo gallery here.
Visit the official site here.
Indie/art house films in various stages of release: Together, Respiro, Assassination Tango, Owning Mahowny, The Dancer Upstairs, Spun, Better Luck Tomorrow, Raising Victor Vargas, The Quiet American, Cowboy Bebop, City of Ghosts, Levity, Nowhere in Africa, Bend It Like Beckham, Stevie, Laurel Canyon, XX/XY |
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Spotlight
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 Talk to Her
directed by Pedro Almodóvar
New to DVD and video is this year's Academy Award winner for best original screenplay, Talk to Her, Pedro Almodóvar's latest examination of relationships of various kinds. As All About My Mother was an examination of the relationships between women, Talk to Her explores the nuances of the relationships between men. The story revolves around Benigno (Javier Cámara) and Marco (Darío Grandinetti), two men who meet at the private clinic where Benigno works, and where Marco is taking care of his girlfriend Lydia (Rosario Flores), a bullfighter who is in a coma after being gored by a bull. Besides working at the clinic, Benigno is also caring for a young woman there named Alicia (Leonor Watling), and with their similar situations, Benigno and Marco become fast friends as they discuss their lives and relationships with the injured women. With numerous conversations between the men and one-sided dialogues with the comatose women, the lives of both men and women become inextricably linked, revealing aspects of the past and present for each person separately and pushing them all towards an unexpected common future. (more)
Order Talk to Her now on DVD
 Ask A Filmmaker
This week: screenwriter John August explains the meanings and proper use of INT., ENT. and EST. as script notations, Penelope Spheeris illuminates the process of watching dailies and selecting which shots to print, and the advantages and disadvantages of choosing to film a features vs. a short, and Oliver Stapleton lets readers answer his request for sites that are good resources for DV cameramen.
New to Ask a Filmmaker? Catch up on past columns in our archive.
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Indie Features... |
 Trailers & Galleries
Get a sneak peek at these new and upcoming titles:
Manic - dir. by Jordan Melamed - photos | trailer
Whale Rider - dir. by Niki Caro - photos | trailer
The Heart of Me - dir. by Thaddeus O'Sullivan - photos | trailer
Sweet Sixteen - dir. by Ken Loach - photos | trailer
Prozac Nation - dir. by Erik Skjoldbjærg - photos | trailer
Blue Car - dir. by Karen Moncrieff - photos | trailer
28 Days Later - dir. by Danny Boyle - photos | trailer
Love the Hard Way - dir. by Peter Sehr - photos
L'Auberge espagnole - dir. by Cédric Klapisch - trailer
The Man on the Train - dir. by Patrice Leconte - photos | trailer
Marion Bridge - dir. by Wiebke von Carolsfeld - trailer
House of Fools - dir. by Andrei Konchalovsky - trailer | photos
Interstate 60 - dir. by Kátia Lund and Fernando Meirelles (I) - photos | trailer
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June 8-14, 2003:
| This week in Ask a Filmmaker: Screenwriter John August on basic script notations, director Penelope Spheeris on the process of viewing dailies and selecting print shots and Oliver Stapleton lets readers suggest helpful sites for DV cameramen. |
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Indies on Television:
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