E'lo again, indie film sponges! With the Sundance Film Festival upon us, I only thought it proper that I say a little about the shenanigans that are occuring on the other side of our fair nation.
Sundance kicked off its 26th installment just a little over a week ago now. The big news surrounding the festival this year, beyond the usual "my favorite film" gossip ("Blue Valentine" directed by Derek Cianfrance), is the new kid on the block, John Cooper. Cooper has been involved with the festival for over 20 years and now is inheriting the directorship reins from Mr. Geoffrey Gilmore, and boy, is he heir to a tough industry. With the recession the way it has been, it is an incredibly difficult time for independent film -- many major studios have shut down their independent wings to cut costs. It's a sad reality, but indie film is generally like the theater program at a high school during tough times -- keep the sports (mainstream studios) and cut the arts (independent film). But heck, evidently it's not all doom and gloom; I stumbled upon a short upbeat interview by NPR's Culturetopia in which Mr. Cooper gives his own opinion on the industry's situation, as it relates to Sundance.
Hope you enjoy!
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122867520
- Andrew
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