FREE CINEMA NOW

Some of the more striking works in the (what I like to call) "new cinema" -- moving image art pieces that radically challenge traditional narrative structures -- have emerged from the cinematic movement focusing on the African diaspora . Filmmakers like Amir George ( Shades of Shadows ) and  Terence Nance ( Swimming in Your Skin Again ) have been prolific with moving image works expounding on the idea of Afrofuturism , and thus heightening the arts dialogue on what it means to be an African American today. Which brings me to  Ephraim Asili , a filmmaker whose impressive body of work over the years not only focuses on the African diaspora, but also carries on the renegade visual language of pioneering avant-garde titans like Jonas Mekas . Asili's work ranges from documentary to montage to appropriation art, but the vision is always consistent; a vision that aims to make a clearer sense of the ubiquitous images we take for granted (e.g. the quilted images of Obama in ...

Radical French New Wave filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard is still one of the leading figures in the movement to challenge and transform traditional forms of so-called Hollywood filmmaking. Last year, as an exercise in two parts, I created these two video mash ups (essays?) on Godard's own work. [Beneath each video is the original description that was published on its Vimeo page.] SOURCE: Pierrot Le Fou dist. Pathé Contemporary Films MUSIC: "Somebody That I Used to Know" by Gotye (MAKING MIRRORS Album)   Unquestionably one of the most audacious and simultaneously problematic tracking shots in cinematic history, this sequence from Jean-Luc Godard's Week End (1967) succeeds in visually demonstrating a chaotic cross section of human existence. The downside is that we have to (annoyingly) hear cars honking on the soundtrack for nearly eight minutes. In reaction to this, I have manipulated this portion of the film by way of arranging the visuals to ...

There was a time when the movie theatre--a temple for the cinema--was a physically domineering social hub for people; up until the 1960s filmgoers would catch up on their world news via short subject newsreels that preceded the movie and sometimes even congregated at after-parties to discuss or argue over that night's feature film. These days, with dark auditoriums glowing with mobile phones and tablet devices, that's a hard concept to grasp. Still, it's nothing to be disheartened by. The moviegoing "social hub" has migrated from the offline experience to the online experience and that's okay. Besides, most people get their world news from YouTube anyway. I start with this point because there (again) exists some misguided fear--disgust, even--driven by culturally-disconnected gurus and so-called media "experts." Is it really an earth-shattering revelation that new generations of moviegoers expect more technically savvy films, up-to-date ne...

For the longest time, movies were constrained to only exist in the time and space of a single screen (albeit a theatrical or television screen). Yes, they lived on in our heads, imaginations and aspirations but the sender-receiver model remained archaic (in plain terms that is). With the "New Cinema" upon us--that sometimes dangerous, always exhilarating landscape which is truly indie film--movies have now stretched to avenues of social filmmaking , Transmedia, revitalized underground cinema and much more. The short film, for example, is no longer a stepping stone; it's a valuable entity in a new market (VOD, iTunes, Mubi, etc.). And Transmedia, with its cross-platform approach to storytelling, is quickly becoming less of a novel gimmick and more of a cultural phenomenon. In this Tribeca (Online) Film Festival piece , this popular genre is put into context: "Whether called transmedia , multi-platform , cross platform or just cross media , filmmakers from all...

This past weekend I wrote of the newly revitalized underground cinema as being a palpable gateway to the "New Cinema" (Regardless, the New Cinema is organic, ever-changing). That said, I still think it's essential for us independent filmmakers and content creators to start addressing the void in our immediate industry, our immediate culture. That void comes in the misguided collective mindset that ours is a failing or unfulfilled industry . Anyone who entered in the independent cinema game should NOT be surprised when they soon realize that overnight financial gains aren't a realistic feat. We become independent filmmakers because we are first artists. Those who think otherwise should read Ted Hope 's powerful post, "A 'Career' In Indie Film? Better Have That Second Job Lined Up..." In times of struggle and uncertainty--key words for our independent film realm--there lies great potential for reinvention, risk and (hopefully) reward. Wh...