indie film: Last News

The Sundance Film Festival returns in-person beginning Thursday after being sidelined by Covid for two editions, and three years of struggle to climb out of an abyss. The indies have emerged from a time warp into a strange new place, one that’s still evolving.

A platoon of titles hits the specialty circuit this weekend, getting in ahead of steamroller Avatar: Way of Water and the year-end deadline for Oscar eligibility. This is a soul-searching, what-lies-ahead moment for a market still much too inconsistent for comfort, but that can be pondered later. At the moment, indie distributors are quite busy “with all these movies, and these plans to release theatrically. We are not going anywhere,” said one executive.

After more than a year and a half of development, eOne recently started shopping its Dungeons & Dragons live-action TV series. Shepherded by Red Notice filmmaker Rawson Marshall Thurber, it is based on Hasbro’s wildly popular fantasy role-playing game franchise.

Wilson Chapman editorJames Franco has been cast as Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro in the independent film “Alina of Cuba,” Variety has confirmed.Franco joins the previously announced Ana Villafañe, who portrays the title character Alina Fernandez, Castro’s daughter. In addition, Mía Maestro has also joined the cast as Alina’s mother Natalia Revuelta, the Cuban socialite who gave birth to her after an affair with Castro. The film will follow Alina’s life as Castro’s illegitimate daughter and a critic of his reign in Cuba before leaving the country and defecting to Spain in 1993.

EXCLUSIVE: One of the most prominent ex-ICM agents still in play, Jessica Lacy, has landed at Range Media Partners as Partner and head of management company’s newly minted division, Range Select. In her role, Lacy will oversee structuring and arranging financing, packaging, and securing distribution for select independent films. She is joined by her former ICM colleague Oliver Wheeler who also will work in the Range Select unit as a manager.

Angelique Jackson Producers of the indie film musical “Americana Dream” have tapped Nashville-based music artists Mary Sarah and Sam Varga to play the story’s central couple, Billie Carton and Lucky Fontana.Sarah and Varga nabbed the leading roles after an extensive nationwide search for singer-songwriters to act in the original musical written and directed by Ate de Jong and co-written by Variety’s Steven Gaydos.“Americana Dream” takes viewers behind the scenes of the film’s titular reality TV music competition program, where Lucky and Billie transition from imposters willing to do anything for money and fame, to a real couple, willing to sacrifice their dreams of success for real love and their real music. Sarah was a finalist on season 10 of NBC’s “The Voice” and is set to star in Justin Ward’s upcoming film comedy “Paradise: The Movie.” Sarah recorded her first album “Bridges,” when she was only 15; the project showcased her talent alongside country music legends including Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Merle Haggard and Tanya Tucker and was reissued through Time Life Records in 2020.Varga has also been performing since his early teens, releasing singles and performing regionally; his dynamic live act garnered significant attention in Austin, Texas before he relocated to Nashville in 2019.

EXCLUSIVE: Glass House Distribution President Tom Malloy, bitcoin veteran Charlie Shrem and producer Shyam S. Sengupta are unveiling a new digital finance company, Defiine, here at the Cannes Market.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefNawazuddin Siddiqui, the Emmy-nominated Indian actor, is to take the lead role in U.S. indie film “Laxman Lopez.” The film is a Christmas-themed movie to be directed by Mexico’s Roberto Girault, director of local hits including 2017’s “La Leyenda Del Diamante,” 2015’s “Los Arboles Mueren de Pie” and “El Estudiante” from 2009. The project is led by New York-based Imagine Infinite Productions.

Jonathan Wolf, managing director of the American Film Market who has led AFM for 24 years, will step down when his current term ends in June. He’ll continue on as an advisor through the 2022 AFM, which is set to make its in-person return to Santa Monica for the 43rd edition, November 1-6, said the Independent Film & Television Alliance, which produces the event.

After succumbing to the demise of physical home entertainment and then being housed in a mountain village in Sicily, the eclectic holdings of New York City mainstay Kim’s Video have returned home.

Three Point Capital has closed on a $100 million revolving credit facility with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG). The independent film financier, which was acquired last year by Forest Road, has also rebranded as TPC.

Ed Meza @edmezavarThe founder of the blockchain-based film sales platform Cinemarket is launching Cineverse, an ambitious start-up that will make it possible for filmmakers, distributors and producers to market films directly using blockchain and NFT tech.Established by Cinemarket CEO Adrian Lugol and partners Vincent Lopez and Daniel Siegler (pictured), Cineverse will allow users to buy, share, gift, sell and resell films over the platform.The idea for the project came to Lugol during Christmas of 2020, when he wanted to give his young nephew some DVDs of his favorite films. The plan was thwarted when he learned the family no longer owned an old-fashioned DVD player.“I was like, wow, how am I going to give you these movies in a simple way?” Lugol recalls.

Neon’s racked up a few bests this weekend with a cume of $135,042 at four NY/LA theaters for a popping per screen average of $33,768.

Editor’s note: One in a series of remembrances on the 20 years since 9/11.

With more than 50% of the U.S. adult population at least half vaccinated and studios plotting start dates, visions of a return to normalcy abound. So what’s the prognosis for independent film, when insurers and bank lenders remain on the sidelines even as production perks up?

More than 30 unpaid crewmembers on the indie film Please Give Me You have filed wage claims with the California Labor Commissioner’s office after the production was shut down last month when its financing fell through following a Covid-19 scare on the set. The film, written and directed by Ana Lily Amirpour and which was to have starred Chloë Grace Moretz, had been prepping at the Rancho Grande preserve in Ojai, CA, when the plug was pulled December 11 before principal photography could begin.

Abortion is a subject that runs through the core of Saint Frances, the debut film written by and starring rising talent Kelly O’Sullivan. But until O’Sullivan’s own parents read the press coverage of the film, they didn’t know that their daughter had had an abortion several years ago.

“Charm City Kings” won over many critics in its Sundance premiere earlier this year, and likely would have been doing the same in Texas this week if it were showing, as planned, at the canceled South by Southwest Film Festival. It’ll still get its chance to charm general audiences as well as critical gatekeepers, who have been impressed so far not just by actor Jahi Di’Allo Winston’s standout performance as main character “Mouse,” but by rapper Meek Mill, who gives a breakout supporting turn in the film, his first as an actor.

Screen Media Ventures President David Fannon will be attending this year’s Cannes markets by way of Connecticut. He is, like so many of the now homebound buyers and sellers that plan on making the most of the Virtual Cannes Market, working from home offices, basements and kitchen tables.

If you don’t know the name John Wildman, you’re missing out. Not only is he a talented filmmaker, Wildman is currently a journalist, as well as one of the most passionate film publicists out there. In particular, his work on film festivals, both big and small, is truly noteworthy. With so much going on in the movie industry right now, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in part just due to its needed evolution, it seemed like a perfect time to hop on the phone and get his take. Plus, he’s just a damn interesting guy to talk to. Full of stories, eager to see multiple sides of a debate, and capable of breaking down issues into really accessible packages, he’s a treasure trove of information, as you’re about to hear.