Independent - Movies

Fremont

Independent

Donya, a former Afghan translator for the U.S. government, lives alone in Fremont, California. When she’s promoted to writing the fortunes at her job at a fortune cookie factory in the city, Donya’s loneliness and longing drive her to send a message out in a cookie, unsure where it may lead. Tenderly sculpted and lyrically shot in black-and-white, Babak Jalali’s FREMONT is a wry, deadpan vision of the universal longing for home.

Saint John of Las Vegas

Independent

The deck is stacked with oddball characters and outrageous twists in one of the year's most hilarious and original comedies. Compulsive gamber John (Steve Buscemi) had finally beaten the habit, started a new life, and said farewell to Vegas for good… or so he thought. When his new boss sends him back to Sin City to investigate a shady insurance claim, all the chips are back on the table. Romany Malco, Peter Dinklage, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Tim Blake Nelson, and John Cho complete a royal flush of an ensemble cast in this laugh-riot comedy that's loaded with high-staks temptations and low-down crooks.

Chop Shop

Independent

For his acclaimed follow-up to MAN PUSH CART, Ramin Bahrani once again turned his camera on a slice of New York City rarely seen on-screen: Willets Point, Queens, an industrial sliver of automotive-repair shops that remains perpetually at risk of being redeveloped off the map. It’s within this precarious ecosystem that twelve-year-old Ale (Alejandro Polanco) must grow up fast, hustling in the neighborhood chop shops to build a more stable life for himself and his sister (Isamar Gonzales), even as their tenuous circumstances force each to compete with other struggling people and make desperate decisions. A deeply human story of a fierce but fragile sibling bond being tested by hardscrabble reality, CHOP SHOP tempers its sobering authenticity with flights of lyricism and hope.

Orchestra of Exiles

Independent

A film by Academy Award nominated director Josh Aronson. The thrilling story of how one man helped save Europe’s premiere Jewish musicians from obliteration by the Nazis. In the early 1930’s Hitler began firing Jewish musicians across Europe. Overcoming extraordinary obstacles, violinist Bronislaw Huberman moved these great musicians to Palestine and formed a symphony that would become the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. With courage, resourcefulness and an entourage of allies including Arturo Toscanini and Albert Einstein, Huberman saved nearly 1000 Jews and guaranteed the survival of Europe’s musical heritage. Featuring commentary by musical greats including Itzhak Perlman, Zubin Mehta and Joshua Bell, Orchestra of Exiles is a timeless tale of a brilliant young man coming of age, and the suspenseful chronicle of how his efforts impacted cultural history.

Make it in America: Empowering Global Fashion

Independent

A new documentary exploring the decline, evolution and reinvigoration of domestic apparel/fashion production in the U.S.A. Uncovering the issues that contributed to the loss of American fashion manufacturing in New York, Los Angeles, Miami and around the country. Featuring interviews with key designers Anna Sui, Nanette Lepore & Yeohlee & others behind the Save The Garment Center initiative, plus insight on the subject from Martha Stewart, Simon Doonan, Andrew Rosen, Ralph Rucci and many others, the film stimulates the conversation into action to rebuild the infrastructure of fashion manufacturing in the United States of America.

The Diana Story, Part III: Legacy of Love

Independent

A late night phone call from Paris brought news that would rock the world. The sudden and tragic death of Princess Diana devastated millions. Hear what it was really like to be at the eye of the storm, as Diana's closest friend and confidant shares his story of heartbreak and farewell.

Visual Acoustics

Independent

Narrated by Dustin Hoffman, Visual Acoustics celebrates the life and career of Julius Shulman, acclaimed by many as “the world’s most influential architectural photographer.” Shulman’s images embody the energy and optimism of Southern California in the second half of the 20th century and brought its iconic architecture to the attention of an international audience. His photographs immortalize the work of the most prominent American modern architects from the 1930s until Shulman’s death in 2009, including Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard Neutra, John Lautner, and Frank Gehry. This award-winning film is both a testament to the evolution of modern architecture and a joyful portrait of the magnetic visionary who chronicled it with his unforgettable images.

White Rabbit

Independent

Harlon Mackey (Nick Krause) has been tormented by visions since his alcoholic father (Sam Trammell) forced him to kill an innocent rabbit while hunting as a boy. Now that Harlon is a bullied high school teen, his undiagnosed mental illness is getting worse. He begins to hear voices, and his imagination encourages him to carry out violent acts. Things begin to look up when Julie (Britt Robertson), a rebellious young girl, moves to town and befriends Harlon…But when she betrays him, the rabbit along with other imaginary comic book characters taunt him into committing one final act of revenge. The line between reality and Harlon’s imagination begin to blur in this intense dramatic thriller.

Dinner Party

Independent

A dinner party with a young group of diverse childhood friends turns into an electric moment for all attendees as conversation turns to a recent sexual misconduct trial verdict. As it is revealed that one of their own is guilty of a past transgression, everyone must look at their own histories and determine whether the friendship that binds them can withstand their differences.

Diary of a Spy

Independent

Anna is a washed-up intelligence officer whose last mission left seven people dead. Drunk, broke, and alone she is given the chance for one last mission: to seduce and recruit a valuable asset connected to the Saudi Royal Family. As she gets closer and closer to her target, Anna finds she is in over her head and she must decide between accomplishing her mission or finding a way to save herself.

Cold Water

Independent

An acclaimed early work by Olivier Assayas, the long-unavailable, deeply felt coming-of-age drama Cold Water can at last be seen in the United States. Drawing from his own youthful experiences, Assayas revisits the outskirts of Paris in the early 1970s, telling the story of teenage lovers Gilles (Cyprien Fouquet) and Christine (Virginie Ledoyen), whose rebellions against family and society threaten to tear them apart. The visceral realism of the movie’s narrative and the near experimentalism of its camera work come together effortlessly thanks in part to a rock soundtrack that vividly evokes the period. Cold Water, whose centerpiece is one of the most memorable party sequences ever committed to film, is a heartbreaking immersion in the emotional tumult of being young.

Like Me

Independent

A reckless loner (Addison Timlin, Little Sister) sets out on a crime spree that she broadcasts on social media. After releasing a video of herself robbing a convenience store, she amasses a huge following. While traveling along the coast, she encounters a drifter, an Internet troll, and a paint huffing outsider who are all pulled into her circle of chaos, junk food, and drugs. Robert Mockler’s visually arresting debut feature, produced by indie horror veteran Larry Fessenden, takes the viewer into a world of fabricated personalities and offers a thought-provoking portrait of isolation in our increasingly digital world.

The Image Book

Independent

The legendary Jean-Luc Godard adds to his influential, iconoclastic legacy with this provocative collage film essay, a vast ontological inquiry into the history of the moving image and a commentary on the contemporary world. Winner of the first Special Palme d'Or to be awarded in the history of the Cannes Film Festival, The Image Book is another extraordinary addition to the French master's vast filmography.Displaying an encyclopedic grasp of cinema and its history, Godard pieces together fragments and clips them from some of the greatest films of the past, then digitally alters, bleaches, and washes them, all in the service of reflecting on what he sees in front of him and what he makes of the dissonance that surrounds him. He uses his own voice, reminiscent of those of Leonard Cohen or Bob Dylan in the twilights of their careers, to guide us through the fascinating labyrinth of his mind. In some cases, it is to reflect on the metaphysical properties of the world — time, and space, and where meaning is found — but more importantly it is the image, the thing that has obsessed Godard for his entire career, that anchors this film. His ontological enquiry into the image continues to be one of the most moving in history.But, as always with Godard, the key issues he raises have to do with the legacy of the last century and its horrors: the incomprehension of Hiroshima and Auschwitz, events that coincided with cinema but which have somehow eluded its gaze. And, movingly, The Image Book also reflects on orientalism and the Arab world, grounding the new film very much in the present.

Survival Skills

Independent

In this throwback to 80s police training videos Jim (Vayu O’Donnell), a rookie cop, gets in over his head when he tries to resolve a domestic violence case outside the law. As the situation slips away from him, he is opposed by the video’s powerful and sinister Narrator (Stacy Keach).

The Bachelor Weekend

Independent

Official Selection, 2014 Tribeca Film Festival. A bachelor party weekend in the great outdoors takes some wild detours in this hilarious and heartfelt comedy.

In My Pocket

Independent

A harrowing journey down the dark spiral of drug addiction. As Stephen Jameson's carefully constructed life slowly falls apart, his belief system is shattered when he discovers that he's no longer the functioning addict that he once was. Uncompromising and unwaveringly honest, IN MY POCKET pulls no punches as it not only dares you to peer into the edge of the abyss...but then pushes you right in.

A World Ruled By Evil

Independent

A group of extremely powerful people control the world through manipulation, marketing, propaganda and force. These are not the people you're thinking of. These are not always the politicians who are so often pawns themselves. These people are members of a long line, a golden thread through history that stretches back thousands of years and can be traced through their own bloodline. Welcome to the world of a very real and powerful secret society.

Flim: The Movie

Independent

Ravi, a simple man who spent his youth lurking on the outer fringes of the Bollywood movie scene, has big dreams of becoming an A-List Hollywood film director. He possesses enough bombastic front and distilled charisma to pursuade an accountant, of dubious moral standing, to finance his assault on Hollywood and his first feature film...that has yet to be written. Maybe, just maybe, with the assistance of his rapidly expanding entourage, cast and crew keen for employment, Ravi stands as much chance of achieving his wild dream of Oscar glory as anyone. Movie audiences view Ravi’s surreal and inglorious journey to the stuff of movie legend through the hand-held lens of the amateur documentary film maker Scot Landers and his crew. Naturally, Ravi fully expects that, this Film, the making of his film, to be a glossy, showbiz tale of one man’s meteoric rise to the top. But when accusations of money laundering and sexual harassment start to fly, Ravi’s fragile grip on both his dream and his sanity start to crumble. The police launch a criminal investigation. And the footage from the documentary team take on a different meaning when used as evidence against him!

Mount Joy

Independent

With an upcoming national tour, musicians in the local Pennsylvania band “The Living Daylights” are on the verge of making it big. But the sudden disappearance of the lead singer's girlfriend and her devastating secret could end it all. With a pulsing indie rock soundtrack, this award-winning film packs a sonic and emotional punch. “Mount Joy” is a portrait of what it means to sacrifice everything for the dreams of those you love. Inspired by true events.

The Wise Kids

Independent

In this highly acclaimed drama, gay teen Tim and his two best friends Laura and Brea spend their last summer before college grappling with their feelings about the fundamentalist Baptist beliefs of their families, and prepping for the Passion Play at their church. Preacher’s daughter Brea is having a crisis of faith while Laura quotes Leviticus to Tim. Tim draws strength from the support of his PFLAG Dad as he copes with the twists and turns of late adolescence — including a complex relationship with the church drama teacher who struggles with his own sexuality (a tremendous performance by filmmaker Stephen Cone). The Wise Kids is one of those rare films that both transcend and embody the label “gay film.” The story resonates intensely with gay viewers while simultaneously offering a universal story of immediate emotional impact to all audiences. Written, directed and acted with perfect poise and confidence (including a stand-out turn by Tyler Ross, Nate & Margaret, Milkshake) as Tim, this complex and beautiful film is an unforgettable gem — an authentic and insightful portrayal of youth, faith and coming of age.

Independent Movies