Indie Film Advice: Crafting Authentic Music – Elaine Del Valle comments
Independent filmmakers rarely have the resources to buy the music their stories deserve. Yet music often carries the emotional weight of our films — especially when the work is autobiographical, culturally specific, or rooted in family memory. As the writer and director of Brownsville Bred — an auteur, coming-of-age, music-driven story based on my own childhood in Brownsville, Brooklyn — I learned early that music wouldn’t be an accessory. It would be the heartbeat.
Read MoreIndie Doc Advice: How To Build Audience – Julie Carmen comments
When you’re a first time documentary filmmaker whose passion project revolves around a fascinating but relatively unknown subject, how do you cut through all the current media noise to get recognition and support for your work? We’ve been working on our documentary Lico Jiménez the Ebony Liszt for going on seven years and in that time we have discovered a wide range of ways to gain support for making the film and attracting potential viewers. The efforts never stop and we are constantly exploring new strategies, but our work is paying off and we’d like to share our strategies with others who may find them helpful.
Read MoreTWISTERS (2024) – Review by Felicity Redmond, High School Mentorship Program
The chase is on. Ahead, two twin twisters wreak havoc. Which one will last? Which one will give them the chance the stormchasers need? Twisters (2024), directed by Lee Isaac Chung, is an exciting, action-packed sequel to the original Twister (1996), made nearly three decades later. Equipped with a new cast, new technology, and new perspectives, the film is ready to take its audience back to the plains of Oklahoma to partake in the dangerous adventures of tornado-chasing.
Read MoreTHE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (1955) – Review by Amarie Nguyen, High School Mentorship Program
A movie turning 70 is still subject to criticism. 1955’s The Night of the Hunter, falls short of the rose colored glasses of noir nostalgia. A flop upon release, it became later revered as a masterpiece of the period and an undeniable part of “real” cinema.
Read MorePETITE MAMAN (2021) – Review by Cat Boyett, High School Mentorship Program
Goodbye. A conclusion, a noun that signifies farewell. The goodbye itself is sacred; it is the last word, a deliberate release. However, some farewells come too soon, leaving some words unspoken. Petite Maman (2021), directed by Céline Sciamma, explores how grief not only distances a family but how it can bring them closer together.
Read MoreTHE FAREWELL (2019) – Review by Abby Borgeson, High School Mentorship Program
>The goodbye isn’t fair. At least that’s what Billi (Awkwafina) thinks in 2019’s The Farewell. When her grandmother Nai Nai (Zhao Suzhen) is diagnosed with stage four lung cancer, Billi is surprised and frustrated to find her entire extended family preparing an elaborate lie in the form of a wedding so they can all gather together one last time to be with Nai Nai before she passes.
Read MoreLADY BIRD (2017) – Review by Mia Ramos, High School Mentorship Program
Less than three minutes into Lady Bird, a teenage girl throws herself out of a moving car during an argument with her mom. It’s a bold and unforgettable moment that perfectly sets the tone for Greta Gerwig’s solo directorial debut, where she established herself as a force to be reckoned with in the film industry.
Read MoreTHE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES (2023) – Review by Nara Ekhsigian, High School Mentorship Program
Birds watch from the trees as the boy, who would eventually become responsible for the deaths of hundreds of children, violently searches for the girl who would haunt him until he dies. He yells into the woods as he tries to murder the girl he thought he loved—until she, in his eyes, betrayed him. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2023) is the haunting origin story to President Snow, the dictator of Panem, seen in the original four Hunger Games films. Directed by Francis Lawrence, it is a gripping movie that can stand on its own, apart from the previous series.
Read MoreOKJA (2017) – Review by Nicolas Rios, High School Mentorship Program
A young girl goes through the wilderness alongside her giant friend, fishing for dinner together in the mountains. In only a few hours, this best friend will be taken from her, for the sake of feeding people. Okja (2017) is an interesting and curious film and an obvious allegory for capitalism and monopolies. In it, a girl named Mija (An Seo Hyun) from the mountains of Korea suddenly has to go to New York to save her best friend, Okja, a special pig, big enough to feed thousands of people. The challenges she and Okja have to face are hauntingly difficult.
Read MoreANXIETY CLUB – Review by Yael Friedman (Guest Post)
At first blush, Wendy Lobel’s Anxiety Club may seem like another straightforward exploration of individual comics battling their demons amid the broader questions about comedy and mental illness. Even Marc Maron, the OG of digging through emotional muck together, is on hand. Yet he is there as a sort of founding father passing on the torch to a new generation who have already internalized the power of vulnerability as critical to both their well-being and their comedy. They are so fluent and self-aware, seamlessly capturing their generation’s earnestness and their own keen ability for expression. From this new baseline, Lobel also builds the next iteration of this conversation and shows how it can evolve.
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