Indie Film Crush, Ahead Of ‘Avatar’ & Year End, Puts Arthouse Woes On Back Burner – Specialty Preview
03.12.2022 - 01:01
/ deadline.com
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.
The Gotham Awards earlier this were were a shot of goodwill. Focus Features chairman Peter Kujawski recalled “the mandate that all of us share in the specialty film business” at the ceremony in NYC, kicking off awards season.
“To all our friends at A24, at Neon, at Searchlight, Sony Pictures Classics, IFC, Bleecker Street, FilmNation, Cinetic, Participant and so many other wonderful companies,” he said — accepting an industry tribute with vice chairman Jason Cassidy – “We are in there together, defending a safe space for artists and audiences to connect. Your strength is our strength. Our wins are your wins. So thank you for everything you do for this community and letting us be a part of it with you guys.”
(He also thanked Donna Langley, Jeff Shell and Brian Roberts, CEO of corporate parent Comcast, reflecting a divide in the broad specialty film business in terms of resources if not aesthetics.)
Venice International Film Festival artistic director Alberto Barbera called supporting independent cinema a “duty,” not a “choice.” Indie filmmakers “take risks rather than relying on proven formulas. In so doing so, they change the way we look at the world and at each other.”
Daniel Kwan, co-director with Daniel Scheinert of A24’s indie box office darling Everything