The ITVS Indies Roundup

A curated list of indie news and recommendations from ITVS’s Rebecca Huval.

If you want to turn a stale movie launch around, save your documentary for last. Filmmaker Liz Nord explains why she released some of her most precious interviews and multimedia experiences months before her film premiered. You might know John Baldessari as the world-class artist who puts dots over faces in photos, but he’s so much more. Similarly, you might know Tom Waits as the gravelly singer who inhabits low-life characters, but he’s also a sassy narrator. This playful short documentary shows the lesser-known sides of both men. 

In 100 years, cinema has gone from illuminated glass slides known as magic lanterns to 3D, computer-animated, and sequeled extravaganzas. Peak at our progress in 100 Ideas that Changed Film by Oxford Times film reviewer David Parkinson. (via Brain Pickings) On the Road, The Great Gatsby, and now A Confederacy of Dunces starring Zach Galifianakis? With so many classics adapted for the big screen this year, it’s worth asking if we can milk great movies from our literary masterpieces. “When I grow up, I was to be middle-sized, not fat and not skinny, and I want to be a teacher, or maybe I might be a nurse.” These are the adorable words of 5-year-old Sofia Coppola in a 1977 interview conducted by her Oscar-winning dad. (via Open Culture) Coppola was the first American female to be nominated for an Academy Award for Directing, but the film industry hasn't made much progress since then. Of the 22 films competing for highest honors at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, all 22 are directed by men. Where have all the female directors gone? 

Nevertheless, for a taste of the festival, check out these clips from two animated shorts screening at Cannes: Bydlo, an apocalyptic tale, and Kaspar, about a man who steps into the light after spending his life in a cave.