#mid-budget-film

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fromOregon ArtsWatch * Arts & Culture News
20 hours ago

A Portland Panorama of indie films * Oregon ArtsWatch

On May 2, 2025, arts and cultural organizations across the country received notifications that grants and funding promised by the National Endowment for the Arts were being rescinded. This was part of a larger initiative by the Trump Administration to dismantle not just the NEA, but also other arts advocacy programs including the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute for Museum and Library Services.
Portland
London food
fromTime Out London
3 hours ago

South London has a new art and short film festival - and it's free

A free artist-led festival in Peckham from May 8-10 features exhibitions, panel talks, and complimentary food and drinks.
fromNo Film School
1 day ago

How a $30K Animated Indie Scored a Theatrical Run - Then Landed on HBO

Glander and producer Payson made Boys Go to Jupiter with a tiny team and a $30,000 budget, showcasing the potential of indie filmmaking in animation.
Independent films
Film
fromVulture
3 days ago

Should A24 Be Worried About The Drama's Plot-Twist Drama?

The Drama features a controversial plot twist involving a character's admission of a near mass shooting, sparking significant backlash.
fromEsquire
1 day ago

The Best Action Movies of 2026 (So Far)

In the new film, he plays a hit man named Mike who is attempting to leave the business when he's framed for murder. He's sleeping with loan shark Nick's wife Alice, so Nick tricks him into pulling off one last job.
Television
#independent-film
Media industry
fromIndieWire
4 days ago

To Access Stranded Capital, Filmmakers Need to Learn Demand-Side Thinking

Shifting from supply-side to demand-side thinking is crucial for independent filmmakers to attract investment and audience interest.
Music production
fromIndieWire
3 days ago

This Is What Honest AI Conversations Sound Like in Hollywood

Mastery in the age of AI is evolving, requiring individuals to excel beyond a baseline of quickly learned skills.
fromPitchfork
5 days ago

Fucked Up's Damian Abraham Is Now Making Movies

Cut & Paste Pictures is developing a feature-length documentary chronicling the lifelong friendship between Rise Against guitarist Zach Blair and wrestler Hassan 'MVP' Assad, who will also front an unscripted series about life after prison.
Podcast
Humor
fromwww.theguardian.com
4 days ago

Why do this spring's blockbusters feel so smug?

Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice combines multiple genres but relies on repetitive comedic elements that feel familiar and uninspired.
Graphic design
fromItsnicethat
4 days ago

California Dreaming: The latest issue of A Rabbit's Foot is about the inventors and innovators of our movie-making culture

A Rabbit's Foot magazine celebrates the future of film and artistic craftsmanship while exploring California's innovative cultural landscape.
Writing
fromThe New Yorker
4 days ago

Lena Dunham on Falling in Love with the Movies

A young filmmaker's journey begins with a short film, leading to acceptance at Slamdance and a memorable festival experience.
fromDeadline
5 days ago

Blink49 Studios Expands Brand Studio With Pair Of Hires

Elizabeth brings exactly the kind of experience we need as we build Blink49's Brand Studio. She has a proven track record of creating smart partnerships, navigating the media landscape, and developing programs that connect brand ambition with culturally impactful, premium storytelling.
Marketing
#new-directorsnew-films
fromThe New Yorker
2 days ago
Independent films

New Directors, New Films

The New Directors/New Films series showcases diverse films with innovative narratives, including 'Variations on a Theme' and 'Next Life'.
fromFilmmaker Magazine
5 days ago
Independent films

Exclusive Clip: Roseanne Pel on Her New Directors/New Films Closing Night Title Donkey Days

The 55th New Directors/New Films festival showcases rising talent from April 8-19, featuring diverse films including Leviticus and Donkey Days.
Independent films
fromFilmmaker Magazine
5 days ago

Exclusive Clip: Roseanne Pel on Her New Directors/New Films Closing Night Title Donkey Days

The 55th New Directors/New Films festival showcases rising talent from April 8-19, featuring diverse films including Leviticus and Donkey Days.
Film
fromVulture
2 days ago

The 13 Best Movies and TV Shows to Watch This Weekend

Zendaya and Robert Pattinson's film explores wedding anxieties and dark secrets, while reality shows continue to stir drama and relationships.
Podcast
fromSan Jose Spotlight
6 days ago

San Jose filmmakers create space to support women - San Jose Spotlight

PowerHouse is a women-owned production and event space in San Jose aimed at empowering women in the broadcast industry.
fromThe New Yorker
2 days ago

An Artists' Duel Proves Restorative in "The Christophers"

Soderbergh has become such a prolific, tirelessly resourceful, and altogether uncategorizable filmmaker that you have to wonder why the mechanics of the break-in still inspire him.
Independent films
Film
fromVulture
2 days ago

The Twist in The Drama Is Not the Problem

The film features a controversial plot twist involving a character's past plan for a school shooting, sparking significant online speculation and backlash.
Independent films
fromVulture
2 days ago

Ryan Gosling Can't Star in the Daniels' Upcoming Project

Ryan Gosling will not star in the upcoming film by Everything Everywhere All at Once directors due to scheduling conflicts.
#comedy
Film
fromConsequence
2 days ago

Gaten Matarazzo, Sean Giambrone & Lulu Wilson on Pizza Movie, Body Swaps, and Building a Cult Classic: Podcast

Pizza Movie transforms a late-night food run into a bizarre adventure with body swaps and hallucinations, showcasing intentional humor and character dynamics.
Film
fromAnOther
4 days ago

Films to See This April

Kristoffer Borgli's film The Drama explores social mortification and modern performative life through a wedding couple's shocking revelation.
Film
fromConsequence
2 days ago

Gaten Matarazzo, Sean Giambrone & Lulu Wilson on Pizza Movie, Body Swaps, and Building a Cult Classic: Podcast

Pizza Movie transforms a late-night food run into a bizarre adventure with body swaps and hallucinations, showcasing intentional humor and character dynamics.
Film
fromAnOther
4 days ago

Films to See This April

Kristoffer Borgli's film The Drama explores social mortification and modern performative life through a wedding couple's shocking revelation.
#romantic-comedy
Film
fromThe New Yorker
3 days ago

"The Drama" Struggles to Justify Its Combustible Premise

Charlie and Emma navigate their relationship's challenges through humor and the concept of starting over.
Film
fromThe New Yorker
3 days ago

"The Drama" Struggles to Justify Its Combustible Premise

Charlie and Emma navigate their relationship's challenges through humor and the concept of starting over.
Independent films
fromThe Independent
3 days ago

Hugely underrated 2026 film added to streaming

'Crime 101' is an underrated heist thriller featuring strong performances, particularly from Halle Berry and Mark Ruffalo, now available for streaming.
Arts
fromwww.npr.org
3 weeks ago

'American Classic' is a hidden gem that gets even better as it goes

American Classic is a charming streaming series on MGM+ about a Shakespearean actor who returns to his small Pennsylvania hometown to escape scandal and reconnect with local theater.
Film
from48 hills
3 days ago

Screen Grabs: Aliens, witches, mermaids, and other swell company - 48 hills

Love can take unconventional forms, as seen in films featuring relationships with aliens, witches, and other offbeat characters.
Independent films
fromEsquire
5 days ago

Andrew Scott Knows the Next Stephen Spielberg Is Out There. But How Do We Find Them?

We Were Here is a humorous mockumentary about Indian retirees resisting AI by taking over machine jobs.
Media industry
fromIndieWire
3 weeks ago

If You've Been Waiting for Normal in Hollywood, Here It Is

YouTube surpassed Disney as the world's largest media company while accomplished independent producers like Ted Hope struggle to find industry support, signaling a fundamental shift in entertainment's structure and sustainability.
fromKqed
3 days ago

SFFILM's 2026 Festival Returns to the Castro Theatre - in Part

Sam Green's documentary follows his relentless pursuit of the world's oldest person, a journey that reveals deep insights into the nature of time and memory over a decade.
Film
fromwww.npr.org
4 days ago

This fringe actor finds the spotlight in Israel's most provocative film post-Oct. 7

In the film, Bronz's character is commissioned to compose a new national anthem for post-Oct. 7 Israel, and writes a warmongering ballad about destroying Gaza and 'love sanctified in blood.'
Independent films
Film
fromQueerty
3 days ago

WATCH: This shocking camboy drama pushes queer cinema into provocative new territory - Queerty

Blue Film is a provocative camboy drama exploring taboo subjects and complex human relationships between a sex worker and his former teacher.
fromIndieWire
4 days ago

You Can't Make a 'Cult Classic' with Marketing - Opinion

'Forbidden Fruits' has been widely hailed as a 'cult classic' by critics and fans, but labeling it as such too soon risks undermining the process that establishes a film's cultural significance over time.
Independent films
Film
fromSlate Magazine
4 days ago

Ryan Gosling's Blockbuster New Movie Is a Big Win for a Very Particular Kind of Man

Project Hail Mary is Amazon MGM's highest-grossing movie ever, showcasing a beta hero in Ryan Gosling's character.
Film
fromWIRED
4 days ago

Watching a 7.5-Hour Movie in Theaters Made Me More Hopeful About Our Collective Brain Rot

A seven-and-a-half-hour film screening challenges modern attention spans, highlighting a cultural shift in viewing habits and the struggle for sustained focus.
Independent films
fromwww.theguardian.com
6 days ago

Being Ola review a sweet and gentle film about disability, friendship and abandonment

Ola Henningsen navigates his feelings of friendship and abandonment in a gentle film set in a Norwegian community for individuals with disabilities.
fromVulture
5 days ago

How Much Is Kristoffer Borgli Trolling Us?

The Drama is a more localized version of the same thing: If you do something bad (or almost do something bad, or do something bad out of your own control), how mad should people be at you - really?
Film
Independent films
fromFilmmaker Magazine
1 week ago

More Heart Than a Midnight Movie: Oscar Boyson and Ricky Camilleri on Our Hero, Balthazar

The film Our Hero, Balthazar explores identity and ego through a dark comedy about a teen trying to prevent a school shooting.
Film
fromwww.theguardian.com
5 days ago

From the phone to the plex: why TV shows are turning into movies

Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man achieved over 25 million views on Netflix in three days, showcasing the shift from cinema to streaming.
Independent films
fromNo Film School
1 week ago

How Some Clever Marketing Got My $75K Microbudget Film on HBO

Indie filmmakers can thrive despite traditional distribution collapse by leveraging digital marketing and audience engagement strategies.
Film
fromEsquire
5 days ago

The 9 Best Movies of 2026 (So Far)

Major studio films have underperformed, while smaller films have offered fresh ideas and engaging stories.
Film
from48 hills
5 days ago

Screen Grabs: Tributes to three trailblazing women filmmakers - 48 hills

The representation of women directors in major-studio films is declining, while they remain prominent in experimental and arthouse cinema.
Independent films
fromIndieWire
2 weeks ago

Indie Film Has an Architecture Problem

The indie film model is structurally designed to fail, with misaligned incentives between investors, filmmakers, distributors, and audiences, resulting in only 0.025% of screenplays achieving profitable theatrical outcomes.
Independent films
fromIndieWire
2 weeks ago

Why This Director Is Raising $3 Million for a Rom-Com Ecosystem

Jonah Feingold is building Romantical, a media company infrastructure around romantic comedy, applying startup methodology to independent film production and distribution.
Independent films
fromVulture
2 weeks ago

Blue Heron Will Wreck You in the Best Possible Way

Blue Heron explores how one family member's mental health crisis and behavioral issues create lasting ripples across a Hungarian family's life in 1990s Vancouver, using innovative formal techniques to examine memory and time.
Film
fromIndieWire
2 weeks ago

Indie Star Joe Swanberg Never Really Left - but He's Definitely Back Now

Joe Swanberg returns to feature filmmaking after nearly a decade with 'The Sun Never Sets,' a romantic triangle shot in Alaska starring Jake Johnson and Dakota Fanning.
Film
fromwww.cbc.ca
3 weeks ago

These Oscar-nominees made magic on Sinners and are helping craft a diverse environment for young filmmakers | CBC News

Ruth E. Carter, Oscar-winning costume designer with five nominations, credits breaking barriers and prioritizing authenticity and representation as key to advancing diversity in Hollywood.
Film
fromEsquire
3 weeks ago

Do Original Movies Have Any Hope Left? I Went on a Journey to Find Out.

Theaters must create unique event experiences to compete with home entertainment, driving elaborate marketing stunts and premium screen innovations.
Film
fromIndieWire
3 weeks ago

How to Craft a Film Festival That Appeals to All Ages (No, Really, All Ages)

The New York International Children's Film Festival demonstrates how specialized festivals can serve diverse audiences through rigorous curation, year-round engagement, and inclusive programming strategies applicable to festivals of all sizes.
fromQueerty
3 weeks ago

WATCH: Gay lovers risk everything in tense Canadian queer drama We'll Find Happiness - Queerty

Saad (Mehdi Meskar) is a young Moroccan exile in Quebec who will do anything to save Reza (Aron Archer), his Iranian refugee lover who faces being sent back to his home country. In a desperate move, Saad sets out to seduce a high-ranking spokesperson (played by Alexandre Landry) from the ministry of immigration in a risky gambit that sets off a fateful chain of events.
Film
Film
fromIndieWire
3 weeks ago

Have You Been Hurt by Media Consolidation? I Have.

The infrastructure supporting independent film production and distribution has collapsed, eliminating financing options, distribution channels, and profit opportunities that sustained filmmakers for decades.
Film
fromEntrepreneur
3 weeks ago

This Cult Filmmaker Learned Something About Audiences Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know'Make Them Feel Something'

Kevin Smith built a personal brand by connecting directly with fans, which created lasting career opportunities beyond individual film projects in an unpredictable industry.
Film
fromEsquire
3 weeks ago

The Best Documentaries of 2026 (So Far)

A 1985 fan-made Star Trek film starring George Takei, lost for 40 years, has resurfaced, documenting early fandom culture before it became a mainstream commercial force.
Film
fromNo Film School
1 month ago

Reclaiming Distribution: A Modern Indie Release Strategy

Filmmaker Gille Klabin abandoned traditional distribution for his second feature, choosing self-distribution with transparent data-driven marketing to maintain creative control and maximize returns on his low-budget film.
Film
fromThe New Yorker
1 month ago

Nonprofessional Actors Are the Heart of the Movies

This year's Oscar contenders feature nonprofessional actors alongside established performers, creating authentic performances that distinguish these films in the new casting achievement category.
Film
fromTechCrunch
1 month ago

AI's promise to indie filmmakers: faster, cheaper, lonelier | TechCrunch

An AI-created short film recreates tactile, dreamlike cinematic style to tell a Filipino-American, Ilocano-language, surreal family encounter in rural Hawai'i.
fromThe Independent
1 month ago

17 great movies ruined by terrible endings

10 Cloverfield Lane Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman and John Gallagher Jr are locked in an underground bunker for the majority of this left-field sequel to Cloverfield, with thrilling results. In the film's final throes, Winstead's character exits the bunker, and finds that her captor was telling the truth about an alien invasion above - a twist that completely and ruinously dissipates the hard-earned tension that came before.
Film
Film
fromThe Atlantic
1 month ago

The Real Secret to a Filmmaker's Success

Coppola, Lucas, and Spielberg in the 1970s combined artistic daring with commercial ambition, reshaping Hollywood through auteurism and blockbuster filmmaking.
Film
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

The Guide #229: How an indie movie distributed by a lone gamer broke the US box office

Two unusual releases contrasted a costly, widely distributed first-lady documentary with a self-financed YouTuber-made indie horror that achieved notable box-office success.
Film
fromFilmmaker Magazine
2 months ago

Reflections on Independent Film and 33 Years of Filmmaker

An editor assembled a personal, serendipitous Reflections feature blending memoir, advocacy, film history, and design for a final issue.
Film
fromIndieWire
2 months ago

Critics, Filmmakers, and Why the Future of Movies Belongs to the People Who Give a Sh*t About Them

At the New York Film Critics Circle awards dinner, a lengthy speech about critics' relationship with filmmakers prompted playful roasts from presenters.
Film
fromwww.mercurynews.com
2 months ago

Movies 2026: Here are 18 films we are excited to see

2026 features two major Pixar releases, high-profile adaptations, franchise sequels, and tentpole projects from filmmakers like Christopher Nolan and Steven Spielberg.
#sundance-film-festival
fromIndieWire
2 months ago
Film

Bob Berney on Five Wild Decades at Sundance, and Chasing Movies No One Else Wanted Like 'Memento' and 'Donnie Darko'

fromIndieWire
2 months ago
Film

Bob Berney on Five Wild Decades at Sundance, and Chasing Movies No One Else Wanted Like 'Memento' and 'Donnie Darko'

Film
from48 hills
2 months ago

Screen Grabs: All eyes on IndieFest and Mostly British's big cinematic ideas - 48 hills

Two long-running Bay Area festivals, SF IndieFest and Mostly British Film Festival, reopen with locally focused, daring films including documentaries on Santacon and Dennis Peron.
#iran
Film
fromIndieWire
2 months ago

How to Build a $10 Million Film Fund from Your Basement

Sally simplifies SPVs to make pooled investor financing accessible, helping independent producers escape scramble-for-money production cycles.
Film
fromFilmmaker Magazine
2 months ago

The Best Films of 2025 As Chosen By Some of Its Key Directors

Cinema persists as a collective, embodied form of resistance and memory against normalized violence and the outsourcing of recollection to algorithms.
Film
fromQueerty
2 months ago

WATCH: Hope emerges through love (& in-the-buff modeling) in intimate indie drama Surfacing - Queerty

Surfacing follows a depressed, pill-addicted man whose recovery deepens as blurred therapeutic boundaries and new relationships compel him to open his heart.
Film
fromwww.dw.com
2 months ago

Livestream: 4 award-winning filmmakers on risk-taking cinema

European filmmakers are embracing risk, political engagement, intimacy and formal freedom in opposition to franchise- and algorithm-driven global film trends.
Film
fromVulture
2 months ago

This Year's Sundance Was Full of Failed Adults

Run Amok shows adults deeply traumatized by a school shooting while students treat the event matter-of-factly, revealing intergenerational differences in grief and coping.
fromIndieWire
2 months ago

Memo to Distributors: Buy These 2026 Sundance Movies

Each year, most films leave the festival without a distributor in place, and we've only seen a handful of sales so far despite Netflix, Neon, Searchlight, Focus, A24, and more all on the ground. Plus, newcomer distribution groups like Row K and Warners' independent label also landed in Utah to make an impression. Alas, many movies still need a home, and below, IndieWire rounds up the ones we think distributors will click with - some more intrepid than others, but all worthy of a hopefully big-screen landing place.
Film
Film
fromIndieWire
2 months ago

The 17 Best Films of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival

The 2026 Sundance Film Festival closed a Park City era before moving to Boulder in 2027, ending longtime traditions while showcasing standout films like Casper Kelly's feature Buddy.
Film
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

I wasn't acting: that was me': how non-actors took over Oscar season

Directors often cast non-professionals to capture authenticity through lived experience and physical presence alongside trained actors.
Film
fromFilmmaker Magazine
2 months ago

My Best Work as (Mostly) an Editor

Laid-off after 11+ years, a career summarized through curated print archives, notable interviews, commissioning achievements, and comprehensive 35mm production indexing.
Film
fromFilmmaker Magazine
1 month ago

True Story: I Used My Jeopardy! Winnings to Finance My First Feature

Lifelong passions for magic, film, and trivia converged into a filmmaking career and a rekindled fascination with Colon, Michigan's rich magic heritage and storytelling potential.
fromVariety
2 months ago

'KPop Demon Hunters' Screenwriter Hannah McMechan Credits TikTok Fan Edits For Film's Success: 'There Really Was No Other Marketing Other Than a Trailer'

We believed that the fans would just eat this alive if we did it justice,
Film
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