Independent
Me and Will
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Me and Will

1999
After meeting in rehab and bonding over their love of motorcycles, Los Angeles club-hoppers Jane (Sherrie Rose) and Will (Melissa Behr) head out to Montana in search of the bike used by Peter Fonda in the counterculture classic Easy Rider. Co-starring Patrick Dempsey and Billy Wirth as Jane and Will's strung-out boyfriends, this touching road drama also features appearances by Traci Lords and Keanu Reeves.

Directed by:

  • Melissa Behr
  • rating:2.4.png 2.4 Average Rating


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    Vital Signs
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    Vital Signs

    2009
    After her grandmother passes away, Simone (Marie-Helene Bellavance) tries to bury her grief by helping others who are near death. Albeit short-lived, these intense relationships with people who crave intimacy more than anything else help Simone access her own emotional needs. Writer-director Sophie Deraspe's moving drama examines the connection between the frail human body and the resilient but often well-guarded soul.

    Directed by:

  • Sophie Deraspe
  • rating:2.4.png 2.4 Average Rating


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    The Bridge Short Film & Video Collection
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    The Bridge Short Film & Video Collection

    2004
    A never-before-released short film by horror director David Cronenberg headlines this collection of independent shorts. Cronenberg's 8-minute film, "Camera," was originally created for the 20th anniversary of the Toronto International Film Festival. Other filmmakers featured in the collection include Michelle and Jorge Beck, Tom Palazzolo, Miranda July, Harrell Fletcher, Kirsten Stoltmann, Gabriel Fowler and Jim Trainor.

    Directed by:

  • David Cronenberg
  • Michelle Beck
  • Jorge Beck
  • Tom Palazzolo
  • Miranda July
  • Harrell Fletcher
  • Kirsten Stoltmann
  • Gabriel Fowler
  • Jim Trainor
  • rating:2.4.png 2.4 Average Rating


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    Purgatory House
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    Purgatory House

    2004
    Fourteen-year-old Celeste Davis wrote and stars in this stylized film chronicling the teen angst of Silver Strand, who feels disconnected from the world around her and is caught in a form of emotional limbo. After she dies, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery and a quest for unconditional love. A dark and quirky nonlinear approach to storytelling by director Cindy Baer helps reinforce the confusion and turmoil of the main character.

    Directed by:

  • Cindy Baer
  • rating:2.4.png 2.4 Average Rating


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    Destricted
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    Destricted

    2006
    By packing a string of seven erotic shorts into one volume, Destricted removes a bit of the taboo surrounding pornography. Directors range from filmmakers such as Larry Clark to artists from other mediums like Richard Prince and Marilyn Minter. Included are Matthew Barney's "Hoist," in which a man gets intimate with a driveshaft; Prince's "House Call," a salute to 1970s cinema; and Clark's "Impaled," in which he holds auditions for a porn flick.

    Directed by:

  • Larry Clark
  • Cecily Brown
  • Matthew Barney
  • Richard Prince
  • Marilyn Minter
  • Sante D'Orazio
  • Tunga
  • rating:2.4.png 2.4 Average Rating


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    Coney Island Baby
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    Coney Island Baby

    2003
    First-time director Amy Hobby presents a breezy romantic comedy set in the small Irish town of Sligo (aka Coney Island), where Billy Hayes (screenwriter Karl Geary), a former small-time crook, has returned after a stint in New York City. But Billy's plans to take his former flame, Bridget (Laura Fraser), back with him to the States to run a gas station don't sit too well with the locals -- especially since Bridget is engaged to be married.

    Directed by:

  • Amy Hobby
  • rating:2.3.png 2.3 Average Rating


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    Half-Life
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    Half-Life

    2008
    Growing up is tough for Timothy (Alexander Agate) and Pamela (Sanoe Lake). Global catastrophes abound and their self-destructive mother (Julia Nickson-Soul) stays with a manipulative boyfriend who doesn't love her. Fortunately, their active imaginations help them cope. Combining live action and animated flights of fancy, Jennifer Phang wrote and directed this dreamlike official selection of the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.

    Directed by:

  • Jennifer Phang
  • rating:2.3.png 2.3 Average Rating


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    Red Meat
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    Red Meat

    1997
    The Red Meat Club is a gathering of male friends who discuss macho topics over a steak after a trip to the spa. Stefan and Chris meet to partake in the masculine ritual and run into Victor, an old friend. Sitting in a restaurant, the three men regale each other with tales of their most lurid sexual experiences -- but Victor tops them all with a shocking story concerning a woman (Lara Flynn Boyle) with whom he had a relationship as she was dying.

    Directed by:

  • Allison Burnett
  • rating:2.3.png 2.3 Average Rating


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    One Way to Valhalla
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    One Way to Valhalla

    2009
    After blue-collar Bo Durant falls off his daughter's bicycle and suffers a head injury, his family becomes alarmed at his increasingly erratic behavior. Has Bo lost his mind or undergone a mystical spiritual awakening?

    Directed by:

  • Karen Goodman
  • rating:2.3.png 2.3 Average Rating


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    Two Friends
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    Two Friends

    1986
    Australian director Jane Campion's feature-length debut tells the story of best friends Louise (Emma Coles) and Kelly (Kris Bidenko), who grow apart after Kelly's judgmental stepfather (Peter Hehir) refuses to allow her to attend the elite women's school that Louise is attending. Told in reverse chronological order, the drama explores Kelly's foray into drugs and punk rock, Louise's withdrawal into her studies and their childhood friendship.

    Directed by:

  • Jane Campion
  • rating:2.3.png 2.3 Average Rating


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    Elsa Letterseed
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    Elsa Letterseed

    2004
    Violin prodigy Elsa Letterseed (Garian Grewe) suffers an incapacitating illness during puberty, leaving her unable to perform and rendering her talent worthless. Sent to the hospital for a short stay, she awakens to find that five years have passed, and her parents are dead. Penniless, homeless and devoid of musical skills, Elsa struggles to survive as she searches for a new purpose and path in this emotional drama helmed by Sarah Kreutz.

    Directed by:

  • Sarah C. Kreutz
  • rating:2.3.png 2.3 Average Rating


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    Another Planet
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    Another Planet

    1999
    Cassandra Jones (Sandy Daley), a disillusioned young black woman searching for more meaning in her life, enters a foreign exchange program and is shipped to a pig farm in Canada. There, she mediates between a husband opposed to change and his more daring wife. But after meeting a homesick African exchange student, Cassandra becomes concerned that none of her own adventurous expectations will come true.

    Directed by:

  • Christene Browne
  • rating:2.3.png 2.3 Average Rating


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    Short Track
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    Short Track

    2008
    Stock car racer Blake Beckett (Pepper Sweeney) struggles with the fact that he never made it to the nationals like his father (Patrick Gorman). When his daughter (Ann Bratton) falls for a hotshot driver named Indy (Joshua Snyder), Blake sees his own lost opportunities in the young man's ability. Mathis Fender and Barbara Niven co-star as Blake's deaf race car-driving son and sympathetic wife in this heartfelt comedy-drama.

    Directed by:

  • Marie Hopkins
  • rating:2.3.png 2.3 Average Rating


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    El Superstar: The Unlikely Rise of Juan Frances
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    El Superstar: The Unlikely Rise of Juan Frances

    2008
    Orphaned as an infant, Juan Frances (Spencer John French) is a talented ranchera singer, but he faces a hurdle in his attempt to succeed as a Latin music performer: He's a chubby, red-headed 33-year-old who grew up in a Hispanic home but looks like an Ohio farm boy. As Juan struggles to make ends meet by working eight jobs, his girlfriend (Maria Esquivel) and lizard-smooth promoter (David Franco) plot an aggressive image change for Juan.

    Directed by:

  • Amy French
  • rating:2.3.png 2.3 Average Rating


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    Slippery Slope
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    Slippery Slope

    2007
    To amp her cash flow and bail her indie masterpiece out of hock at the lab, high-minded feminist director Gillian (Kelly Hutchinson) joins the crew of an independent film of a different sort -- a pornographic skin flick. The plot thickens when the film's director walks off the set and Gillian agrees to take the reins. All the while, her clueless husband (Jim True-Frost) has no idea how she's been spending her days.

    Directed by:

  • Sarah Schenck
  • rating:2.3.png 2.3 Average Rating


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    Cinemad: Almanac 2009
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    Cinemad: Almanac 2009

    2009
    Presented by Cinemad magazine, this collection of unusual experimental short films features works by such avant-garde and underground artists as Stephanie Barber, Bruce Conner, Sam Green, Bill Morrison, Jennifer Reeves and Deborah Stratman. Currated by Cinemad creator Mike Plante, this program offers viewers completely original visions of the world that flabbergast, entertain and ultimately defy categorization.

    Directed by:

  • Animal Charm
  • Cam Archer
  • Stephanie Barber
  • Bruce Conner
  • Kevin Everson
  • James Fotopoulos
  • Sam Green
  • Jake Mahaffy
  • Bill Morrison
  • Leighton Pierce
  • Deborah Stratman
  • Jennifer Reeves
  • rating:2.3.png 2.3 Average Rating


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    Now and Then
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    Now and Then

    1995
    Waxing nostalgic about the bittersweet passage from childhood to puberty in this tender coming-of-age tale, four childhood girlfriends -- Teeny, Chrissy, Samantha and Roberta -- recall the magical summer of 1970. During their walk down memory lane, they reconcile experiences with boys, secrets, bullies and more. Lesli Linka Glatter directs; Gaby Hoffmann, Ashleigh Aston Moore, Cloris Leachman, Thora Birch and Christina Ricci co-star.

    Directed by:

  • Lesli Linka Glatter
  • rating:3.8.png 3.8 Average Rating


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    Now and Then (1995)
    A heartwarming movie about four childhood girlfriends who, in adulthood reunion, relive their experience of the life-changing summer of 1970, including a mystery death, divorce, standing up to the boys, first kiss, and the meaning of true friendship. Each explores her unique identity amidst family and friends. Beautifully directed by Lesli Linka Glatter.
    - Frances   
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