It’s
cool that independent film is grassroots, though not equally for everyone. For better and worse, there’s a lot of
crossover in production, distribution, and consumption practices today, with
many indie films resembling those of Hollywood, and vice versa. Also, in addition to being a space for freer
expression outside the mainstream, indie film has long been a training ground for
people aspiring to Hollywood, or a refuge for those who got there and left, or,
in some cases, an option for those who manage to do both.
Here
at the festival, we support people and films of all indie stripes. Personally, I appreciate the most grassroots of
filmmakers who somehow make their films their way and with the most limited
resources; who aren’t connected and won’t get traditional distribution, and are
OK with it. God bless those occasional
filmmakers who come to our Q&A sessions after screening their films and say
they aren’t in the biz and don’t want to be.
That’s honesty.
I
can’t speak with the authority of a struggling grassroots filmmaker, but I tend
to think that the lack of resources can be a good thing, promoting creativity. The lack of money, time, and experience
certainly hinders the production of a film, and its potential quality, but also
can help. Limits can be opportunities,
and less can be more—you don’t necessarily have to spend a lot to make
something that reaches people. Amanda
Todd’s video
about social media and bullying, seen by millions on YouTube, is just one
example.
Another
great grassroots indie story is The Rocky Horror Picture
Show. Original, provocative, low-budget—and
that’s just the film. Even more grassroots
was how audiences used it for years to create their own carnivalesque floorshows
in second-run theaters around the country.
With their various homemade costumes, props, vocals, and dancing these
audiences created parallel productions right there, partly spontaneous and
partly ritualistic, inspired by the movie.
As a kid, I first saw Rocky Horror
at a public community college screening in my rural hometown of Grants Pass,
Oregon. I’d heard about the floorshows,
but had to wait for another time to see one.
That came a few years later, when I was applying to colleges, and
traveled with a friend for the first time to Portland. We checked out some schools, but the
highlight of our trip was seeing Rocky
Horror with its people. Still later,
in the West Village, the NYC audience lived up to even higher
expectations. Now, with multiplexes and
home viewing so prevalent, these shows are pretty much history.
Kinda. When I visited Grants Pass recently, I found
that the old downtown movie theater where I first saw Jaws and Star Wars has
switched to live events, including midnight screenings of Rocky Horror with the floorshow.
Rednecks in drag? That’s a time warp
I’d like to see.
---
This
post is part of a series in which I talk about independent film in a more
detailed, wide-ranging, and personal way than I usually do here. And it’s a chance to hear from you. Feel free to post a comment anytime or let me
know if you’d like to write a post.
By
James
Latham
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