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Filmmakers aren’t the only ones who frequently have to be “scrappy” to make their dreams a reality. Independent cinema owners face their own challenges, and even more so, owners of drive-in theaters. On the latest podcast, we’re chatting with Matt McClanahan and Lauren McChesney, the owners of Shankweiler’s Drive-In Theatre, which happens to be America’s…
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Sometimes the best stories are practically in your own backyard. Director Billy Miossi has managed to make two shorts based on unique people who happen to live really close to his Cincinnati home. In Goldie, Miossi tells the story of Tim Goldrainer, a cover band star in the Cincinnati area, who also serves a very…
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Over 38 years, the South by Southwest festival (better known as SXSW) has grown to be important for both music and film. For filmmakers, the scrappy (ahem) and indie feel of the festival in the early days, was a welcome respite from the often-stuffy feel of other festivals at the time. As the popularity of…
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The extra depth and texture Foley artists can bring can truly elevate a film. Even with all of today’s sound effects libraries, there is still a strong need for the effects and heart that a Foley artist can bring to a film. For independent filmmakers on a budget, Foley can feel like a luxury: A…
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Unless you happen to be really close to seeking funding for your next short film, this is information that might be most helpful to tuck away for next year. Nonetheless, March means the return of “Long Story Short” at Kickstarter. Of course you can put your short film project on kickstarter any time of the…
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We previously shared one of this year’s Oscar-nominated shorts that you could watch online. Well good news: A program of three feature-length presentations will be made available in theaters across the country. Each program: Live Action, Animated, and Documentary, are presented with introductions from Taikia Waititi. Most theaters showing all three programs have staggered their…
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Way back in 1908, (We did the math for you: 118 years ago) a frenchman by the name of Émile Cohl created what is widely considered to be the first animated film, Fantasmgorie. Through its one minute and seventeen second length, the film tells the tale of a stick figure protagonist who goes through a…
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Ah, Valentine’s Day is nearly upon us… Love is in the air. (Along with general dread, but let’s try to keep it light…) You might be wondering just what movie to watch with that special someone this weekend. Well, look no further than the first two-thirds of the greatest indie romance trilogy: Richard Linklater’s Before…
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The Academy Awards are almost here (March 15th, 2026), and while a lot of the films fall outside of what we’d consider the “scrappy” type, the shorts, and in particular the animated shorts, of course exhibit a lot of independent, scrappy ethos. One of these films is Papillon (Butterfly). This animated short, which follows the…
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There was a time not so long ago, when it was a really big deal when a movie was shot with a phone. But it’s already been eleven(!) years since Sean Baker shot his feature Tangerine on three iPhone 5s devices. (aside: I used “device” to not figure out the proper way to make ‘5s’…