Category: Good Watch

It can be hard for those of us in the United States, particularly these days, to imagine robust government-funded programs supporting the most creative filmmakers in the country. For our friends to the north, though, the National Film Board does just that, and we have that support to thank for today’s short, “Madame Tutli-Putli.” “Madame…

Autumn Durald Arkapaw, the Academy Award-winning cinematographer of Sinners, takes her craft very seriously. She studies lens design, formats, and cameras to bring just the right look to every project. Through her career, she has become comfortable shooting with a wide variety of formats, from 16mm all the way up to 65mm IMAX in Sinners.…

Graphic designers are key to bringing life to the set of a film. While we might not always have the resources to hire a professional graphic designer, their contribution can make the worlds created on screen legendary. In this video from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (You know, the Academy), graphic designer…

Movies often spend a lot of time world building: immersing us in the rules and characters of the universe of any particular film. That’s a good thing, and generally makes for a better moviegoing experience. But, it not always necessary, as proven by the short Tuck Me In. Ignacio Rodó‘s 2014 film is less than…

Mark Duplass (and his brother Jay) first landed on the indie film scene when their 2005 film The Puffy Chair debuted at Sundance, and later screened at SXSW. I was at that SXSW, when it felt like we were on the cusp of an indie revolution. In addition to the Duplass Brothers, that year also…

The world lost one of the most notable and unique directors of our time when David Lynch, 78, passed away in January 2025. There were many interviews with Lynch through the years about his feature films including Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, and The Elephant Man. Oh, and here at Scrappy Cinema, we recommend the odd…

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…

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…

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…

Every film set is different, and every director brings their own style to set. I always find it intriguing to see the “vibe” of a set, and to think about how it relates to our perception of the director, or their films. Previously, we had a glimpse of Sean Baker’s style during The Florida Project.…