Dream Wired
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Celebrity
  • DramaAlert
  • Gossip
  • Movie
  • TV
  • Music
  • Comics
  • Shop
  • Home
  • Celebrity
  • DramaAlert
  • Gossip
  • Movie
  • TV
  • Music
  • Comics
  • Shop
No Result
View All Result
Dream Wired
No Result
View All Result
Home Movie

How the Oldenburg Film Festival is Saving Indie Cinema

rmtsa by rmtsa
September 10, 2024
in Movie
0
How the Oldenburg Film Festival is Saving Indie Cinema
74
SHARES
1.2k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


You might also like

Henry Cavill’s HIGHLANDER Reboot Will Begin Filming This Fall; Director Reveals 2027–2028 Release Target — GeekTyrant

Brad Pitt Plays a Racing Maverick in the ‘F1’ Trailer

Organized Crime Season 5 Episode 6 Release Date, Time, Where to Watch

When Torsten Neumann launched the Oldenburg Film Festival back in 1994, setting up the event as Germany’s answer to Sundance, it was near the peak of the ’90s indie film boom, when the likes of Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh, Kevin Smith and Robert Rodriguez were starting to hit the mainstream.

31 years later and indie cinema is living through what feels like a permanent crisis, with the gap between the mainstream and underground growing larger by the day. “Back in the ’90s indie cinema still had some contact with mainstream cinema, the budgets were bigger, and the indie films were screened in cinemas,” says Neumann. “I don’t think that exists anymore. Where are the distribution channels for small films like this?”

But Oldenburg is still giving them a platform. Its 2024 lineup features an ecclectic mix of U.S. and international indies, many of the feature debuts and “no-budget” passion projects. Behind them all, says Neumann, speaking to The Hollywood Reporter ahead of this year’s festival, is a passion to”open up new areas [find] new ways of telling stories, not being explored in the mainstream.”

31 years! Why are you still doing this after so long?

I don’t have a choice! I can’t do anything else! Oldenburg is the biggest part of my life. When it happens, when everything comes together and we have that special Oldenburg atmosphere, then it’s something truly incredible. Like this music project, with [Belgian electronic pop duo] Pornographie Exclusive. The band is Jérôme Vandewattyne and Séverine Cayron. Jérôme is also a filmmaker and last year, his feature The Belgium Wave won Oldenburg’s Audacity award. He was so inspired by the vibe of the festival that we decided to collaborate on a film together, where 10 Oldenburg alumni directed 10 short films, each one inspired by one of the tracks of the new Pornographie Exclusive album. Each song is the soundtrack for the film and at the world premiere in Oldenburg, Pornographie Exclusive will perform the whole thing live during the screening. It’s an example of the kind of energy that can ignite in Oldenburg. We never have enough money, we’re always struggling with our budget and the resources we have but when the festival starts, the energy returns and I remember why I keep doing this to myself, year after year.

Tim Blake Nelson in Bang Bang

Courtesy of the Oldenburg Film Festival

In all this time, you’ve kept true to your principles and have championed a certain kind of indie film, genre cinema with an arthouse touch. The new Tim Blake Nelson film, Bang Bang, where he plays an aging boxer, seems to exemplify this kind of ‘Oldenburg movie.’

Definitely. Tim Blake Nelson isn’t just an actor who does a job for money. He has the same passion that we have for independent cinema. He was our jury president in 2004 and people like him, the way he makes films, gives us the energy to carry on. The same goes for the director of Bang Bang, Vincent Grashaw. There are a few others that we have as world premieres, that have this same kind of Oldenburg spirit. There’s James, a Canadian movie [from director Max Train] which I think is the discovery of the year. I don’t know why Toronto didn’t jump on it. It’s a black-and-white movie but a real crowd pleaser. It feels like an early Coen Brothers movie. There’s Flieg Steil, a German film from Martina Schöne-Radunski and Lana Cooper. Martina is an actress who won the Seymour Cassel acting award in Oldenburg in 2013 for Kaptn Oskar from Tom Lass. She was a real Berlin brat back then and I think is still so today. This is her directorial debut, with Lana, and its pure Berlin underground. It’s a story of a female musician in a neo-Nazi rock band who begins to get into feminism and wants to introduce that to the band. Then there’s a left-wing boy who just wants to beat up Nazis and they meat and it becomes a sort of Romeo and Juliet story. But what I liked is it doesn’t serve up everything to the audience in easy good/bad, black/white categories. It’ll have its world premiere here and Martina said she wanted it Oldenburg to have it first.

$$$

Courtesy of the Oldenburg Film Festival

And we have a lot of small indies, so-called “no budget” movies that are excellent. Like $$$ from it’s a super gritty New York film from director Jake Remington that tells a story about people who are addicted to horse racing. It was shot with amateurs using verité footage and is the best example of how to make a virtue out of necessity, to find a narrative form that would never happen in a big budget movie. Or the Italian film Tineret [from director Nicoló Ballante] which started out as a documentary about this Modolvian family living outside Rome and the son, who has dreams of becoming a star rapper. At one point, the film took another direction and became more like a narrative feature. It’s another example of how independent cinema can open up new areas, new ways of telling stories, not being explored in the mainstream.

Do you see Oldenburg’s role as giving these movies a platform, especially now when indie films are finding it harder and harder to get into theaters?

What I’m noticing now is that the gap is getting bigger. Productions that fit into certain structures, largely streaming platforms, have their place, and anything else in indie cinema has become ultra-low-budget. We have some films this year that I think are amazing but, budget-wise, they are way below that of a normal indie film. Back in the ’90s, indie cinema still had some contact with mainstream cinema, the budgets were bigger, and the indie films were screened in cinemas, but I don’t think that exists anymore. Where are the distribution channels for small films like this? I don’t know. There are also people who say that independent cinema moves in waves and all it needs is some spark to jump back into the mainstream. Maybe James is one of these cases. It’s black and white and super low budget but a real crowd pleaser. The hope is that there are places like Oldenburg where these films can be seen and maybe help them find a way. I always swing between hopelessness and the renewed energy I get when I see an amazing indie movie.

Your opening night film, Traumnovelle, seems to embody this kind of indie spirit.

It does! It was made without state support, which is very rare in Germany, a real shining example or true independent cinema. Produced with Studio Babelsberg, [director] Florian Frerichs has made a movie that, from its look and style, its locations and acting, can stand alongside a big mainstream movie. It’s in English and has the great hook that it was adapted from the same book [Arthur Schnitzler’s Traumnovelle] that was the basis of Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut, so can be pitched as “the remake” to Kubrik. I can’t imagine it won’t find a place in the international market somewhere.

Traumnovelle

Courtesy of Oldenburg Film Festival

Your also honoring German director Dominik Graf with a retrospective. Another figure that seems to embody German indie cinema.

Dominik Graf is someone who movies between genre and arthouse cinema. He’s a John Carpenter of Germany. His films The Cat (1988) and The Invincibles (1994) are masterpieces. He loves marginalized cinema, he loves marginalized characters. He’s a big fan of Oldenburg. Over the years, he’s sent us messages, letters and postcards, complementing us on our program. We just thought it was about time that he was recognized. He’s probably Germany’s best director that is barely known outside Germany.

In some ways, Oldenburg itself is like an indie movie. Every year you seem to have the same struggles, but every year you manage to make it work.

We keep going. It is the same every year, the same budgetary problems, the same battles. But one thing we do have is our independence. Maybe because we are outside the big cities, people don’t pay as much attention to us, they don’t try to tell us what to do.

The freedom of poverty.

Exactly.



Source link

Tags: CinemaFestivalFilmIndieOldenburgSAVING
Share30Tweet19
rmtsa

rmtsa

Recommended For You

Henry Cavill’s HIGHLANDER Reboot Will Begin Filming This Fall; Director Reveals 2027–2028 Release Target — GeekTyrant

by rmtsa
May 12, 2025
0
Henry Cavill’s HIGHLANDER Reboot Will Begin Filming This Fall; Director Reveals 2027–2028 Release Target — GeekTyrant

After years of development, the long-gestating Highlander reboot starring Henry Cavill is officially picking up steam. Director Chad Stahelski has confirmed that the movie is expected to start...

Read more

Brad Pitt Plays a Racing Maverick in the ‘F1’ Trailer

by rmtsa
May 12, 2025
0
Brad Pitt Plays a Racing Maverick in the ‘F1’ Trailer

When we first heard that Joseph Kosinski was making a movie about F1, the key selling point was that he was going to apply the same practical-first approach to...

Read more

Organized Crime Season 5 Episode 6 Release Date, Time, Where to Watch

by rmtsa
May 12, 2025
0
Organized Crime Season 5 Episode 6 Release Date, Time, Where to Watch

The Law & Order: Organized Crime Season 5 Episode 6 release date and time is not too far away, and fans are curious to know where to watch...

Read more

Why Jamie Lee Curtis Was in Activia Yogurt Commercials for So Long

by rmtsa
May 12, 2025
0
Why Jamie Lee Curtis Was in Activia Yogurt Commercials for So Long

Jamie Lee Curtis has a really good reason for signing on to hawk pantyhose, yogurt and rental cars despite being a huge star. In an interview that aired...

Read more

Hi r/movies! I’m Max Talisman: writer, director, actor & producer of Things Like This, a romantic comedy about self-worth, connection and queer love without apology. It hits theaters Friday, May 16. Excited to chat with you. Ask me anything!

by rmtsa
May 12, 2025
0
Hi r/movies! I’m Max Talisman: writer, director, actor & producer of Things Like This, a romantic comedy about self-worth, connection and queer love without apology. It hits theaters Friday, May 16. Excited to chat with you. Ask me anything!

Hi r/movies! I’m Max Talisman: writer, director, actor & producer of Things Like This, a romantic comedy about self-worth, connection and queer love without apology. It hits theaters...

Read more
Next Post
Jacqueline Laurita Explains Where Joe Gorga Went Wrong In Regards To His Relationship With Sister Teresa Giudice – All About The Real Housewives

Jacqueline Laurita Explains Where Joe Gorga Went Wrong In Regards To His Relationship With Sister Teresa Giudice - All About The Real Housewives

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Browse by Category

  • Celebrity
  • Comics
  • DramaAlert
  • Gossip
  • Movie
  • Music
  • TV
  • Uncategorized

CATEGORIES

  • Celebrity
  • Comics
  • DramaAlert
  • Gossip
  • Movie
  • Music
  • TV
  • Uncategorized
No Result
View All Result

Recent News

  • Carissa’s Corner: Broadcast TV Is Changing — So Are We
  • Jenna Ortega Announces She’s ‘Done’ Shirtless Without Pants
  • Chance The Rapper On How His Met Gala Look Was An Ode To Tupac and Black Style – Essence

Copyright © 2023 DramaWired.
DramaWired is a content aggregator and not responsible for the content of external sites.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Celebrity
  • DramaAlert
  • Gossip
  • Movie
  • TV
  • Music
  • Comics
  • Shop

Copyright © 2023 DramaWired.
DramaWired is a content aggregator and not responsible for the content of external sites.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In