Jeff Orlowski's Chasing Ice

Chasing Ice's Opening Weekeng

In a weekened crammed with two heavy-hitting titles—Skyfall and a limited release of the 50th NYFF Surprise Screening selection Lincoln—some lower-profile films were stuck in the shadows. But one film that managed to have an impressive opening was Chasing Ice, a climate change documentary that screened in our MountainFilm series last month and will open here at the Film Society next week. Dan Braun and David Koh, the heads of the film's distribution company Submarine Inc., said, “We are extremely pleased with the numbers this weekend. The film is already expanding in New York at Film Society of Lincoln Center next week and the buzz and excitment from the audiences possibly due to awareness caused by the hurricane make the film feel prescient and very relevant.”


David Zellner's Kid-Thing

“Not Playing at Theater Near You” at MoMA

Last month, the Gotham Awards announced its 2012 nominees, rounding up some of the best independent films of the year. Some of these films have had the fortune to be released across the country, some not. One of the categories is composed entirely of “the best films not playing at a theater near you.” Luckily, the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) and the Museum of Modern Art partner each year to program these select films over the course of three days. This weekend, audiences will have the oppoortunity to see these five films, including ND/NF selection An Oversimplification of Her Beauty and Indie Night alumni Kid-Thing. Head to MoMA's site for the full lineup.


Beasts of the Southern Wild 

Behind the Scenes of Beasts

“Making films has always been like a burst of energy. It’s never been something that is kind of calculated,” said Benh Zeitlin in a recent interview with Deadline about his much-loved film Beasts of the Southern Wild. As the awards season begins, many have speculated whether Zeitlin's film will be this year's little engine that could. Yet, along with the potential recognition, Zeitlin hopes for greater recognition and support of independent film as a whole.

“There’s really no place for this type of film in the world right now,” he says. “Hopefully, [Beasts of the Southern Wild] will have a ripple effect where it will allow regional films to get made, and also give us the leverage we need to continue doing this kind of work.” The film has charmed audiences since the very beginning of the year, including at a suprise appearance to close this year's New Directors/New Films festival, Film Society and MoMA's annual presentation of some of the most exciting new voices in cinema. Speaking of, submissions for ND/NF '13 are now open!