Are Independent Movies Being Made Any More?

as comic book adaptations take over at cinemas, and hiGh-end dramas snare the best on and off screen talent, hoW can smaller films possibly compete? MAKERS looks at the prospects for indie movies, and the indie film production sector, in a Globalised, biG budGet World. The state of the independent movie business has always had people wringing their hands, complaining how tough it is and how things aren’t as good as they used to be.

As recently as 2018, the British Film Institute (BFI) published a major report on independent film amid concern about its future.

Even then, it reported that finance and revenue for independent film were in decline, noting a sharp drop-off in the value of distribution deals. This had been caused both by the diminished distributors’ profit margins resulting from the transition from DVD to streaming platforms and by the continuing fall in the value of film deals to broadcasters.

This, of course, was before the pandemic –which has only intensified the challenges facing independent film.

Even if they do get their films made, indie filmmakers now have few places to show them. The pandemic has accelerated a trend that saw indie films crowded out of cinemas by big studio blockbusters, pushing everything else towards the small screen.

In a recent interview in Variety, filmmaker Oren Moverman did not mince his words. “It’s very clear that independent cinema, as we know it and as we love it, is over,” he said. Moverman, who directed movies such as The Messenger and Rampart, questioned whether there was still a place for the sort of “grungy putting-together of 10 dollars here, 10 dollars there to make a film”.

Certainly, producing movies has only got harder. The streamer spending spree is skewing the production market, sending the rates being paid for key on-screen and off-screen talent rocketing. The streamers are locking in on-screen talent for their long-running series, often for years at a time. It’s not unusual for options to run for up to seven years.

Independent films are finding it increasingly difficult to compete. And without talent to help a film stand out in the market, it’s challenging to get an indie feature financed, no matter how good the script is.

“Independent film has become pretty much impossible now – it is desperately hard to get them off the ground,” confirms casting agent Kristina Erdely. “The only way to finance independent film is by having names, but you’re after the same talent that is under option for a seven year, high-end TV series that is paying them a lot of money.”

It used to be that when talent was attached to long running TV series, there would be a window between series where they could join a film to try their hand at something a bit different. But now few are even bothering to do that. With so much shooting, committing to a small budget project is now often viewed as more trouble than it’s worth.

“It’s incredibly tough to cast independent films if you’re making them for the right amount of money because there aren’t enough actors in the range that’s affordable to the independents that can really raise the value of their film in the marketplace,” confirms Caroline Stern, founder and producer of indie distributor and producer Canoe Film. Stern is currently in production in Latvia on Christopher Hatton’s Raven’s Hollow, a horror film about gothic writer Edgar Allen Poe.

Meanwhile, many producers are making a good living out of line producing or executive producing big scale inward investment projects in their local markets, rather than making original independent films, says Giorgos Karvanas co-founder of Greece’s Heretic Film, which recently wrapped Vasilis Katsoupis’ fiction feature directorial debut Inside starring William Dafoe.

“Crews have little interest to leave well paid jobs on TV series or international films to go on to the debut film of a daring young director. But when you have a young director, you need experienced crew around them,” says Karvanas.

Yet, despite the complete transformation of the industry landscape, indie films are still being made. 128 domestic British features went into production between July 2020 and June 2021, according to the BFI (which says this figure may rise due to a time lag in reporting). This is down by more than half since 2017/18, when 269 productions were produced.

“while a loT of independenT filMs are geTTing Made, noT a loT are finding successful disTribuTion.”

Image: Blaze © e Sundance Institute.

But, at a time when plenty of high-end TV dramas and big budget features films are shooting, the figure shows that producers and investors are still prepared to invest in independent film.

Far from worrying about whether any independent film is being made, Stern says: “My question is, how is so much independent film being made – because it is.”

Her point is backed up Karvanas, who speaks of an “inflation of projects,” citing how much easier it is to make a film compared to even 20 years ago thanks to more accessible and affordable kit. “In the 1970s, directors were a very unique set of people – it was a very small group. Right now, the pool is much bigger.” He cites better education and easier access to watching content, meaning more people understand what is possible in filmmaking and how to do it.

In fact, many think that there are too many independent films being made, given the challenges of finding a home for them in the market. The biggest issue facing indie film, they say, is distribution, over and above production. In particular, big budget comic book adaptations and animations have taken over at cinemas, closing down opportunities for other kinds of films. “While a lot of independent films are getting made, not a lot are finding successful distribution,” says Stern.

“The industry is almost under attack by the big tentpole movies,” argues New York-based, Romanian-born director and producer Bogdan George Apetri, who directed Miracle which recently premiered at the Venice Film Festival.

“The disaster is in distribution,” he adds, explaining that most art house cinemas in New York have disappeared, citing in particular the closure of the 2018 Lincoln Plaza Cinemas. Even in New York, which used to be one of the best cities in the world to see movies, it’s difficult to see the best of world cinema at theatres.

indie film producers need to take more account of the particular needs of the distribution market as it currently stands if they Want their movies to reach audiences.

Image: 3 Backyards © Screen Media Films. CINEMAS FINANCING

DISTRIBUTION Apetri has also co-produced a range of indie films, such as Sundance winners Blaze, Advantageous and 3 Backyards.

The fate of such movies now, he says, is a week or two on release in one theatre in a big city. “Very few people will see them because the whole market is flooded with big, big movies.”

It’s a similar story across the world, with distributors struggling to get independent films seen. “I’m not very optimistic,” said Dan Wechsler, founder of Switzerland’s Bord Cadre Films, speaking at the recent Zurich Film Festival. “Our arthouse distributors are suffering a lot. The whole chain is suffering.” He notes that 15 years ago Geneva had 15 arthouse cinemas, but now has just three.

Stern says that indie film producers need to take more account of the particular needs of the distribution market as it currently stands if they want their movies to reach audiences.

She worked in international sales for 20 years before setting up Canoe Films in 2017, and teams with producers to help maximise the creative and commercial potential of projects through distribution.

She says that Raven’s Hollow is a good example of how the company works, and how she thinks indie producers should be working. “You’ve got to be clever about looking at the needs of the marketplace, who the possible distributors are and what they are picking up.”

Raven’s Hollow is in a genre – horror – that tends to sell, while Edgar Allen Poe is a recognised name in the US and international market place. Two years ago, Stern travelled to the Cannes Film Festival to test out the project with potential buyers, having put together a deck and a one line pitch.

“We know we had demand and interest. Without that it would have been very difficult for me to form and model and know how much to make it for.”

Genre platform Shudder has since boarded Raven’s Hollow for North America, UK-Ireland and Australia-New Zealand.

Stern says that so much content is currently being created by the streaming platforms and US studios, that there is little demand for more independent feature films. “But if we can find that market access and find the right partners, and you can test it in advance, then I think there are opportunities. In a sense, there are reasons to be hopeful.”

“indie filMs are being crowded ouT of cineMas by big sTudio blockbusTers, pushing everyThing else Towards The sMall screen.”