It seems like Netflix has released a new original series about every week. Well, it’s not going to slow up any time soon, with another new series out today and four more scheduled to be released over the next two months. Their newest series is Grace and Frankie, less publicized but with a stellar cast including Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Sam Waterston and Martin Sheen. There is a lot of talent behind the camera, as well, with co-creators Marta Fran Kauffman (best known as the co-creator Dream On and Friends) and Howard J. Morris (co-executive producer on Home Improvement and According to Jim). In the next few weeks, Between, The Wachowskis’ Sense8 and Wet Hot American Summer will all be ready to be binge watched. Oh, and Orange Is the New Black comes back for its third season on June 12th. All of this is to say, you better catch up on Daredevil and Bloodline before it’s too late. But if you’ve looking for movies to stream, check out these new to streaming titles this weekend.

Netflix

Jimi: All Is by My Side (John Ridley, 2013)

In a strong year for unconventional biopics, Jimi: All Is by My Side was one of the most striking and most overlooked. The directorial debut of 12 Years a Slave screenwriter and American Crime creator John Ridley, it stars Andre Benjamin (one half of Outkast) as music icon Jimi Hendrix. Like many of the best recent biopics, the film focuses on a small part of Hendrix’s life instead of the full life treatment. What makes the film so surprising, though, is its lack of narrative form. Instead, it is all about mood while telling the rise-to-fame story through its sharp and unique editing style – the film’s co-directors earlier work includes The Tree of Life, Moneyball and 28 Days Later, which should give you a good idea how Jimi: All Is by My Side feels vitally different from your standard musical biopic.

Other titles new to Netflix this week:
Anita (Freida Lee Mock, 2013)
Blue Velvet (David Lynch, 1986)
The Homesman (Tommy Lee Jones, 2014)
The Sixth Sense (M. Night Shyamalan, 1999)
Winter Sleep (Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 2014)

Amazon Prime

The People vs. George Lucas (Alexandre O. Philippe, 2010)

With all the Star Wars hype the past few weeks (only to get more deafening by the time The Force Awakens finally hits theaters this December), this is a perfect time to check out a very interesting little documentary about the franchise’s strong voice. The People vs. George Lucas chronicles the love/hate relationship the auteur has had with his millions of fans, looking specifically at the many controversies surrounding Star Wars and how they’ve been received. It is a surprisingly balanced film, however, correctly tuning this complicated relationship. The film also boasts a great variety of voices, from popular authors, filmmakers, bloggers and everyday regular fans.

Other titles new to Amazon Prime this week:
Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog, 2005)
Men in Black II (Barry Sonnenfeld, 2002)
Payback (Brian Helgeland, 1999)
The Puffy Chair (Jay & Mark Duplass, 2005)
The Real Blonde (Tom DiCillo, 1997)

Fandor

The Big City (Satyajit Ray, 1963)

The work of Satyajit Ray is a complete blind spot for me, possibly my biggest. For those like me, this is a great time to be introduced into the prolific Indian auteur’s best work, with restored versions of his films just released and an announcement that the films will show in 4k in New York and Los Angeles this summer. If you don’t live near our two largest cities or just don’t want to wait, you can stream The Big City on Fandor, available until Sunday, May 17. The streaming site also put together a new Spotlight series, called “Throwback NYC,” which looks at the vibrant city through the years. Films in that series include film movement doc Blank City, On the Bowery and The Vanishing City.

Other titles new to Fandor this week:
The House of Seven Corpses (Paul Harrison, 1974)
The Match Factory Girl (Aki Kaurismäki, 1990)
My Sassy Girl (Kwak Jae-oung, 2001)
Osaka Elegy (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1936)
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (Mikio Naruse, 1960)

Video On-Demand

What We Do in the Shadows (Jemaine Clement & Taika Waititi, 2014)

One of the funniest films of the year so far, What We Do in the Shadows is now available On-Demand after its limited release. Set up like a documentary following a group of vampires in New Zealand, it brilliantly spoofs the new cultural obsession with these creatures of the night. The film is directed by Jemaine Clement (one half of the amazing Flight of the Conchords) and Taika Waititit (Boy, Eagle vs. Shark), blending their weird and smart comic sensibilities. You can now rent the film a few weeks before it will be released on DVD and Blu-ray.

Other titles new to VOD this week:
I Am Big Bird: The Carroll Spinney Story (Dave LaMattina & Chad N. Walker, 2014)
Lost River (Ryan Gosling, 2014)
Mr. Turner (Mike Leigh, 2014)
Selma (Ava DuVernay, 2014)
Welcome to Me (Shira Piven, 2014)

CJ and Bernard take the reigns on this super-indie-fied edition of the Way Too Indiecast. It’s straightforward, unadulterated independent film bliss this week, as the boys recommend some excellent indies you should keep your eye on in the near future, as well as share some exciting films you should look forward to further down the line in 2015. Also, Bernard attempts to redeem himself after his pitiful, embarrassing showing in last episode’s “Name 5” game. Sit back and let the juicy indie goodness seep into your ear holes! (I probably could have worded that better…)

Topics

• Name 5 Game (2:15)
• Recent Indie Films We Liked (5:55)
• Upcoming Indie Films (26:50)

WTI Articles Referenced in the Podcast

Wild Canaries Review

Buzzard Review

Merchants of Doubt Interview

Faults Review

Mary Elizabeth Winstead Video Interview

What We Do In The Shadows Review

Gett: The Trail of Viviane Amsalem Review

It Follows Review

David Zellner Video Interview

Backcountry Review

Subscribe to the Way Too Indiecast

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• and don’t forget to leave us a rating and quick review!

The sometimes subtle, sometimes ridiculous, alternative humor of the New Zealand comedy scene appears to be a category that one either loves wholeheartedly or knows nothing about. Taika Waititi (Boy) and Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords, Eagle vs Shark) are right at the heart of this burgeoning comedy scene and their latest collaboration, What We Do in the Shadows, is yet another step up in their hysterical reign. Premiering at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, the film doesn’t sound all too promising on paper. Yet another mockumentary, which are always very hit (Best in Show) or miss (Bruno), this one follows a group of vampires Real World style in the months leading up to a large masquerade for the undead. But Waititi and Clement are true to their deadpan and amusingly naïve approach to characters, presenting a farcical and truly funny take on an overdone subject.

Taika Waititi’s boyish face is put to great use as Viago, a 317 year old vampire who sweetly welcomes his documentarians, eager to present a benevolent and modern look into the life of the average vampire. He lives with his three roommates in a Victorian-style home with thick curtains and outdated wallpaper outside of Wellington. First is Vladislav (Clement), a much older and Dracula-esque vampire with a more sexual appetite but a failing libido due to a past shaming by a particularly loathsome vampire named “The Beast.” Second is Deacon (Jonathan Brugh), a younger vampire at only 183 years old, who Viago calls the “bad boy” of the outfit. And last is the rarely seen, Count Orlok-style vampire Petyr (Ben Fransham), who at over 8,000 years old can hardly be asked to contribute to roommate meetings.

Based on a 2006 short film of the same name made by Waititi and Clement, the film provides insight into many of the typical vampire scenarios. Their lively night-life and having to deal with the problem of trying to get into clubs when bouncers don’t actually invite you in. There is the heartbreak of not aging while your love interest moves on and grows old. Not to mention run-ins with the local werewolf pack, who are really trying to adjust their image: “We’re werewolves, not swear-wolves.” (The pack is led by Flight of the Conchords alum Rhys Darby as Anton.) Deacon must put up with his Familiar Jackie (Jackie van Beek) who does his every bidding but is getting particularly antsy to get her end of the bargain and be made into a vampire. Then there is the issue of finding food, virgins being preferable.

One particular evening Jackie brings over what she assumes are two virgins, one being Nick (Cori Gonzalez-Macuer), her ex-ex. After a frightening chase throughout their dark home, and an especially jarring example of Vlad’s stunted shape-shifting abilities, Nick is attacked by the feral Petyr and turned into a vampire. The rest of the film focuses on Nick’s transition as a new vampire, searching for acceptance with the other guys and trying to maintain a friendship with his best friend Stuart while simultaneously wanting to eat him. His cocky bravado around his new status as a vampire leads to plenty of dissent among the guys as well as dangerous ramifications for one of the group.

The film uses seamless visual effects, amusingly showing the vampire’s ability to become bats, to disappear in mirrors, and the hilarious ramifications of attempting to eat normal food. With the gothic lighting of the vampire’s house, and the singular camera light providing a reminiscent found-footage horror feel, the movie maintains a spooky mood at the very times it most makes fun of itself. Mostly it’s the excellent presentation of vampires-as-normal-people that makes for plenty of comedic-fodder and is what makes the film work so effortlessly. Of course, in typical fashion of anyone who has seen past samplings of the filmmakers’ works knows they aren’t afraid to take things up a notch, and an especially bloody scene towards the end inserts some ironic gravitas but doesn’t try for too much sentimentality.

In one of the film’s most golden scenes, a pair of cops show up to the house to investigate loud noises (Nick and Deacon fighting). Viago uses his best attempts to hypnotize them into not seeing anything out of the ordinary which makes for some especially laugh-out-loud moments as they come upon a corpse and warn the gentleman to take better care of their drunks friends. Waititi and Clement have put together a welcome edition to the mockumentary-comedy genre presenting characters that are both endearing and lovably dangerous. What We Do in the Shadows presents the sort of gags that will continue to garner laughs upon multiple viewings and is a refreshing look at vampires, giving them new life (or death?) while playing off of our sentiment for their kind.

What We Do in the Shadows is now playing in the Los Angeles area, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, DC, Seattle, San Diego, the Bay Area, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, and Ottawa.

Waiting is the hardest part, and if you follow major film festivals like Cannes or TIFF that saying might be all too familiar. Plenty of new films premiere at these festivals, earn raves across the board and get picked up by a distributor, only to take what can feel like an eternity before finally getting a public release. Last year, Foxcatcher premiered in May at Cannes before finally coming out in November, but that’s not as long as the nearly 8 month wait Under the Skin endured before it finally hit theaters—it premiered at Venice in August 2013.

With many of our writers covering a variety of major film festivals across the world at Way Too Indie, we’ve seen our fair share of great films in 2014 that haven’t come out yet. So we put together this list of movies we’ve already seen and loved. No guarantees that any of these films will wind up making our top ten lists come December, but at least you’ve got a few movie recommendations to go off as you start a new year of new films. Read on to see our picks, as well as information on how and when to see them. Some of these films are actually available to watch right now, so if you see them (and we’re telling you to), be sure to let us know what you think. And as for the ones still unavailable, well, just know that they’re all well worth the wait.

10 Great 2015 Films We’ve Already Seen

Backcountry

Interview with director Adam MacDonald

Trailer

As a genre fan, I simply couldn’t leave Adam MacDonald’s Backcountry off this list. Directorial debuts, especially ones covering familiar ground like this, rarely come out as assured and all-around good as this film. A couple from the city (Jeff Roop & Missy Peregrym) spend a weekend camping in the woods, only for things to start going south. MacDonald lays the dread on thick from the start, introducing one possible tragic outcome after another for the (un)happy couple before settling on one. Roop and Peregym also do a great job together, but it’s Peregrym who gives it her all as she goes through hell to try and escape the woods. Backcountry is a solid film through-and-through, one that starts out with a general feeling of unease before ratcheting up the tension considerably. No one will blame you if watching this film ends up killing your interest in camping for a while. [C.J.]

When does it come out? IFC Midnight is handling US distribution, so expect a VOD and/or theatrical release some time this year.

Buzzard

Trailer

Imagine the most despicable and remorseless character you know, one with no regard for social standards or the consequences of their actions, now multiply them by two and you’ll have a character close to Marty Jackitansky. Working as an office temp at a bank, Marty spends his days conjuring up scams for pure entertainment. His schemes range from returning his office’s supplies for cash to forging endorsements on checks. Indie director Joel Potrykus conceives a brutally offensive protagonist without being remotely apologetic, and yet it’s somehow impossible to condemn him. Buzzard is a remarkably compelling and wildly entertaining character study that goes places most films wouldn’t dare. It’ll be a surprise if anything else in 2015 ends up as uncomfortable and unforgettable as Buzzard. [Dustin]

When does it come out? Oscilloscope Films will release Buzzard in theatres and VOD on March 6th.

The Duke of Burgundy

Trailer

A runaway hit with critics at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival, The Duke of Burgundy had some of us swooning when we caught it back in the fall. Peter Strickland’s follow-up to Berberian Sound Studio takes place in a timeless, fairy tale world where men don’t seem to exist. Two women engage in an erotic ritual with each other—one where dominant and submissive roles are redefined several times over. But take away the fantasy qualities, the gorgeous aesthetics, the sublime asides into the abstract, or the BDSM elements, and The Duke of Burgundy is a simple, beautiful love story about the compromises that come with any relationship. It’s the strength of the film’s core ideas, combined with how beautifully they tie into form, that make The Duke of Burgundy a near-masterpiece. Expect this film’s bewitching power to maintain a strong hold on critics and audiences throughout the rest of the year. [C.J.]

When does it come out? Very soon! IFC Films will release the film in theatres and VOD on January 23rd. If you’re able to see this one in theatres, do it.

It Follows

Trailer

This film has been a hype machine ever since it wowed critics last year at Cannes, and now it’s finally (finally!) coming out. It Follows plays out like a more adult version of an Are You Afraid of the Dark? episode. A young woman (Maika Monroe) gets a sort of curse put on her. One that’s only contracted through sex. Once a person has it, a figure emerges, walking towards that person at a slow, steady pace. Only they can see it, and it can take the form of any human being. Once it eventually catches up with its prey, it kills them. Its slow movement means outrunning it is possible, but the only way to stop it is to pass the curse on to someone else (and even that doesn’t guarantee they’re in the clear). Writer/director David Robert Mitchell takes this concept and runs with it, providing one unnerving moment after another as Monroe’s character continually tries to escape this malevolent being while it slowly comes for her. Don’t be surprised if this little film spawns a new franchise. [C.J.]

When does it come out? March 27th in theaters and on VOD. See this one with as many people as you can. It’ll be a lot more fun that way.

Jauja

Trailer

There are films that play within the boundaries set up by cinema over the last century, and then there are some that dare to step outside the box. Jauja, Lisandro Alonso’s fifth film, goes to places that even the director admits he’s unsure of. The film starts off with an accessible set-up: a Danish captain (Viggo Mortensen) exploring a South American desert sets off to look for his teenage daughter after she runs off with a young soldier. The film’s first act certainly feels a lot different than Alonso’s earlier films, containing more plot and dialogue than most of his other works combined. But once Mortensen’s character ventures into the desert alone (the middle section feels more like Alonso operating within his comfort zone), well…some people have happily revealed what happens in Jauja’s last half hour, but it’s better to find out for yourself. Whether or not Alonso’s bold moves succeed is a matter of opinion, but it’s exciting as hell to watch someone brave enough to go places others wouldn’t dream of. Jauja is strange, unique, beautiful, frustrating and even maddening at times, but it’s also a reminder that we still haven’t scratched the surface of what cinema can do. [C.J.]

When does it come out? Cinema Guild will release Jauja in theaters on March 20th.

La Sapienza

Clip

A famous architect undergoes a crisis when he suddenly loses interest in his work and marriage. He takes his wife to visit the works of his favourite architect and, during their trip, befriends two young siblings. The brother, an aspiring architect himself, winds up tagging along with the husband for the rest of the trip, while the wife stays in Switzerland and bonds with the younger sister. The set-up for Eugene Green’s La Sapienza sounds a little trite in its tale of an older couple learning to love again through their experiences with younger, more hopeful people, but it’s actually a surprising delight. That’s largely due to Green’s unique and highly formal approach, having characters speak to the camera in a deliberately stilted manner. It sounds pretentious, but it’s quite the opposite, with each conversation cutting directly to the point (it’s also hard not to stay involved when characters stare directly into the camera so often). And Green knows how to shoot buildings, too; he films various pieces of Baroque architecture in ways that make it hard not to admire the astounding work on display. [C.J.]

When does it come out? Kino Lorber haven’t announced a release date yet, but it should come out some time this year.

Li’l Quinquin

Trailer

If you told me at the beginning of 2014 that Bruno Dumont would make a critical and mainstream hit TV series, I would try to commit you to the nearest asylum. But then Li’l Quinquin premiered at Cannes to absolute raves, followed by smashed ratings records when it premiered on French television. Now Kino Lorber will screen the series in US theatres this year. Li’l Quinquin starts out as a murder mystery in a small countryside town, only to build into something quite strange, dark and funny. Dumont’s usual traits—non-professional actors, the northern French location, stunning cinematography, philosophical themes, and shocking violence—all remain, but with plenty of flat-out hilarious moments peppered throughout. Dumont’s break into the mainstream turned out to be more of an evolution than a compromise. [C.J.]

When does it come out? It’s out right now! Kino Lorber released Li’l Quinquin in theaters on January 3rd, and it’s currently streaming on Fandor.

Welcome to New York

Trailer

Abel Ferrara’s film, inspired by former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s alleged sexual assault of a hotel maid, has already inspired plenty of controversy. DSK’s lawyer promised to sue the filmmakers for slander, and now IFC Films intends to cut the film’s explicit sex scenes down to get an R rating for its US release. Ferrara has been quite vocal about his displeasure with IFC’s decision to cut his film, and hopefully they’ll change their minds. Gerard Depardieu (a genius casting choice) plays Devereaux, the character unabashedly intended to represent DSK. Ferrara uses the film’s opening act to coldly observe Devereaux’s horrifying, grotesque debauchery before turning the film into a procedural covering his arrest. Ferrara layers his film in ways that feel paradoxical and exciting. The recognizable star and excellent cinematography clash with Ferrara’s detached, observant, and docu-like style, to the point where some moments feel incredibly realistic. The results of this clash turn out riveting thanks to the film’s two excellent central performances. Depardieu does his best work in years here, but the real star is Jacqueline Bisset, who outshines her co-star as Devereaux’s wife. [C.J.]

When does it come out? No word from IFC yet on when it’ll come out, but it’s already available on DVD and Blu-Ray in the UK. And for any pirates with a guilty conscience out there: Ferrara encourages stealing the film if it means being able to see it in its proper form.

What We Do in the Shadows

Trailer

Just when the vampire movie appeared to be reaching the point of exhaustion, 2014 provided three refreshing, exciting takes on the legendary creature. The first two, Only Lovers Left Alive and A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, are already out, but the third, What We Do in the Shadows, will finally get a proper release next month. Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Concords) and Taika Waititi (Boy) direct and star in this mockumentary about four vampires living together in New Zealand. The film’s style, obviously inspired by Christopher Guest’s films, helps break down the mystique surrounding vampires, putting them in pretty ordinary and banal situations. It’s a simple, silly joke that’s surprisingly versatile, and the top-notch cast (who improvised almost all their dialogue) make it all look effortless. People sick of vampires, or anyone who just likes really silly humour, should check this one out. [C.J.]

When does it come out? Unison Films will release What We Do in the Shadows in theaters on February 13th.

Wild Tales

Trailer

I knew I was in for a treat when I saw Pedro Almodóvar’s name as the producer of Wild Tales, but I didn’t expect this anthology film to completely blow me away. Argentinian writer/director Damian Szifron delivers exactly what the title says: six distinct wild tales, all involving dark humor, plenty of irony, and just the right amount of Almodóvar-esque style. The film opens with the strongest (and shortest) story, as passengers on a plane discover unexpected connections with each other. Szifron’s reveal of a truly ridiculous outcome perfectly lays down the groundwork for the rest of the film. Each set of stories stand on their own yet link together thematically, with everyday situations exploding into absurd revenge tales that end with an epic conclusion. Wild Tales is the most fun I’ve had watching a film in years. [Dustin]

When does it come out? Sony Pictures Classics will give Wild Tales a limited release in theaters on February 20th.

Other notable 2015 Films to Watch For

We couldn’t cover all the good films we saw last year that will head to theaters and/or VOD in 2015, but here are some more that impressed us: Roy Andersson’s A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence; Ramin Bahrani’s 99 Homes; Pedro Costa’s Horse Money; Christian Petzold’s Phoenix; and Shlomi & Ronit Elkabetz’s Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem. And since our feature on the best undistributed films of 2014, three titles have been picked up for a 2015 release: Hard to be a God, Wild Canaries and Welcome to Me. Let us know if we’ve missed any other awesome titles from last year’s festival circuit, and tell us what you’re personally looking forward to seeing. We certainly can’t wait to see all these films again.

The world’s largest indigenous festival, imagineNATIVE showcases a wide variety of film, radio and media from Indigenous artists around the world. Now in its 15^th year, the festival has brought an impressive selection of feature films to its line-up.

With the festival running between October 22 and 26, we wanted to let readers know some of the features worth checking out, especially since some screenings might be the only opportunity to catch some truly compelling films and stories in theatres. Be sure to read our thoughts below on our favourite films playing at imagineNATIVE, and check out the full line-up and schedule at www.imaginenative.org.

What We Do in the Shadows

Screens October 22 at 7pm (Opening Night Gala)

What We Do in the Shadows might have arrived late to the party (the vampire craze sparked by Twilight already reached its peak a while ago), but in this case it’s better late than never. Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi first conceived their film back in 2005 as a short, only to wait over 8 years before developing it into a feature. It’s a mockumentary following four vampires living together in New Zealand: stuck-up Viago (Waititi), ladies man Vladislav (Clement), “bad boy” Deacon (Jonathan Brugh) and 8000-year-old Peter, a Nosferatu-looking vampire who spends most of his time butchering people or sleeping in his tomb in the basement.

Kudos to Clement and Waititi for making such a funny film, especially since they are performing multiple variations of the same joke. What We Do in the Shadows mostly spends its time focusing on the way supernatural beings adapt to the kind of everyday banalities everyone else goes through. It’s a surprisingly adaptable joke, and whether it’s arguing over who’s slacking on their chores (“You have not done the dishes for five years!”) or trying to get invited into the city’s most popular nightclubs, it never stops being funny. That’s largely due to the hilarious cast, all of whom improvised their lines. Clement and Waititi wrote a script as the basis for the film, but the rest of the cast never saw any of their writing. It took over a year for the two of them to cut down over 100 hours of footage into a lean 90 minutes.

What We Do in the Shadows is certainly one of 2014’s funniest movies, a consistently hilarious take on vampires that thankfully puts the focus on keeping the jokes coming.

Drunktown’s Finest

Screens October 23 at 8pm

Taking place in a small New Mexico town described as a place meant for people to leave, Drunktown’s Finest opens with someone asking why people continue to stay. The rest of the film tries to answer that question by focusing on three Native Americans; Nizhoni (Morningstar Angeline), an adopted child trying to find out about her biological parents before heading off to college; Sick Boy (Jeremiah Bitsui), trying to stay out of trouble before going into basic training; and Felixia (Carmen Moore, excellent), a transsexual trying to become a Navajo model. All three characters share a desire to leave, hoping to make a better life for themselves outside of town.

Writer/director Sydney Freeland creates an earnest, well-meaning drama about identity and people’s connection to their roots. Freeland’s writing may lack subtlety, with a lot of on-the-nose dialogue expressing her film’s themes, but it has a great sense of character, providing well-rounded portraits of its three protagonists and their individual struggles. By the end of the film, where a ceremony brings the cast together, Freeland provides a clear answer to the question opening her film. The town may be lacking in opportunities, but its strong sense of family and community is the sort of thing that’s hard to walk away from.

Trick or Treaty?

Screens October 25 at 5pm

Alanis Obomsawin’s documentary premiered earlier this year at the Toronto International Film Festival, but those who missed out catching it the first time should try to see it during this festival. Obomsawin’s documentary may feel lacking in its presentation, a rigidly conventional form that feels a bit bland, but its content is absolutely vital. Treaty No. 9, aka the James Bay Treaty, was signed in 1905 by the Government of Canada and representatives of First Nations across Northern Ontario. First Nation leaders believed they were signing a treaty that promised their customs and ways of life wouldn’t be impacted by the government, so long as they let the Canadian government own the land. In reality, the treaty was an unconditional surrendering of the land to Canada. The government could do whatever they wanted.

Obomsawin shows evidence that government officials tricked First Nations officials into signing the treaty, essentially promising them whatever they wanted just so they could get a signature (due to the language barrier at the time, the terms of the agreement could only be explained orally). The film structures itself by looking into the past, present and future over the central issues surrounding the treaty. The first third explains the history of the treaty, while the second third focuses on the Idle No More movement, a series of protests by Aboriginals over Bill C-45, a piece of legislature making major changes to various environmental bills without consulting with First Nations groups. The final third looks to the next generation by showcasing a 1,000 mile trek taken by Cree youth to Ottawa in support of Idle No More. Obomsawin makes sure the anger from her film’s subjects always registers, but looks at the protests as a hopeful sign that change is on the horizon.

SOL

Screens October 24 at 5:30pm

In Igloolik, Nunavut, tragedy strikes a family when Solomon Uyrasuk, their young, talented son, dies while in RCMP custody. Officials rule the death as a suicide, but the family believes there might have been foul play. Directors Susan Avingaq and Marie Hélène-Cousineau don’t turn their documentary into a murder investigation. Instead, they use Solomon’s story to shine a light on a health crisis occurring in Northern Canada: an alarmingly high suicide rate, especially with youth. Every year the RCMP receives over 1,000 calls for suicide or suicide attempts in Nunavut, a province with a population of 35,000. The suicide rate in Nunavut is 13 times higher than the national average. With figures like these, alarms should start ringing for the government. Instead the issue is largely ignored, with one interview subject observing that suicides in Nunavut are treated as “just another thing to manage.”

And while Avingaq and Hélène-Cousineau expand their scope to cover an issue impacting all of Nunavut, they never forget what inspired their film. Footage and interviews of Solomon show he was a likable, talented performer, getting his start as a child actor in a TV series. In his adult years he joined a circus through a youth program dedicated to fighting against suicide, travelling to different countries as a performer. Avingaq and Hélène-Cousineau argue Solomon’s loss, among many others, could have been prevented, his actions a result of external factors more than internal ones. It’s hard to disagree with them, especially when their presentation is so affective and gorgeous (the widescreen compositions of Igloolik add a layer of sombre beauty to the proceedings). SOL should hopefully go on to gain greater exposure, as its subject matter begs for a wider audience.

This May Be the Last Time

Screens October 24 at 11am

Similar to SOL, director Sterlin Harjo uses a tragic incident to explore a larger issue. In 1962, Harjo’s grandfather mysteriously disappeared. When the local Seminole community searched for his body, they sang old hymns to help them find Harjo’s granddad. Harjo quietly looks into his own ancestry, as well as the origin of the hymnal music practiced by members of his tribe.

The results of his inquiry are fascinating, with the music having a background connecting it to Scottish missionaires, Appalachian music and Gospel hymns. The film’s title comes from a hymn that was a favourite of Harjo’s grandmother. Harjo finds out the song had its origins as a slave song in the 1800s, before going through gospel and blues to end up as a song by The Staple Singers in the 1950s. The Rolling Stones heard the song, and made their own version called “The Last Time.” Harjo gracefully tracks other hymns back to their origins, and in doing so highlights an aspect of music history that’s largely gone unnoticed.

Harjo ends things on a bittersweet note, closing with a hymn while commenting on how the tradition of sharing and learning music is slowly dwindling. This May Be the Last Time gives the now dying form of music its proper due.

The 37th annual Mill Valley Film Festival is upon us, a festival with a reputation of showcasing future Academy Awards Best Picture winners (12 years a Slave, Argo, The Artist), but we’ve decided to highlight some of our most anticipated indies at the festival because, well, that’s sort of our schtick. There are dozens of independent films in the lineup worth your attention (check out the full program here), but these are ten that have got us excited to drive across the Golden Gate, plop ourselves down in one of Marin County’s beautiful arthouses, and enjoy the indie goodness.

Like Sunday, Like Rain 

Frank Whaley is more often known as an actor than a director – I will forever picture him as the fast-talking slacker in the ’80s film Career Opportunities – but his fourth feature film follows the themes his previous films seem to like explore, namely the struggle of being a young artist with the weight of responsibility pushing in. Like Sunday, Like Rain features Leighton Meester as a struggling musician suddenly assigned legal guardianship of a 12 year old boy – who happens to be a musical prodigy. Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong plays her boyfriend, and Debra Messing plays the boy’s mother. Questionable casting choices, but the premise is indie-intriguing and ripe with dramatic opportunity.

10,000 KM 

Carlos Marques-Marcet’s first feature film has already received plenty of glowing reviews. His take on long-distance relationships, the technology involved, and the difficulty of maintaining closeness so far away is both timely and challenging. The film revolves around Alex (Natalia Tena) and Sergi (David Verdaguer), a couple in Madrid trying to decide how their future together will play out as Alex’s career as a photographer has not yet taken off and they contemplate having a baby. When Alex is offered a career-breaking opportunity in L.A. they decide to try and make it a year apart while she pursues her dream. This new development in their relationship, and the simultaneously helpful, yet prohibitive nature of online communication, sounds like it could make for a very intriguing drama.

St. Vincent 

Bill Murray. Let’s be honest that’s reason number one we want to see this hilarious looking film about a cantankerous man who is enlisted to help look after his neighbor’s precocious kid. Melissa McCarthy is the frazzled mother forced to work long hours and thus depend on the least dependable person available. Jaeden Lieberher is Oliver, the child Vincent forms an unlikely friendship with as he takes him on questionable adventures in babysitting. While the melting-heart premise of a gruff older person befriending a kid has been juiced dry, Bill Murray may be the only actor who is pretty much guaranteed to breathe some life into it. And with the onslaught of drama saturating fall films AND film festivals, we’re sure to be grateful for the break in monotony.

What We Do In The Shadows 

Much of our anticipation for this film stems from an undying love for the short-lived HBO comedy show Flight of the Conchords. Two of the film’s stars, Jemaine Clement and Rhys Darby, star in What We Do In The Shadows. Secondly, it’s a docu-styled vampire comedy. Yes there are too many vampire movies, yes there are too many faux-documentaries, but maybe the cocktail mixing them both will be an avenue to hilarity. The general premise of the film is that a house of vampires living together in New Zealand grant access (and safety) to a team of documentarists hoping to capture an annual masquerade ball in New Zealand attended by every manner of mythical monster, including werewolves, warlocks, and of course vampires. The four vampires are Viago (Taika Waititi), Vladislav (Jemaine Clement), Deacon (Jonathan Brugh) a younger more rock-n-roll vampire, and Petyr (Ben Fransham) an older, scarier sort of vampire. It sounds ridiculous, and if it has even an ounce of the humor and charm we’ve come to expect from Clement and his gang, it should be a lot of fun.

Two Days, One Night

In Two Days, One Night, the Dardenne brothers, with their flawless technique and bare-bones storytelling, have teamed with Marion Cotillard, a mainstream star who can do anything, but shines brightest in roles that allow her to get her hands dirty. It’s a match made in heaven, really. If that isn’t exciting enough, the film’s outfitted with a boldly simple plot: Cotillard plays Sandra, an emotionally troubled factory worker who’s set to be terminated unless she can convince her co-workers to vote her back onboard and consequently forego their bonuses before the weekend is over. For the Dardennes, simple is better, and for Cotillard, simple material means open range to bare her soul and act her ass off.

After the Fall

Formerly titled Things People Do, After the Fall premiered at the Berlin Film Festival to favorable reviews and premiered in the U.S. at SXSW. Playing out like a condensed, less intense version of Breaking Bad, the film focuses on Bill Scanlon (Wes Bentley), an insurance sales man who loses his job and decides to become a robber rather than admit his situation to his wife. Word is that first time director Saar Klein has a quiet focused energy that sustains the film’s tension without too much need for action or violence. Clearly a skill he picked up as an Oscar-nominated film editor. Since we’ve been missing Breaking Bad pretty…well…badly, this nuanced suburban good-guy-gone-rogue tale sounds like it should hit the spot.

Imperial Dreams

Big things are on the horizon for British breakout John Boyega (Attack the Block), but before we get too excited about him leading the charge in next year’s Star Wars sequel, another performance of his deserves our undivided attention. In director Malik Vitthal’s Imperial Dreams, Boyega plays a reformed thug who, after discovering a passion for writing in jail, devotes his life to getting he and his 4-year-old son out of the hood and on to a brighter future where drugs and violence won’t find them. Vitthal and Boyega explore the sensitive side of street life, an approach that made Sundance audiences drum up a good amount of buzz, buzz which is likely to continue on as it passes through Mill Valley.

How I Came to Hate Math

In all of academics, few subjects strike fear in the hearts of men and women like mathematics. Long division, sines, cosines, complex numbers–it’s petrifying stuff (especially for lowly film critics like yours truly). But French filmmaker Olivier Peyon offers us a chance to re-familiarize ourselves with the art of numbers in his free-form, comprehensive doc, How I Came to Hate Math. From addressing the biggest misconceptions and myths about math; to chronicling its history; to explaining how it’s in its advanced forms a creative field; to exploring how a mathematician’s mind works, the film is dead-set on setting the record straight once and for all about everyone’s least favorite school subject. I’m open to have our minds changed about math, and though chances of that are slim (math was the bane of my existence for years), what’s more likely is that I’ll be treated to an entertaining, thought-provoking doc. That’s more than enough for me.

Soul of a Banquet

Culinary icon Cecilia Chiang had a huge impact on San Francisco food culture in the ’60s when she introduced the Bay Area to authentic Northern Chinese cuisine at her legendary Mandarin Restaurant. Over 50 years later, her influence reverberates throughout the city, and with the heartwarming homage Soul of a Banquet, filmmaker Wayne Wang chronicles the celebrity chef’s life and career while filming Cecilia in her element, cooking an epic meal for friend and fellow S.F. icon, Alice Waters. Food porn surely awaits, which is always a good thing, and there are sure to be some stories of culinary adventures woven in there as well. Just make sure you don’t watch on an empty stomach.

Living is Easy With Eyes Closed

Part of the festival’s “Viva El Cine” focus, Living is Easy with Eyes Closed is an uplifting road movie that comes to us from Spanish director David Trueba. Set in Spain in the mid-’60s just after the explosion of Beatlemania, the film follows a school teacher named Antonio (Javier Cámara) who teams picks up a runaway teen and a pregnant young woman on his way to meet his idol, John Lennon, who’s reportedly filming a movie in Almería. For those with a taste for adventure and whimsy, Trueba’s film will charm and delight–On the merry trio’s odyssey down the winding roads of Spain they find laughs, thrills, and romance. And strawberries. And fields. Together.