{"id":32497,"date":"2020-01-01T13:04:25","date_gmt":"2020-01-01T18:04:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=32497"},"modified":"2020-01-15T21:47:46","modified_gmt":"2020-01-16T02:47:46","slug":"the-5-choice-indie-features-of-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2020\/01\/01\/the-5-choice-indie-features-of-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"The 5 Choice Indie Features of 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/HN.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-32500 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/HN.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"630\" height=\"293\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/HN.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/HN-300x140.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/HN-2x1.jpg 2w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\" \/><\/a>As with every single year, we try to cover as much indies as possible, but we just never have the time to see them all, sadly. <strong>For the first time ever,<\/strong> we\u2019ve separated our five choice Indies in to Feature and Shorts categories. This will be five indie films we loved that are short format and feature format.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not to say the films that didn\u2019t make the list are terrible films, <strong><em>or<\/em><\/strong> that the films the other writers on Cinema Crazed enjoyed aren\u2019t good, either. This is merely my own subjective list of five independent films I highly recommend to you that I saw this year. It\u2019s good to remember this is opinion, and not gospel.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to see what films the Cinema Crazed collective consider <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/category\/movie-reviews\/a-indie\/\"><strong>A+ Indies<\/strong><\/a>, visit the link included!<\/p>\n<p>Also, be sure to let us know some of the best indie films you saw all year!<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RxADl52AJfA\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>5. United We Fan (2018)<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Director: <\/strong>Michael Sparaga<br \/>\n<strong>Distributor: <\/strong>Brainstorm Media<br \/>\n<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B07KFBTB29\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B07KFBTB29&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=thebalconymov-20&amp;linkId=365866790ae1226cb28f52efe55b106d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Available Now<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\nFans have, for better and for worse, decided the fate of many big properties since the internet took over the world, but once upon a time it wasn\u2019t so easy to get a word in about our favorite properties. \u201cUnited We Fan\u201d is a great celebration of the power of fandom and how many loyal fans took their loyalty and helped save some cancelled-too-soon series like \u201cVeronica Mars,\u201d \u201cMillennium,\u201d \u201cDesigning Women\u201d and \u201cChuck\u201d with some of the most passionate and creative campaigns ever engineered. Along the way there\u2019s also looks at fan magazines, and how the fandoms operated before the world wide web. It\u2019s a very positive and engaging documentary, which is welcomed in a modern world where fandoms are so toxic and vicious.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BmyueIwsMlo\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>4. Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror (2019)<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Director: <\/strong>Xavier Neal-Burgin<br \/>\n<strong>Distributor: <\/strong>Shudder<br \/>\n<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B07NDSMFJR\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B07NDSMFJR&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=thebalconymov-20&amp;linkId=8147058dbfb87d6329f16cf983415b72\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Available Now<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\nOne of the most important films of the year, if not the decade, \u201cHorror Noire\u201d explores the importance of People of Color in the horror genre. There are some refreshing discussions with immense African American horror legends like Keith David, Ken Foree et al. and they discuss how black culture influenced horror, how they shaped it, how they were exploited by it, and how they\u2019ve come to change it altogether. \u201cHorror Noire\u201d is frank and blunt, while also managing to deliver some truly informative looks in to history and how culture shaped black horror, and vice versa. Xavier Neal-Burgin delivers what should be standard viewing, not just for horror buffs, but for film buffs, culture buffs, and race studies in general.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fvtiq9sNr6k\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center><strong>3. <\/strong><strong>At the Drive-In (2017)<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Director: <\/strong>Alexander Monelli<br \/>\n<strong>Distributor: <\/strong>Monelli Films<br \/>\n<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B07N1XH488\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B07N1XH488&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=thebalconymov-20&amp;linkId=30086742f55f150f7450cbce090edd4b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Available Now<\/a><\/strong><br \/>\nAlexander Monelli\u2019s documentary is one of the best viewing experiences I\u2019ve had all year. Focusing on one of the remaining drive ins in America that\u2019s kept alive by a community of film lovers will inspire so much from its audience. It\u2019s about love for film, love for one another, and helping each other to keep one of the very last home grown businesses alive. \u201cAt the Drive-In\u201d spotlights so many relatable individuals, all of whom have built a family and found a purpose that\u2019s so much more about a field and a movie screen. Even if you\u2019re not a movie lover, this documentary deserves a humongous audience.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Yn5a_DqYN5k\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center><strong>2. <\/strong><strong>Decade of Fire (2018)<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Director: <\/strong>Gretchen Hildebran, Vivian V\u00e1squez<br \/>\n<strong>Distributor: <\/strong>Independent Lens<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/videos\/decade-of-fire\/\"><strong>Available Now<\/strong><\/a><br \/>\nFilmmakers Gretchen Hildebran and Vivian V\u00e1squez chronicle a series of South Bronx fires that raged throughout the 1970s, and it\u2019s a documentary that hit home for me, personally. With the Bronx and New York once again a target for gentrification, we\u2019re facing a new era where landlords are cutting and running with as much money as possible. In the seventies and eighties, Landlords and Slum Lords sought to destroy their property by setting them ablaze, and make out like bandits with the money. Meanwhile the community was demonized by the media. It\u2019s a still politically relevant and haunting look back at a point in history that just might repeat itself if we\u2019re not careful.<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LsY18e8ZJkA\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center><strong>1. <\/strong><strong>The Vast of Night (2019)<br \/>\n<\/strong><strong>Director: <\/strong>Andrew Patterson<br \/>\n<strong>Distributor: <\/strong>Amazon Studios; <strong>In Limited Release March 13th, 2020<\/strong><br \/>\nSoon to get a distribution deal, Andrew Patterson\u2019s \u201cThe Vast of Night\u201d is one of the best Slamdance films I\u2019ve ever seen. An ode to the classic science fiction horror series from the radio era and television era, Andrew Patterson\u2019s \u201cThe Vast of Night\u201d wears its influences on its sleeve with an anthology format that helps introduce a genuinely eerie mystery that gets even more terrifying as it progresses. Filled with spooky twists and turns, reliance on the classic urban legend, and excellent direction, \u201cThe Vast of Night\u201d simply kept me hooked from minute one and I spent a good week thinking about it. This could have easily been all gimmick, and no substance, but Patterson defies every expectation. Not many genre films give me goosebumps these days, but \u201cThe Vast of Night\u201d succeeded as what I consider a masterwork.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As with every single year, we try to cover as much indies as possible, but we just never have the time to see them all, sadly. For the first time ever, we\u2019ve separated our five choice Indies in to Feature and Shorts categories. This will be five indie films we loved that are short format [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[292,469,477,501,788,906],"class_list":["post-32497","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-year-enders","tag-documentary","tag-history","tag-horror","tag-indie-film","tag-political","tag-science-fiction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32497"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32497\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32565,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32497\/revisions\/32565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}