Independent Films

Filmmaker Magazine

• Exclusive Clip: Roseanne Pel on Her New Directors/New Films Closing Night Title Donkey Days March 31, 2026
  The 55th edition of New Directors/New Films, the annual showcase of rising cinematic talent co-presented by Film at Lincoln Center and MoMA, will run April 8-19. Opening the festival is Adrian Chiarella’s queer horror film Leviticus, and other standouts include John Early’s brilliant bulimia comedy Maddie’s Secret, Kevin Walker and Jack Auen’s hypnotic hybrid Chronovisor, […]
  Natalia Keogan
• “Like a Surveillance Camera”: Christian Petzold on Miroirs No. 3 March 30, 2026
  Following a fatal car crash in the countryside that leaves her injured and her boyfriend dead, Laura (Paula Beer), a pianist visiting from Berlin, is nursed back to health over several days by Betty (Barbara Auer), a quiet woman who lives near the crash site. Through carefully placed moments of subtle exposition, German filmmaker Christian […]
  Erik Luers
• They Will Kill You Took the Blood, Sweat and Tears of Kirill Sokolov, Zazie Beetz, and Myha’la March 27, 2026
  It’s the closing night of the 2026 SXSW Film Festival and They Will Kill You director Kirill Sokolov is taking to the stage of the Paramount Theatre in Austin. He has multiple pages in hand listing out all of his collaborators he wants to thank.  Where most filmmakers give a few brief remarks, possibly crack […]
  Chase Hutchinson
• Inspired by Meatloaf: Alice Maio Mackay on The Serpent’s Skin March 27, 2026
  It’s been a whirlwind year for Alice Maio Mackay. Her latest film, The Serpent’s Skin, has been a darling at festivals from London to Montreal, and her next one—her seventh before the age of twenty-two—is already in the can. This one’s a supernatural romance about two queer women, Anna (Alexandra McVicker), innocent and extremely new-in-town, […]
  Payton McCarty-Simas
• More Heart Than a Midnight Movie: Oscar Boyson and Ricky Camilleri on Our Hero, Balthazar March 26, 2026
  “It was important to us not to be a shit post,” says Ricky Camilleri, co-writer and co-producer of Our Hero, Balthazar, thanking me for not describing it as “edge-lordy.” On paper, the film, directed and co-written by Oscar Boyson, sounds like a provocation: a dark comedy about a teen who tries to stop a school […]
  Elissa Suh
• Watch Six Short Films from Filmfort 2026 March 26, 2026
  Filmmaker is happy to continue its annual partnership with the Filmfort Film Festival by exclusively hosting six short films from the 2026 edition, which kicks off today. Occurring simultaneously during the Treefort Music Fest in Boise, Idaho, Filmfort highlights emerging indie fare. On the feature film front, this includes The Scout, directed by Paula González-Nasser—who […]
  Natalia Keogan
• “The Devil Won’t Wait for You”: Radio Silence on Ready or Not 2: Here I Come March 25, 2026
  There’s a gleeful spirit of subversion that courses through Matt Bettinelli-Olpin’s and Tyler Gillett’s (known as Radio Silence) Ready or Not 2: Here I Come. It’s not just that the follow-up to their 2019 chamber piece is bloodier and more vicious, but that anytime you expect the film to narratively zag, it zigs, and that […]
  Zachary Lee
• UFO Short Film Lab Announces 2026 Fellows March 25, 2026
  UFO announces the fellows that will join the latest cycle of the UFO Short Film Lab. The 18-month program supports early-career filmmakers to develop and direct two original shorts, awarding $20,000 ($10,000 per project) to each participant. Additional resources include complimentary rentals of ZEISS’s newest lenses, seminar-style workshop sessions hosted at the Brooklyn Academy of […]
  Natalia Keogan
• Cannes Film Festival Head Thierry Frémaux on the Past and Future of Movies March 24, 2026
  Thierry Frémaux wears a lot of hats. The 65-year-old Frenchman oversees the programming and operations of the Cannes Film Festival, which will announce its 79th edition next month. At the same time, he runs the Lumière Institute and its accompanying Lumière Festival in Lyon, both of which are dedicated to screening and studying film history. […]
  Eric Kohn
• From Fables to Forensics: Five Documentaries from CPH:DOX 2026 March 23, 2026
  CPH:DOX’s 2025 edition opened with Facing War, a documentary presenting the Russo-Ukrainian war through the final year of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s tenure. Though some critics found the film overly cautious in its presentation of political lobbying, its premiere proved unexpectedly well-timed amid Trump’s return to power and anxieties surrounding European alliances.  For CPH:DOX […]
  Sonya Vseliubska