Type of site | Independent filmmaking news |
---|---|
Available in | English |
Owner | Penske Media Corporation |
URL | indiewire |
Registration | Optional |
Launched | Newsletter: 15 July 1996 Website: January 12, 1998 |
Current status | Online |
Content license | All rights reserved. Use permitted with copyright notice intact. |
IndieWire is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "include all aspects of Hollywood and the expanding universes of TV and streaming". [1] IndieWire is part of Penske Media.
The original IndieWire newsletter launched on July 15, 1996, billing itself as "the daily news service for independent film". Following in the footsteps of various web- and AOL-based editorial ventures, IndieWire was launched as a free daily email publication in the summer of 1996 by New York- and Los Angeles-based filmmakers and writers Eugene Hernandez, Mark Rabinowitz, Cheri Barner, Roberto A. Quezada, and Mark L. Feinsod. [2]
Initially distributed to a few hundred subscribers, the readership grew rapidly, passing 6,000 in late 1997. [3]
In January 1997, IndieWire made its first appearance at the Sundance Film Festival to begin their coverage of film festivals; it offered indieWIRE: On The Scene print dailies in addition to online coverage. Printed on site, in low-tech black-and-white style, the publication was able to scoop traditional Hollywood trade dailies Variety and The Hollywood Reporter due to the delay these latter publications had for being printed in Los Angeles.[ citation needed ]
The site was acquired by Snagfilms in July 2008. [4] On January 8, 2009, IndieWire editor Eugene Hernandez announced that the site was going through a re-launch that has been "entirely re-imagined".
Penske Media acquired IndieWire on January 19, 2016. The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. [5]
The focus of IndieWire initially was independent film, but has grown to encompass mainstream film, television, and streaming media. [6] [1] IndieWire is part of Penske Media.
It has a staff of 26 people, including publisher James Israel, editor-in-chief Dana Harris-Bridson, vice president Eric Kohn, and editor-at-large Anne Thompson. [7]
In Wired , in 1997, Janelle Brown wrote: "Currently, IndieWire has little to no competition: trades like The Hollywood Reporter and Variety may cover independent film, but from a Hollywood perspective, hidden by a huge amount of mainstream news. As filmmaker Doug Wolens points out, IndieWire is one of the few places where filmmakers can consistently and reliably keep on top of often-ignored small film festivals, which films are opening and what other filmmakers are thinking." [3]
In 2002, Forbes magazine recognized IndieWire, along with seven other entrants, in the "Cinema Appreciation" category, as a "Best of the Web Pick", describing its best feature as "boards teeming with filmmakers" and its worst as "glacial search engine". [8] IndieWire has been praised by Roger Ebert. [9]
In 2012, IndieWire won the Webby Award in the Movie and Film category. [10]
In 2022, IndieWire's entire staff was honored as the Best Website, Traditional News Organization by the Los Angeles Press Club at its annual Southern California Journalism Awards, with judges noting that the site is "full of analysis of entertainment issues, not to mention the depth of most of the pieces that immediately pop up on the site. Quite compelling and thought-provoking." [11]
The IndieWire Critic's Poll is an annual poll by IndieWire that recognizes the best in American and international films in a ranking of 10 films on 15 different categories. The winners are chosen by the votes of the critics from IndieWire and other invited critics from around the world.
IFC Films is an American film production and distribution company based in New York. It is an offshoot of IFC owned by AMC Networks. It distributes mainly independent films under its own name, select foreign films and documentaries under its Sundance Selects label and genre films under its IFC Midnight label. It operates the IFC Center.
Vera Ann Farmiga is an American actress. Farmiga began her professional acting career on stage in the original Broadway production of Taking Sides (1996). After expanding to television and film, Farmiga's breakthrough came in 2004 with her starring role as a drug addict in the drama Down to the Bone. She received praise for starring in the 2009 comedy-drama Up in the Air, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Penske Media Corporation is an American mass media, publishing, and information services company based in Los Angeles and New York City. It publishes more than 20 digital and print brands, including Variety, Rolling Stone, Women's Wear Daily, Deadline Hollywood, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Boy Genius Report, Robb Report, Artforum, ARTNews, and others. PMC's Chairman and CEO since founding is Jay Penske.
Karol Martesko-Fenster is an American media executive.
Jacqueline Schaeffer is an American filmmaker best known for her 2009 feature film debut TiMER and for her work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe creating the Disney+ television miniseries WandaVision and co-writing the initial story to the film Black Widow.
Dear White People is a 2014 American satirical dark comedy-drama film written, directed and co-produced by Justin Simien. The film focuses on escalating racial tensions at a fictitious, prestigious Ivy League college from the perspective of several black students. It stars Tyler James Williams, Tessa Thompson, Kyle Gallner, Teyonah Parris, Brandon P. Bell, Brittany Curran, Marque Richardson and Dennis Haysbert.
The Lobster is a 2015 dystopian absurdist science fiction romantic dark comedy drama film directed and co-produced by Yorgos Lanthimos, from a screenplay by Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou. It stars Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Jessica Barden, Olivia Colman, Ashley Jensen, Ariane Labed, Angeliki Papoulia, John C. Reilly, Léa Seydoux, Michael Smiley, and Ben Whishaw. The film follows a newly single bachelor who moves into a hotel with other singletons, who are all obliged to find a romantic partner in 45 days, or else be transformed into animals.
Ivory Tower is a 2014 American documentary film written, directed and produced by Andrew Rossi. The film premiered in competition category of U.S. Documentary Competition program at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2014.
Rich Hill is a 2014 American documentary film co-produced and directed by Andrew Droz Palermo and Tracy Droz Tragos about Rich Hill, Missouri. The film premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the U.S. Grand Jury Prize for a documentary.
Certain Women is a 2016 American drama film edited, written, and directed by Kelly Reichardt. Based on "Native Sandstone", "Travis, B." and "Tome"—three short stories from Maile Meloy's collections Half in Love and Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It—it stars Laura Dern, Kristen Stewart, Michelle Williams, Lily Gladstone, James Le Gros, and Jared Harris.
The Independent Spirit Robert Altman Award is presented to the ensemble cast, director and casting director of a film by the Film Independent, a non-profit organization dedicated to independent film and independent filmmakers. It is named after director, screenwriter, and producer Robert Altman, who is considered a "maverick" in naturalistic films.
Wilson Cleveland is an American actor, producer and writer. He is known as the creator, producer and co-star of Leap Year and The Temp Life.
A Ghost Story is a 2017 American supernatural drama film written and directed by David Lowery and starring Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara, with Will Oldham, Liz Cardenas Franke, Sonia Acevedo, and Rob Zabrecky in supporting roles. It is about a man who becomes a ghost and remains in the house he shared with his wife.
Won't You Be My Neighbor? is a 2018 American documentary film about the life and guiding philosophy of Fred Rogers, the host and creator of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, directed by Morgan Neville. The trailer for the film debuted on what would have been Rogers' 90th birthday, March 20, 2018.
Shoplifters is a 2018 Japanese drama film directed, written and edited by Hirokazu Kore-eda. Starring Lily Franky and Sakura Ando, it is about a family that relies on shoplifting to cope with a life of poverty.
The Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Ensemble Cast was one of the annual Gotham Independent Film Awards awarded between 2005 and 2012. The award was called Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Ensemble Performance between 2008 and 2012.
Joy is a 2018 Austrian drama film directed and written by Sudabeh Mortezai. The plot revolves around Joy, a young Nigerian woman who walks the streets to pay off debts while also supporting her family in Nigeria and her daughter in Vienna.
Time is an Academy Award-nominated 2020 American documentary film produced and directed by Garrett Bradley. It follows Sibil Fox Richardson and her fight for the release of her husband, Rob, who was serving a 60-year prison sentence for engaging in an armed bank robbery.
The Gotham Independent Film Audience Award was one of the annual Gotham Independent Film Awards awarded between 2010 and 2020. The winner was determined via an online vote, in earlier years by the independent film community and film fans (2010–2013), and later by members of the Independent Filmmaker Project (2014–2020).