José Antonio Domínguez Bandera, better known as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish actor. Known for his work in films of several genres, he has received numerous accolades, including a Cannes Film Festival Award and a Goya Award, as well as nominations for an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, and a Tony Award.
El Norte is a 1983 independent drama film, directed by Gregory Nava. The screenplay was written by Gregory Nava and Anna Thomas, based on Nava's story. The movie was first presented at the Telluride Film Festival in 1983, and its wide release was in January 1984.
Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter is a 2001 Canadian horror parody film from Odessa Filmworks which deals with Jesus Christ's modern-day struggle to protect the lesbians of Ottawa, Ontario, from vampires with the help of Mexican wrestler El Santo.
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz is a 1974 Canadian comedy drama film directed by Ted Kotcheff, and adapted by Mordechai Richler and Lionel Chetwynd from Richler’s 1959 novel. It stars Richard Dreyfuss as the title character, a brash young Jewish Montrealer who embarks on a string of get-rich-quick schemes in a bid to gain respect. The cast also features Micheline Lanctôt, Randy Quaid, Joseph Wiseman, Denholm Elliott, Joe Silver and Jack Warden.
Napoleon Dynamite is a 2004 American independent coming-of-age teen comedy film produced by Jeremy Coon, Chris Wyatt, and Sean Covel, written by Jared and Jerusha Hess, and directed by Jared Hess. The film stars Jon Heder in the role of the titular character, a nerdy high-school student who deals with several dilemmas: befriending an immigrant who wants to be class president, awkwardly pursuing a romance with a fellow student, and living with his quirky family.
The Slamdance Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on emerging artists. The annual week-long festival takes place in Park City, Utah, in late January and is the main event organized by the year-round Slamdance organization, which also hosts a screenplay competition, workshops, screenings throughout the year and events with an emphasis on independent films with budgets under US$1 million.
Michael Justin "Burnie" Burns is an American actor, writer, producer, comedian, host, and director previously based in Austin, Texas. He was a co-founder, former chief executive officer, and former chief creative officer of Rooster Teeth. He is noted for his contributions in machinima, a form of film-making that uses video game technology in its production, and also works with animation and live action. Burns is also known for his work in the hosting and podcasting field.
Laurence T. Fessenden is an American actor, producer, writer, director, film editor, and cinematographer. He is the founder of the New York based independent production outfit Glass Eye Pix. His writer/director credits include No Telling, Habit (1997), Wendigo (2001), and The Last Winter, which is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. He has also directed the television feature Beneath (2013), an episode of the NBC TV series Fear Itself (2008) entitled "Skin and Bones", and a segment of the anthology horror-comedy film The ABCs of Death 2 (2014). He is the writer, with Graham Reznick, of the BAFTA Award-winning Sony PlayStation video game Until Dawn. He has acted in numerous films including Bringing Out the Dead (1999), Broken Flowers (2005), I Sell the Dead (2009), Jug Face (2012), We Are Still Here (2015), In a Valley of Violence (2016), Like Me (2017), and The Dead Don't Die (2019), Brooklyn 45 (2023), and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Sean Baker is an American filmmaker. He is best known for directing independent feature films about the lives of marginalized people, especially immigrants and sex workers. His films include Take Out (2004), Starlet (2012), Tangerine (2015), The Florida Project (2017), Red Rocket (2021), and Anora (2024), the last of which won him the Palme d'Or at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. He is also known for co-creating the Fox/IFC puppet sitcom Greg the Bunny (2002–2006) and its spin-offs.
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters is a 2007 American documentary film about competitive arcade gaming directed by Seth Gordon. It follows Steve Wiebe in his attempts to take the high score record for the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong from Billy Mitchell. The film premiered at the 2007 Slamdance Film Festival and was released in U.S. theaters in August 2007. It received positive reviews.
Aadukalam is a 2011 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Vetrimaran, produced by S. Kathiresan and distributed by Sun Pictures. The film stars Dhanush in the lead role, alongside Taapsee Pannu, Kishore, V. I. S. Jayapalan, Naren Narayanan, and Murugadoss. G. V. Prakash Kumar composed the film score and soundtrack.
Dan Mirvish is an American filmmaker and author, best known as the co-founder of the Slamdance Film Festival and co-creator of the Martin Eisenstadt hoax during the 2008 Presidential election.
Dusty Mancinelli is a Canadian independent filmmaker from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Several of his films have been shown at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and other notable film festivals worldwide, winning numerous awards. Since 2017, he has collaborated with Madeleine Sims-Fewer. Their debut feature film Violation was shown at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival and 2021 Sundance Film Festival.
A Quiet Little Marriage is a 2008 American independent drama film, written and directed by Mo Perkins in her feature directorial debut. It was co-written by Mary Elizabeth Ellis and Cy Carter, who also star. The supporting cast includes Jimmi Simpson, Charlie Day, and Melanie Lynskey.
Los Tucanes De Tijuana are a Mexican norteño band led by Mario Quintero Lara. The band was founded in Tijuana, Baja California in 1987. They, along with Los Tigres del Norte, were pioneers in playing their music in a rougher manner as opposed to the traditional norteño music of northeastern Mexico, subsequently influencing many other norteño artists from Mexico’s pacific states and giving that region of the country its signature norteño sound. During their career, Los Tucanes de Tijuana have garnered several awards and recognitions, including a Latin Grammy in 2012 for the album 365 días, five Grammy Award nominations, nine Lo Nuestro Awards nominations and multiple BMI Awards for Quintero as a composer. They are the first norteño music band to obtain an international film award by winning the Un Certain Regard Angel Film award at the Monaco International Film Festival for their participation in the documentary Los ilegales. In 2008, the group received a star on the Las Vegas Walk of Fame.
Dylan Verrechia is a Barthélemois award-winning film director, auteur, screenwriter, director of photography, and producer. He grew up in Saint Barthélemy, French West Indies, bedridden with severe ankylosing spondylitis for many years. At age twelve, he was sent to Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital in France. He then started correspondence courses from the National Centre for Distance Education. After the national service, Verrechia studied Cinema at Paris Nanterre University taught by Jean Rouch from la Cinémathèque française. He graduated with honors in Film & TV from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, and became soon after a U.S. citizen. Verrechia is a director of Mexican cinema, and his films have won awards worldwide.
Snow on tha Bluff is a 2012 American found footage-style drama film directed by Damon Russell. It stars Curtis Snow, a real-life Atlanta "robbery boy" and drug dealer, playing a fictionalized version of himself, as he gets into various dangerous and criminal situations. The title references an Atlanta neighborhood colloquially known as The Bluff, which is infamous for crime and drug dealing. "Snow" is a double entendre for both the protagonist and cocaine.
The Dirties is a 2013 Canadian found footage thriller film and the directorial debut of Matt Johnson. It has received praise from critics as well as numerous awards, including the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative at the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival. Kevin Smith, who helped distribute the film, dubbed The Dirties "the most important movie you will see all year."
Buddymoon is a 2016 American independent comedy film directed by Alex Simmons; written by Simmons, Flula Borg, and David Giuntoli; and starring Borg and Giuntoli. It is the story of a former child actor (Giuntoli) whose fiancée leaves him days before their wedding. In an effort to cheer him up, his best friend and would-be best man (Borg) convinces him that the two of them should go on the planned honeymoon trip together.
Marjorie Conrad is a French-American filmmaker and model. She is known for being the eleventh eliminated America's Next Top Model , and for her narrative feature films Chemical Cut (2016) and Desire Path (2020).
