We at SAGIndie have the luxury of seeing numerous indie films due to the fact that we travel (almost non-stop) to festivals all over the place. This year we decided to compile our favorites from the last twelve months and the festivals at which we saw them.
Some of these you’ve heard of and will have the opportunity to see in cinemas around the globe. Others might not even come close to getting a distribution deal. Either way, they’re all great stories told in true, risk-taking style. We strongly encourage you to seek some of these out and continue to support independent film in 2011.
TOP 5 Favorite Films picked collectively by the SAGIndie Staff (in no particular order):
Individual Staff picks:
DARRIEN
- Black Swan – Cannes
- Let Me In (U.S. version) – Toronto
- Winter’s Bone – Sundance
- Holy Rollers – Sundance
- Splice – Sundance
- Night Catches Us – Sundance
- Hamill – AFI
ELIZA
- Black Swan – Toronto
- Black Swan – Toronto
- The Promise: Making of The Darkness on the Edge of Town – Toronto
- Blue Valentine – Sundance
- Black Swan – Toronto
- Holy Rollers – Sundance
- Technically it was not a festival screening, but I watched some crazy Lifetime movie in my hotel room when I went to Santa Barbara
- Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives – Cannes
- Tucker and Dale vs. Evil – Sundance
- The King’s Speech – AFI (Oh my God, just kidding, I hated this.)
- Winter’s Bone – Palm Beach
WILL
- Cyrus – Sundance (Duplass bros. and John C. Reilly, FTW!)
- Black Swan – AFI
- Micmacs – SXSW (Jean-Pierre Jeunet was there!)
- Blue Valentine – Sundance
- Winter’s Bone – SXSW
- The Extra Man – Seattle International Film Fest/Sundance
- Fanny, Annie & Danny – Waterfront Film Festival (Check out my interview with the filmmakers!)
- Tiny Furniture – Maryland Film Festival
- Bass Ackwards – Sundance
- Holy Rollers – Sundance
ELLEN
- Hesher – Sundance
- Splice – Sundance
- Hermano – LALIFF
- Black Swan – AFI
- The Extra Man – Sundance
- Hamill – AFI
- Let the Right One In (Swedish ’08 version listed in response to Darrien’s vote for the U.S. version because it is also quite amazing)
