Founded in 1979, the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) is the largest and oldest not-for-profit organization dedicated to independent film.
Besides their year-round programs and initiatives supporting independent filmmakers, their best known events are the Gotham Awards, a major highlight of the annual film awards season, and IFP Film Week, a series of conferences, panels, screenings, and other activities held in the early fall.
For this year, IFP Film Week - running from September 17-22 - has greatly expanded to include many more public events to be held in and around their newly established home base, The Made in NY Media Center in Dumbo, Brooklyn. These events include many free public screenings, starting with the kick-off outdoor screening on September 17 of the 80's music film classic Krush Groove, and continuing with early looks at upcoming feature films, viewings of new virtual reality work, and cutting-edge visual art installations. These events are accompanied by talks from many filmmakers, writers, performers, and visual artists.
All in all, this will be a packed week of activities that promises to be most enlightening and stimulating. For more information and details, see the summary of IFP Film Week's events below, and visit their website for further details and information. (Some of these events, such as the virtual reality projects, require pre-registration, which you can also do through the website.)
IFP’s signature event, IFP Film Week, has expanded this year to include numerous screenings, talks, meet ups, exhibitions, and tours centered on cutting-edge independent content for the big screen, small screen and Internet open to the public.
“IFP has always had a reputation industry-wide as a place of discovery,” says IFP Executive Director Joana Vicente. “Now, with IFP Film Week in Brooklyn, we welcome all New York audiences to come and discover the new ideas, new artists, digital pioneers, and experience all our talented and diverse community has to offer.”
Under the leadership of Head of Programming Amy Dotson, produced by Erik Luers, Annie Malarkey and gallery manager Tom Rotenberg, public programs run September 17-22 in and around IFP’s headquarters, Made in NY Media Center by IFP in DUMBO, Brooklyn.
IFP Screen Forward Conference kicks off the week, including:
o Hamilton’s America, featuring cast members of Hamilton;
o Cult webseries and upcoming HBO series High Maintenance
o Doc sensation Weiner
o Innovative horror film The Witch
o Hello, My Name is Doris, one of the highest grossing indie films of the year.
o Antonio Campos’ exciting upcoming film, Christine, staring Rebecca Hall
o Discussions on the rise of short-form documentaries with VICE, Narratively and Great Big Story
o Designing participatory stories with Scatter and multi-sensory experiences with Meta.is
Exhibitions & experiences at the Media Center will take place throughout the Week that are open to the public, including:
o Series of the best of North American VR from Canada and the United States, hosted by Montreal’s innovative Phi Centre.
o Launch of new work by VR pioneer Gabo Arora, including a communal VR viewing experience of his latest work.
o An Augmented Reality installation by Shawn Peters and producer Barry Cole that examines the lives, local histories and place-making initiatives of the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bedford Stuyvesant and South Williamsburg told through the lives of two young men who have been memorialized through murals.
o Creative, digital moments in physical spaces and environments, projects will include video environments, motion tracking, tactile AR exhibits and live interactive emulations throughout the IFP Made in NY Media Center.
o Best of LightYear 1.2.3 on the Manhattan Bridge Over and Underpass throughout the week.
IFP also has a long history of discovering new voices and introducing their work to audiences first, well before the whole world knows their names. These IFP rising stars include Lena Dunham (Girls), The Duplass Brothers (Togetherness) Moria Demos & Laura Riccardi (Making a Murderer), Ava DuVernay (Queen Sugar), Derek Cianfrance (The Light Between Oceans), Robert Eggers (The Witch), Ciro Guerrra (Embrace of the Serpent), Barry Jenkins (Moonlight), David Lowery (Pete’s Dragon ), Dee Rees (Bessie), Denis Villeneuve (Sicaro), Roger Ross Williams (Life, Animated), and Behn Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild).
Celebrate, meet and discover the next amazing film, television and digital pioneers at free, public screenings and parties including:
For more information on all public programs or to purchase tickets to the IFP Screen Forward Conference, ifpfilmweek.com.