Indie Cinema's Best-Kept Secret Brings 30 Years of Experimental Film to L.A.

Yahoo

16-02-2025

Thirty years ago,Peter Baxter and his group of young filmmakers were rejected by Robert Redford's prestigious Sundance Film Festival and launched their own celebration of experimental movies. They described their new Slamdance Film Festival as 'by filmmakers for filmmakers' and set up shop right down the street in Park City, Utah. 'We had never been to a film fest,' Baxter says. 'Let alone organized one.'This month, Slamdance relocates to Los Angeles as part of its mission to bring independent movies to a wider audience and to help expand the community of filmmakers working outside the big studios and streamers. The festival will run Feb. 20 to 26 at the Egyptian Theatre, Quixote Studios and the DGA Theater Complex, with passes starting at $50.
Organizers want to bring the show closer to the heart of the film industry, engage underrepresented communities and keep ticket prices low to allow more first-timers to be part of the action. 'A festival should be connecting all the fragmented audiences and developing engagement,' Baxter says. 'The diverse communities here are the joy and celebration of Los Angeles.'Whether from the grand Hollywood Boulevard movie palaces or a grungy revival house in Gardena, it's hard to go a day in L.A. without the opportunity to see filmmakers speak about their art. When Quentin Tarantino took over the Vista Theater, he added a smaller auditorium to show rare original 16 mm and VHS oddities from his personal collection.
Angelenos have been in love with the movies since the beginning. A hundred years ago, curious tourists paid 25 cents to watch silent films being made at Universal Studios. In 1923, studios set up displays near the L.A. Coliseum while stars mingled alongside stunt performers, Japanese vaudeville stars and wrestlers. Debating contests were a fixture at that first Motion Picture Exposition and Baxter hopes audiences will linger to discuss films after Slamdance. He notes, 'Whether they're part of the entertainment industry or just fans, they can share thoughts about filmmaking and storytelling.'The festival has long been a launching pad for celebrated filmmakers, including Lena Dunham, Christopher Nolan, the Safdie brothers and Bong Joon-ho — the Oscar-winning director of Parasite. This year's vast offerings include Portal to Hell, about a demon who lives at the laundromat; Coroner to the Stars, a documentary about medical examiner Thomas Noguchi; and DeBarge, a look at the '80s musical family who gave the world 'Rhythm of the Night.'