Don’t-Miss Indies: What to Watch in May
In the 1990s and 2000s, May (and specifically Memorial Day) typically marked the beginning of Summer Movie Season. Multiplexes nationwide were packed to the emergency exits with big names, big explosions and (presumably) big box office. The film industry has changed since then, obviously, and summer no longer packs the same high-octane punch that it once did. But in this evolution, release schedule space has opened up for a stellar month of Don’t-Miss Indies titles.
JEANNE DU BARRY
When You Can Watch: May 3
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Director: Maiwenn
Cast: Maiwenn, Johnny Depp, Benjamin Lavernhe, Melvin Poupaud, Pierre Richard
Why We’re Excited: In 18th-century France, Jeanne Vaubernier (Maïwenn, also the film’s director), a common girl eager to climb the social ladder uses her distinct charms to convince her lover, the Count du Barry (Melvin Poupaud) to introduce her to the King, Louis XV (Depp). The Count organizes the meeting through the intermediary of the influential Duke of Richelieu (Pierre Richard). But it soon becomes clear that Jeanne’s true intensions include making Versailles her own domain. It’s love (or at least ambition and lust) at first sight between the impetuous social-climber and the King. With Jeanne as his courtesan, the King rediscovers his taste for life, so much so that he can no longer do without her and decides to make her his official favorite.
WILDCAT
When You Can Watch: May 3
Where You Can Watch: Theaters, Fi Presents
Director: Ethan Hawke
Cast: Maya Hawke, Rafael Casal, Philip Ettinger, Cooper Hoffman, Steve Zahn, Laura Linney
Why We’re Excited: One of this May’s Film Independent Presents screenings, Wildcat is Film Independent Spirit Award winner Ethan Hawke’s (Blaze) fifth directing feature. A biographical drama about Southern Gothic author Flannery O’Connor and her troubled journey toward publishing her first novel, the story begins in 1950, when a 24-year-old Flannery (played by Ethan’s IRL daughter and Stranger Things star, Maya Hawke) is diagnosed with the same disease that took her father’s life. As she visits her mother Regina (Linney) in Georgia, her health crisis drives her deeper into spiritual—and literary—exploration. Following our May 5 screening, there will be a Q&A with Ethan Hawke, moderated by Film Independent President Josh Welsh.
THE LAST STOP IN YUMA COUNTY
When You Can Watch: May 10
Where You Can Watch: Theaters (Limited), VOD, Fi Presents
Director: Francis Galluppi
Cast: Jim Cummings, Jocelin Donahue, Richard Brake
Why We’re Excited: Premiering at genre Mecca Fantastic Fest last year, this old school crime thriller is writer-director Francis Galluppi’s feature debut. The neo-Western heist caper follows a traveling knife salesman (Cummings, a Spirit Awards nominee for Thunder Road) who is stranded while waiting at a rest stop in rural Arizona. When two bank robbers stumble into the diner after fleeing their latest heist, the salesman soon finds himself caught in a violent hostage crisis. Galluppi, Cummings, Donahue, and cinematographer Mac Fisken will be on hand for a Q&A following our May 1 Film Independent screening. Producer Atif Malik is a Member of Film Independent.
THE IDEA OF YOU
When You Can Watch: May 2
Where You Can Watch: Amazon Prime
Director: Michael Showalter
Cast: Anne Hathaway, Nicholas Galitzine, Ella Rubin, Reid Scott
Why We’re Excited: For this May-December romcom, writer-director Showalter (The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Hulu’s The Dropout) has adapted Robinne Lee’s debut novel from 2017. Spirit Awards alum Hathaway (The Devil Wears Prada, Les Misérables) plays 40-year-old single mom Solène, who decides to bring her teenage daughter to Coachella. When she meets the lead singer of “the hottest boyband on the planet,” Hayes (Galitzine, of the Starz series Mary & George)—16 years her junior—sparks fly and the two unexpectedly cultivate a budding romance. The closing film of last month’s SXSW festival, the movie was shot in Georgia. Film Independent’s DNA is prevalent throughout this project: writer and EP Jennifer Westfeldt is a Fast Track Fellow, while cinematographer Jim Frohna is a Directing Lab Fellow. The producing team also includes Fellow Jordana Mollick and member Cathy Schulman.
LOST SOULZ
When You Can Watch: May 3
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Director: Katherine Propper
Cast: Sauve Sidle, Alexander Brackney, Malachi Mabson
Why We’re Excited: In her feature debut, filmmaker Katherine Propper examines ambition and friendship, set to a hip-hop soundtrack that will surely please fans of SoundCloud rap. After his best friend Wesley (Stillwell) overdoses at a party, aspiring rapper Sol (Sidle, also in his feature debut) leaves home on a journey of self-discovery through Texas. On the way, he joins a crew of artists en route to Los Angeles to make it in the music world. Associate Producer Dana Reilly is a Member of Film Independent.
LITTLE WING
When You Can Watch: March 13
Where You Can Watch: Paramount+
Director: Dean Israelite
Cast: Brooklynn Prince, Che Tafari, Kelly Reilly, Brian Cox
Why We’re Excited: One of our April Fi Presents screenings, this coming-of-age drama is based on a 2006 Susan Orlean article from the New Yorker. Reeling from her parents’ divorce and dreading the loss of their home, teenager Kaitlyn “Kat” (Prince) and best friend Adam (Tafari) are given two pigeons by a family friend. But they soon find themselves dragged into the world of competitive pigeon racing once Kat gets the idea of stealing a prized racing pigeon worth $120,000 from renowned breeder Jaan (Brian Cox from HBO’s Succesion), in the hopes of saving her house. Check out the post-screening Q&A with Israelite, producer Naomi Despres, and writers John Gatins and Susan Orlean here.
POOLMAN
When You Can Watch: May 10
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Director: Chris Pine
Cast: Chris Pine, Annette Bening, John Ortiz, Ariana DeBose, DeWanda Wise
Why We’re Excited: Best known for his roles as Captain Kirk in the Star Trek films as well as the star of projects ranging from The Finest Hours to Wonder Woman, Chris Pine is the latest actor to turn his attention to directing. Co-written with Ian Gotler, the Lebowski-esque neo-noir comedy follows eccentric pool cleaner Darren, an eccentric but well-intentioned activist always trying to make things better for his fellow Angelenos. When a femme fatale (Wise) asks for his help to tackle corruption in the city, he enlists the help of his best pal Dianne (two-time Spirit Award nominee, Bening) to uncover a water heist in his hometown. Producer Patty Jenkins is a Film Independent Member.
THE BLUE ANGELS
When You Can Watch: May 17
Where You Can Watch: Theaters (IMAX) and Amazon Prime (May 23)
Director: Paul Crowder
Why We’re Excited: Filmed for IMAX, this Amazon MGM Studios docuseries is a unique, in-depth look into the elite precision flying demonstration team of the United States Navy, aka the “Blue Angels.” With never-before-seen footage that takes you inside the cockpit of an F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet, the film—from producer J.J. Abrams and Top Gun: Maverick star Glen Powell—follows a squadron for a year, from the demanding selection and training regimen through the arduous eight-month show season across the globe. Viewers can enjoy the theatrical experience in IMAX for one week before the film streams globally on Prime. The producing team also includes Film Independent Members Hannah Minghella and Allison Sokol.
RIPLEY
When You Can Watch: Now
Where You Can Watch: Netflix
Creator: Steven Zaillian
Cast: Andrew Scott, Dakota Fanning, Johnny Flynn, Eliot Sumner
Why We’re Excited: Previously made famous to viewing audiences by Matt Damon in the 1999 feature adaptation of the Patricia Highsmith’s 1995 novel, this limited series’ Tom Ripley is played by Andrew Scott, a recent Spirit Award nominee for All of Us Strangers. Set in 1950s New York, cunning conman Tom Ripley (Scott) is hired by a wealthy industrialist to coax his playboy son Dickie Greenleaf (Flynn) home from an extended sojourn in Italy. But stepping into Greenleaf’s lavish world of riches proves too tempting for Tom—he’ll soon stop at nothing to claim the luxurious lifestyle as his own. Already garnering Emmy buzz after last month’s debut, the series is shot entirely in black-and-white. Line producer Joe Guest is a Film Independent Member.
SLOW
When You Can Watch: May 3
Where You Can Watch: Theaters (Limited)
Directors: Marija Kavtaradzė
Cast: Greta Grinevičiūtė, Kęstutis Cicėnas, Pijus Ganusauskas, Laima Akstinaitė
Why We’re Excited: From Film Independent Senior Programmer Jenn Wilson: “Marija Kavtaradze’s film Slow, a winner at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, is about something that’s rarely depicted on film–a romantic relationship between a heterosexual woman and a man, but in this case, the man in question happens to be asexual. Elena (Greta Grineviciute), a dance teacher, meets Dovydas (Kestutis Cicenas), a sign language interpreter, when a group of deaf students comes to take her dance class. They have instant chemistry and start hanging out, but when things start to get more intense, Dovydas (Kestutis Cicenas) reveals something unexpected: he’s an asexual man. But he’s not aromantic, which means he does not have a sexual attraction to women but can have romantic feelings for women. Greta decides to give a relationship with Dovydas a chance, but because this is a new experience for Greta, they run into conflicts. The performances in the film by the two leads are excellent, but the most spectacular thing is the storytelling and specificity about this segment of the population (asexual/aromantic) that mainstream society tends to know so little about. Of course everyone falls in a different place on the spectrum of sexuality, and the film is a great examination, no matter where you fall, of romantic feelings vs. sexual feelings and whether one can exist without the other. Slow is such a fascinating film, and Marija Kavtaradze and her performers are exciting new discoveries to watch out for.”
KEY
Film Independent Fellow or Member
Film Independent Presents Screening, Q&A
Microbudget
Filmmaker or Lead Characters of Color
Film Independent Spirit Award Winner or Nominee
Female Filmmaker
LGBT Filmmaker or Lead LGBT Characters
First-time Filmmaker
(Header: Lost Soulz)