$ 2,500 FEATURE FILM? MUMBLECORE RULES, no excuses!

No money is not a problem anymore, actually, since the arrive of MiniDV the number of independent films has increased enormously. The new technology allows pretty much everybody to make a film. Now, how many of them are good? I would say a few of them. The trailer above is from the film Quiet City, made with a budget of $2,500 distributed theatrically by 600 West Productions. Narrates the story of Jamie a 21 years old  from Atlanta. She's come to Brooklyn to visit her friend Samantha, but she can't find her. Jamie tries calling, but Samantha's phone is dead. Jamie meets Charlie when she asks him for directions. Nothing to do and nothing but time leads them to bowls of coleslaw, footraces in the park, art shows, and after parties. The movie was released very limited (Just one theater) but it made $15,500 in box office that's a profit of 620 % against its budget, to give you an idea The Dark Knight needs to make more than a billion to have numbers like that. Quiet City also got a DVD deal so, it was a fantastic experience.

I'm a believer that if you have a fantastic story that can be made under ultra low budget circumstances, you will have success and the prove of that is the anti-movement MUMBLECORE, and I say anti-movement because according to Filmmaker Magazine "the filmmakers in this movement don’t want to be grouped into any kind of movement at all"

According to Wikipedia

"Mumblecore is an American Independent Film Movement that arose in the early 2000s. It is primarily characterized by ultra-low budget production (often employing digital video cameras), focus on personal relationships between twenty-somethings, improvised scripts, and non-professional actors. Filmmakers in this genre include Andrew Bujalski, Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass, Aaron Katz, Joe Swanberg, Todd Rohal and Ry Russo-Young.

The term "Mumblecore" was coined by Eric Masunaga, a sound editor who has worked with Bujalski. Masunaga coined the term one night at a bar during the 2005 South by Southwest Film Festival, but it was Bujalski who first used it in an interview with indieWIRE. The directors of the films are sometimes referred to collectively as "mumblecorps," as in press corps. Film journalists have also used the terms "bedhead cinema" and "Slackavetes," a reference to independent film director John Cassavetes.

The IFC Center in New York City exhibited a ten-film series of Mumblecore films in 2007, titled "The New Talkies: Generation D.I.Y."

New York-based Benten Films, a boutique DVD label run by film critics, has championed such Mumblecore titles as Swanberg's LOL, and Katz's first two films: Dance Party USA and Quiet City". 

Here a List of the Mumblecore Films

• Funny Ha Ha (2002) 
• Mutual Appreciation (2003) 
• Kissing on the Mouth (2005) 
• The Puffy Chair (2005) 
• Dance Party USA (2006) 
• LOL (2006) 
• The Guatemalan Handshake (2006) 
• Hannah Takes the Stairs (2007) 
• Quiet City (2007) 
• Hohokam (2007)
• Orphans (2007)
• Frownland (2007)
• Baghead (2008)

Comments

[Juan Luis Casañas]

Tanto "Quiet City" como "Dance Party, USA" son algo hermoso. Pareciera imposible que alguien pudiera hacer algo así con tan poco dinero en ambos casos y, sin embargo, Katz y su equipo lo lograron. En verdad son dos joyas del cine independiente gringo.
En lo personal siento mucho aprecio por las películas de Joe Swanberg. En particular cuando vi "Kissing on The Mouth" me sentí en presencia de una revelación. (El 10 de Octubre, en el IFC center, que no tengo claro donde queda pero creo que es en NYC, se estrena su cuarta película fuera del circuito de festivales. Vale recalcar que ha realizado cuatro películas en cuatro años de carrera en el mundo del largometraje.)
Para mí esos dos directores son los mejores del grupo (ojo, para mí lo son, esa es sólo mi opinión referida a mis gustos).
Luego Andrew Bujalski o los Duplass también están bien, pero en no conectan conmigo de la misma forma.
Por cierto, hay quien dice que Four Eyed Monsters pertenece a la movida Mumblecore. Yo estoy de acuerdo con esa línea de opinión.

[Leonard Zelig]

Actually the IFC it's the movie theater of the Independent Feature Channel and it is located in NYC, "Nights and Weekends" from Joe Swanberg will be premiered there in October 10.

Juan, let me ask you something, where you saw this movies? You live in Venezuela right? Did you see them in the movie theaters there?, in the U.S.? did you downloaded them? How you did? I'm curious.

[Juan Luis Casañas]

Hola, Leonard. Compré los DVD's por Amazon. Tengo una buena colección de Mumblecore, jeje.

[Juan Luis Casañas]

Ah, se me olvidaba, sí vivo en Venezuela.

[Manuel Pifano]

Como puedo adquirir esas peliculas? Quiet City y Kissing on The Mouth? Me encantaria verlas :)

[Leonard Zelig]

Hi Manuel, if you live in Venezuela you should contact Juan Luis Casañas (He commented in this entry before you), he bought those films in Amazon, maybe you can talk to him and schedule a Guerrilla Film Night or something.