I have been very weepy lately. Since seeing Fairyland open Newfest two weeks ago, I have watched six more brand-new LGBTQIA+ films. I cried in all of them.
I have also become your friend that will give a TED talk on the state of streaming economics at any/all social functions. Invite me to a dinner party—I’d love to come— apologies in advance if we go long on comparing monetization models and the relative value to the artist.
Even if you are not a member of the advertising/media/entertainment industry, you are likely aware of the WGA’s strike and its campaign for a more equitable contract with the studios. Maybe you are keeping tabs on whether or not the actors will join at the end of the month. Even have a hot take on the directors coming to terms (early). But did you know that the indie film sales market is in a dire place? That very good completed films, many that have already premiered at prestige film festivals, made by established filmmakers, have no path to distribution? No way to be seen by you?
There’s a version of this playing out in podcasting where the content-funding bubble popped faster, but what we’re facing now in film/tv is what musicians have been yelling about for years. The details are a little different, but the net effect is the same.
When we consumers stop purchasing specific units (e.g. CDs, movie tickets) and instead pay streaming tech platforms one lump sum, we stop adding to the pool of money available for artists.1 Netflix could put out 12 new things this month, or 10x that, but you aren’t giving them more incremental money either way. For a while, creatives in the industry were the beneficiaries of cheap capital and growth-at-all-costs corporate strategies. More (content) is more (subs)! This cash flurry enabled a much wider, more diverse range of stories to get to screens. No longer.
I want to give you inspo and a cocktail, not a take-over-the-table tirade. Plus, there are many podcasts, journalists, and entire newsletters offering more detailed analyses.2
So, pretend we’re ordering our second round—here’s my pitch:
We continue to have indie bookstores because we actively choose the less efficient, and sometimes more expensive option. Not only do bookstores still exist, more keep opening. 15 in Minnesota since 2020! Might an art house theater revival be in the future?
Film and television famously take years to make. It will likely be many months, even years, before you start to feel the programming impact of what is not getting greenlit or purchased today. If you are someone who cares about indie film, who wants to continue to see new, interesting, diverse stories on screen that transcend user-generated content distributed in an endless scroll—then now is the time to put your money where your heart is: buy a movie ticket, attend a film festival, donate to a film fundraising campaign, support a media support organziation. And if you need help finding one, I’d be delighted to connect you.
Now, onto the films!
In the order I screened them…
👠 THE STROLL
Co-directors Kristen Lovell and Zackary Drucker’s The Stroll centers transgender sex workers’ stories to tell the history of the Meatpacking District. Sex. Meat. Cops. Real Estate. HBO/Rooftop Films/Newfest pulled off an incredible only-in-NYC night screening on the very streets documented in the film.
Highly recommend tuning in when The Stroll begins streaming on Max—June 21.
⚽ OUR SON
Screen hotties Billy Porter and Luke Evans play gay dads living their best well-funded life in a Brooklyn brownstone when the stress of parenting undoes them. Cue bitter custody battle. Divorce. Gay dads. Heartbroken kid. I had tears streaming down my face.
The quiet power of Our Son is how director/co-writer Bill Oliver shows the subtle ways that queers create families differently. There was an affair, but it wasn’t the affair. Whether a celebration or a crisis, there is a chosen family ready to rally.
After the screening, I explained to someone involved in the film that I was skipping the party to go pick up my daughter up from her co-parent’s house. “I had a queer dad who got divorced, I’m a queer dad who got divorced.” This stranger gave me a bear hug.
This was Our Son’s premiere. Stay tuned… Follow Bill Oliver.
🟣 EVERY BODY
Here’s your chance to buy a movie ticket and support a phenomenal doc fortunate enough to have a wide release.
Every Body is a beautiful, revelatory look at the lives of intersex people. Director Julie Cohen (RBG) weaves together archival footage with the stories of three intersex activists—Sean Saifa Wall, Alicia Roth Weigel, and River Gallo—who have transcended secrecy, shame, and non-consensual surgeries to make meaningful change. Every Body also brilliantly underscores how misogyny and sexism are the shared undercurrents behind so much bigotry.
This is a big indie doc release for the summer. Please consider supporting the film. Learn more and support the activists via interACT.
Focus Features releases Every Body in theaters June 30.
📼 CHASING CHASING AMY
Ok—this is a film I didn’t know I needed.
Sundance 1994, two iconic groundbreaking indies premiered: Kevin Smith’s Clerks and Rose Troche’s Go Fish. If you want a fast way to explain my version of the 90s, know that I wore the tape out of my local Blockbuster’s copy of Go Fish. I never bothered to watch Clerks.
Sundance 1997, Kevin Smith premiered Chasing Amy. Kevin Smith was not my guy, but I watched because I was hungry for any representations of queers on screen. Joey Lauren Adams was the kind of cute blonde femme I frequently fall for. Also, comics.3 The film has an awk legacy with many fans and critics. An understatement to say that the film is not beloved by lesbians.
What Go Fish was for me, Chasing Amy was for director Sav Rodgers. Chasing Chasing Amy is a personal narrative documentary about one fan’s quest to make meaning of a film’s outsize influence on his life and its larger cultural legacy. I laughed. I cried. I thought a ton about how much has actually changed since the 90s. Especially for queer/trans filmmakers.
The film is getting great reviews. You can watch online June 19–July 2 via Tribeca At Home platform. (Trailer) And hopefully coming to more festivals/screens soon. Follow Sav.
⛰️ TRANSITION
This film! A logline I wouldn’t believe if I hadn’t watched myself:
Transition follows Australian filmmaker Jordan Bryon as he undergoes transition while embedded with Taliban forces.
What?! In awe of Jordan’s bravery and artistry. I complain about the stupidity of how testosterone and needles are distributed in New York, but this is nothing compared to the lengths others must go to feel whole. In Afghanistan, and increasingly here in the US.
The film premiered at Tribeca so keep an eye out for it coming to a film festival near you. Follow Jordan Bryon for updates.
🎸 IT’S ONLY LIFE AFTER ALL
Back in 2014, I saw some behind-the-scenes footage of the Indigo Girls online and tracked down the creator, emailing…
I’ve long held a fantasy of myself (or someone else) making a feature length doc on Amy & Emily. I hope that it happens one day. Maybe one is already in the works.
She wrote back that yes, there would be a doc—eventually.
I’d love to hear the long road to get to today, the doc It’s Only Life After All premiered at Sundance in January and screened at Tribeca last night.
My literal dream come true.
It was a life highlight to be in attendance. I cried from the first frame to the last; the entire film I was wiping tears witnessing my heroes live their humble, passionate, creative, imperfect lives. All the while remembering the numerous ways their art and activism positively influenced my life. What a gift to watch the film amongst so many people Amy and Emily have impacted. And to run into old friends in the crowd.
Also—the film is objectively great. Well-edited archival footage, beautifully composed and thoughtfully produced new interviews. Obviously a great soundtrack.
After the show, Amy and Emily took to the stage and discussed their songwriting styles with journalist Abigail Covington. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve seen them play (over 15?) but this was the first in-person, relaxed conversation, breaking down their artistry. Live events! What a streamer can’t give you!
The film does not have distribution yet (see earlier monologue) but screens once more on Saturday at Tribeca in NYC and at the SF Castro Theater next week. Go.
Rec keeping an eye out for director Alexandria Bombach and producer Jess Devaney’s production company Multitude Films.
may we all be closer to fine, happy pride!
xx Kyle
Ad-supported media operates similarly to the box office. The more you watch, the more money exchanges hands. Not so for ad-free, subscription streaming services.
A few of my favorite places to keep up with the business: KCRW’s The Business with Kim Masters, Matt Belloni’s Puck newsletter and The Town podcast, The Ankler’s Strikegeist. What am I missing?
Gonna just bury my love of Ben Affleck down here in the footnote where maybe you won’t notice. I don’t know, 90s Ben is/was really appealing. And the one time he stood next to me for 5 mins at work I reconsidered my sexuality.
Seeing Indigo Girls at Stern Grove on Sunday!!!