As hip as they may seem, they are still few and far between
these days. They have been able to take their unique vision of the
world, their own edgy take on the human condition and pummel
through the seemingly insurmountable, revenue-driven beast that is
the American movie industry. They are the small band of directors,
screenwriters, producers, actors and artists that create
independent films.

They may have their own movie channel, but they are far from
thriving.

There is a reason it now costs roughly three dollars more to see
a movie at a Landmark arthouse than at a generic cineplex: indies
rarely make money. Then again, the films the Tivoli screens aren’t
prefaced by commercials for Pepsi and SUVs.

The indie subculture understands that people go to the movies
for lots of reasons–to escape, to laugh, to cry, to live life
through someone else’s eyes for a few hours–but they don’t go for
commercials. They can do that walking down the street for free.

All the same, indies need financial support or else they’ll be
replaced in a week or two. Thus, your admission fee is a vote of
confidence in the importance of original art–which is certainly a
worthy cause.

Popular culture (Hollywood’s barometer) has always tried to snub
films that were different and woke it up from the exercise in
complacency we call modern life. Yet time and again movies that do
just that, movies with teeth, prove to be most popular.

Coppola was almost scrapped as The Godfather’s director, Welles’
only prints of Citizen Kane were almost burned and, upon its
release, Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey was billed as a colossal
flop by Warner Bros.’ moneymen. Yet all of these are now essential
chapters in the story of the power of the moving image.

So buck up the extra $3 every now and then and venture into the
world of independent cinema. Who knows? Your contribution may push
a forgotten jewel into the popular realm and save it from obscurity
for all of posterity.

–Andrew Ivers