Film Independent’s Josh Welsh Talks Indie Films, IFE and Spirit Awards
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Josh Welsh, president, Film Independent (middle) with actors Rosario Dawson (right) and Diego Luna (left)
If the Golden Globes are the party of the year and the Oscars are graduation, then Film Independent’s Spirit Awards, which celebrates the best and brightest independent films from emerging and established filmmakers each year, are that first big kegger in college…cool, edgy and definitely one-of-a-kind.
Recently, Film Independent kicked Hollywood award season into high gear with the announcement of their nominees for the 30th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards. This year’s crop of nominated movies includes a film that was shot with the same cast over 12 years (Boyhood), a dark, sci-fi thriller about an alien seductress preying on men in Scotland (Under the Skin), and a self-described “Iranian Vampire Spaghetti Western” (Girl Walks Home Alone at Night). With the digital revolution unleashing a seemingly endless array of new distribution platforms, Josh Welsh, president, Film Independent says the future of independent film has never been brighter.
“I feel like we’re living in an age of incredible abundance where there are more ways that you can connect with an audience and in-flight entertainment is a big part of that, and a growing part of that.”
“There are definitely economic challenges for independent film today, as there always have ben, but, I feel like we’re living in an age of incredible abundance where there are more ways that you can connect with an audience and in-flight entertainment is a big part of that, and a growing part of that,” explains Welsh, who adds that the trend is especially exciting for filmmakers of smaller titles that may not have been released theatrically at all.
In fact, Welsh says that Film Independent has been so encouraged by the popularity of indie films in the IFE space that they’re talking to potential airline partners about teaming up to bring Film Independent’s artfully curated content to an even wider airline passenger audience.
“The idea of being able to curate some of that [IFE] content and further help those independent artists get on that platform [is] very exciting,” says Welsh. Almost as exciting as this year’s crop of Spirit Award nominees.
- Love Is Strange, Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures Classics led all comers with a whopping 15 Independent Spirit Award nominations, led by four nods apiece for Love is Strange and Whiplash and two high profile nods (Best Female Lead and Best Screenplay) for indie stalwart Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive. Fox Searchlight and relative newcomer A24 tied with six nods apiece ˆ’ all six of Searchlight’s nods went to Birdman with A24 taking home four nods for J.C. Chandor’s much buzzed-about drama A Most Violent Year and one apiece for Obvious Child and Under the Skin. Following closely behind with five nominations apiece for the films Boyhood, Nightcrawler and Selma were their respective distributors, IFC, Open Road and Paramount Pictures. And the Weinstein Company garnered three nods in all, one for Tim Burton’s upcoming Big Eyes and two for James Gray’s historical drama The Immigrant. And this being the Film Independent Spirit Awards, six of the nominated films have yet to secure distribution at all.
“The thing that stands out this year is really the diversity of films,” says Welsh. “But, also, in terms of genre, the background of the filmmakers, the types of stories they’re telling … these are just such unique, personal films and that’s what we love to celebrate at the Independent Spirit Awards.”