By Alton Jerome McFarland
Whether seeking information on the latest project from a favorite
director or searching for updates on the latest at Cannes, websurfers
need look no further than IndieWIRE (located at www.indiewire.com).
A one-stop source for everything related to independent film, IndieWIRE
provides a great mix of objective information and editorial content.
Styled more like a conventional news site than anything else, IndieWIRE
does a good job of maintaining an aura of professionalism. The main
page features, original articles, news, reviews, and interviews along
with links to information about film festivals and production schedules.
Along with being an interesting news source for the independent filmgoer,
IndieWIRE also manages to be an invaluable resource for the independent
filmmaker. With sections offering information on submission deadlines
and events, the site has a lot of content specific to those who actually
make films. There is even a Classifieds section where users can seek
or sell everything from cameras to acting lessons.
With its discussion board, coupled with the searchable archives of
their reviews and interviews, IndieWIRE is entertaining as well as
informative. When I first visited the site, I was drawn in by the
latest information about the Sundance Film Festival, but ended up
staying to read reviews of upcoming films and interviews with prominent
figures in the industry. IndieWIRE truly has something for
everyone.
The success of a site like IndieWIRE, which has been around
in some form since 1995, is a clear sign of the changing structure
of today's entertainment industry. With the growing popularity of
independent films, reliable sources of information about those films
and their creators become more and more valuable. As technology progresses,
sophisticated film equipment becomes cheaper and available to more
people. The resulting flood of independent films into a market previously
monopolized by a few established names, has created a formidable segment
of the industry that is able to operate outside the boundaries of
traditional Hollywood film production. As the public's dissatisfaction
with typical film fare becomes increasingly obvious through the success
of more and more low-budget and foreign films, the world of independent
film has been legitimized many times over. And just as Hollywood needs
its Entertainment Tonights, Access Hollywoods, and other
blunt instruments of media coverage/hype, independent films need their
IndieWIREs to report on and represent the substance that distinguishes
them from their counterparts in Tinseltown.