Light From Light

Paul Harrill’s second feature, Light From Light (2019) is an even stronger, more assured work than his marvelous first feature Something, Anything (2014). The film played at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival where it received very positive reviews from bothRead More

Red Rocket

I was given the opportunity to write about any American indie film for the new “21st Century Film Essentials” series from UT Press. I chose The Florida Project (2017) because I believe that Sean Baker is simply one of theRead More

Sean Baker Book: The Florida Project

Sean Baker’s latest film Red Rocket opens in LA and NYC this weekend, so you might imagine how busy he is at the moment. Yet he found the time to post a video about my recently published book on TheRead More

The Florida Project Book

At long last, my new book on Sean Baker’s indie film The Florida Project (2017) was published last week. It’s the 3rd book in a series entitled 21st Century Film Essentials from University of Texas Press, and the 4th filmRead More

I’ll Come Running

Posted on : by : jjmurphy

Although many indie filmmakers—Gus Van Sant, Matthew Porterfield and Joe Swanberg, among others—have used more minimal forms of scripts, such as outlines and treatments, Spencer Parsons and Line Langebek [Knudsen] have argued in favor of a more detailed and “overwritten”Read More

The 8th Screenwriting Research Network (SRN) International Conference Call for Papers

Posted on : by : jjmurphy

The 8th Screenwriting Research Network (SRN) International Conference Call for Papers Screenwriting: Text and Performance The 8th Screenwriting Research Network (SRN) International Conference will take place at the University of London, UK on Thursday 10th to Saturday 12th September 2015.Read More

I Used to Be Darker

Posted on : by : jjmurphy

Matt Porterfield gained prominence in indie film circles with Putty Hill (2011), a second feature that was shot using a short outline after financing fell through on a more ambitious scripted project. A mixture of documentary and fictional elements, PuttyRead More

Pavilion

Posted on : by : jjmurphy

Tim Sutton’s debut feature Pavilion (2012) begins like a conventional narrative, but then confounds viewer expectations. Those waiting for a story to coalesce will no doubt be puzzled when the film veers off in surprising directions. The focus on characters,Read More