In an effort to help independently-owned movie theaters recover from the coronavirus pandemic, IFC Films announced on Tuesday that it will offer over 200 of its films to those theaters without any rental fees. This will help give those theaters some classic films to screen when they reopen while they wait for new films to be released.
“Independent theaters across the country have been essential partners for us at IFC Films, and we would not be where we are today without their support,” the distributor announced in a statement. “We wanted to take the first step and let theaters know that we are committed to helping them reopen their doors by providing a selection of films to program while the new release landscape gets back to normal.”
Dubbed “The Indie Revival Project,” the program will offer selections from IFC’s catalog in various curated packs, including a “Yes We Cannes!” program of 15 films that have won awards at the Cannes Film Festival. Among the films on that list include Ken Loach’s Palme D’Or winners “I, Daniel Blake” and “The Wind That Shakes the Barley,” as well as Hirokazu Kore-eda’s touching Jury Prize-winning family drama “Like Father, Like Son.”
Also being offered is a “Greatest Hits” pack that includes Armando Iannucci’s black comedy “The Death of Stalin,” Noah Baumbach’s “Frances Ha,” Alfonso Cuaron’s “Y Tu Mama Tambien” and Richard Linklater’s Best Picture Oscar-nominated “Boyhood.” A list of IFC-released cult films is also included that includes Christopher Nolan’s debut film “Following,” Jennifer Kent’s critically-acclaimed horror film “The Babadook” and Tom Six’s critically-panned gross-out flick “The Human Centipede.”
The announcement comes a day after state governments in Georgia and Tennessee announced that a majority of businesses, including movie theaters, will be allowed to reopen as early as next week. While it is unclear how many theaters in those states will choose to reopen, those that do will not have any new films to screen until July as studios have postponed all their spring and early summer releases in response to global theater closures brought about by the pandemic. This means that theaters, especially indie theaters, will have to rely on repertory screenings until new films arrive, making IFC’s program an opportunity to provide classic films to cinephiles without rental costs.
More retrospective programs will be announced in the coming weeks. Check out the full list of IFC’s initial programs below:
Greatest Hits: Indie Blockbusters from IFC Films
BOYHOOD (Richard Linklater, 2014)
Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN (Alfonso Cuaron, 2002)
THE DEATH OF STALIN (Armando Iannucci, 2018)
CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS (Werner Herzog, 2011)
TOUCHING THE VOID (Kevin Macdonald, 2004)
45 YEARS (Andrew Haigh, 2015)
FRANCES HA (Noah Baumbach, 2013)
BUCK (Cindy Meehl, 2011)
ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW (Miranda July, 2005)
THE MAN WHO KNEW INFINITY (Matt Brown, 2015)
PHOENIX (Christian Petzold, 2014)
BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR (Abdellatif Kechiche, 2013)
Yes We Cannes! – A selection of 15 IFC Films releases that have won major prizes at the Cannes Film Festival
Palme d’or (Best Film) winners:
I, DANIEL BLAKE (Ken Loach, 2016)
DHEEPAN (Jacques Audiard, 2015)
BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR (Abdellatif Kechiche, 2013)
4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS (Cristian Mungiu, 2007)
THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY (Ken Loach, 2006)
Camera d’or (Best First Film) winners:
ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW (Miranda July, 2005)
HUNGER (Steve McQueen, 2008)
Grand Prix (Second place award) winners:
GOMORRAH (Matteo Garrone, 2008)
THE KID WITH A BIKE (Dardennes Brothers, 2011)
Jury Prize:
FISH TANK (Andrea Arnold, 2009)
LIKE FATHER LIKE SON (Hirokazu Kore-Eda, 2013)
Best Director:
PERSONAL SHOPPER (Olivier Assayas, 2016)
Best Actress – Charlotte Gainsbourg:
ANTICHRIST (Lars von Trier, 2009)
Best Actress – Juliette Binoche:
CERTIFIED COPY (Abbas Kiarostami, 2010)
Best Actor – Benicio Del Toro:
CHE (Steven Soderbergh, 2008)
Cult Icons – What makes a cult icon? Only the audience can decide. Explore 10 cult hits from IFC Films.
THE AUTOPSY OF JANE DOE (André Øvredal, 2016)
THE BABADOOK (Jennifer Kent, 2014)
COLD IN JULY (Jim Mickle, 2014)
DEPRAVED (Larry Fessenden, 2019)
FOLLOWING (Christopher Nolan, 1998)
THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT (Lars Von Trier, 2018)
THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE (Tom Six, 2009)
KILL LIST (Ben Wheatley, 2011)
SIGHTSEERS (Ben Wheatley, 2012)
VALHALLA RISING (Nicholas Winding-Refn, 2009)
WITCHING AND BITCHING (Alex De La Iglesia, 2013)