Alternative film scene has great presence in Bloomington

By Jeffrey Brandt
(Jeffrey's bio)

• Films bring community and students together
• Bringing an alternative film venue to Bloomington
• Marketing for a different group of film fans
• Making independent films with little money

With a freshly pressed juice in her hand, Madeline Leung sits on the hard wooden benches outside the Laughing Planet Café. She loves perfect nights like this. Sitting outside at night, in the warm weather…watching a movie.

The sound quality isn’t the best, and the cars driving by can be a bother. But for Leung, and others, it’s worth it to put up with all of these things for a night of rest and relaxation with a good independent flick.

Photo by Jeffery Brandt

Madeline Leung enjoys independent films. She wants to see a independent film festival come to Bloomington.

Dark rooms, uncomfortable seats, and less-than-perfect film projection may not seem too inviting. But on almost any given night there are rooms all across Bloomington filled with independent film buffs. They watch the unusual, bizarre, different, and familiar films of the past. They know that there are other films to be found, not just the popular films playing at the commercial movie theater.

“Kerasotes isn’t the only place to see a great film playing,” said Lauren Weinberg, an IU junior. Foreign films, new artistic releases, Blaxploitation films, old Hollywood, and even independent films by IU students can bee seen in several places throughout town.

Often times students and Bloomington residents who like independent films don’t know where to find them, especially if they are new to Bloomington. Leung is an IU junior who has been watching independent films since her senior year of high school in Detroit.

Leung said that there are many different independent movie venues available in Detroit. When she came to IU, she wasn’t sure if she would be able to find the movies she really likes. To her surprise she found out early that Bloomington has many opportunities to see an independent film.

Back to top

The first film Leung watched in Bloomington was in the fall of her freshman year. It was Nude Girls Unite, a film about women in the sex industry unionizing. Since then she has been a regular at the many film venues in Bloomington.

She often attends the Ryder Film Series in the Fine Arts Building and at the Laughing Planet. The Ryder shows films at the Fine Arts Building, Bear’s, and during the summer at Bryan Park and at the Laughing Planet.

Leung doesn’t limit herself to only the Ryder. She also attends the East Asian Cultural film series, and other films sponsored by the different academic departments on campus.

She finds that Bloomington is a melting pot for the independent and alternative film scene. “Bloomington is a great example for independent films,” said Leung. “A lot of times when I go to independent films there are community members there, not just students,” said Leung. “The town is accommodating to students.”

Leung would love to see an independent film festival come to Bloomington. She feels that it would fare well with the community and with students. She also feels that an independent movie theater would do well in Bloomington. “It’s a shame the Von Lee Theater closed,” said Leung. “I can see it being a flourishing business…it would be a shame to leave it as it is now.”

Leung still likes to visit familiar independent film venues in Detroit whenever she goes home. “The Detroit Institute of Art shows foreign films…Royal Oak shows independent films,” says Leung. But the independent film scene in Bloomington has become a part of her life now.

Leung is only one of many members in Bloomington who drive the arts. A study commissioned by the American for the Arts organization found that nonprofit arts organizations and audiences in Bloomington generate $44.5 million in economic activity. This proves that even nonprofit art groups are significant parts of the Bloomington business life.

The study found that for its population group, Bloomington ranks above Boulder, Lawrence and Springfield, Ohio. However, it ranks below Santa Fe, Asheville, N.C., and Niagara Falls, N.Y.

Back to top

Peter Lopilato is the editor of The Ryder. The Ryder hosts most of the independent films shown in Bloomington. It sponsors the films at the Fine Arts Building, Bear’s, The Laughing Planet Café, and co-sponsors the Bryan Park films with the Bloomington Parks and Recreation department.

Logo courtesy of Bear's Web site

Bear's is more than just a bar. Bear's is one of the handful of Bloomington venues that host showings of independent films.

Lopilato has been a driving force in the Bloomington art economy since he started The Ryder in 1979. Although he may have never written, directed or produced his own film, he knows a good independent when he sees one.

He became interested in independent films in the early '80s. One of his favorite early independents is Sex, Lies, and Videotape, a film he has shown at the Ryder films. He showed the early independent movies when the commercial theaters didn’t. He has been a fan of independent films from the beginning. He said that the popularity of independent films usually goes in two- or three-year cycles. “The last 18 months have been a good stretch, but I can’t say if it will be permanent,” he said.

Lopilato has seen numerous alternative film venues close and open throughout his time in Bloomington. He has seen the closing of the Von Lee theatre, as well as the closing and reopening of the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre (BCT).

The BCT was donated to the Bloomington Area Arts Council in 1995, after being owned and closed by the Kerasotes theater chain. Kerasotes insisted in the donation agreement that the BCT not show any films so business at other Bloomington Kerasotes theaters wouldn’t suffer.

Managers of the BCT and the Kerasotes theater chain recently reached an agreement that the BCT may show theatrical films that have been released for at least a year.

The agreement was reached so that the BCT could earn some extra revenue and help alleviate some of the debts the theater currently has without harming the profits of the Kerasotes film theatres in Bloomington.

Through it all the Ryder films have continued to be a success. “Success is when people come and they enjoy the film, and talk about it afterwards, and I think that happens,” said Lopilato of the Ryder films.

Back to top

Paul Heyde is another film organizer in Bloomington. He is the only full-time staff member of the Black Film Center Archive (BFCA), yet he still has enough time to organize at least a few film events on campus. He has recently been working with the Black Graduate Students Association to promote black films and discussion groups.

These films expose IU students and Bloomington residents to other movie opportunities. Heyde said that he feels that Bloomington has been going through a change. As the Ryder and other independent film showings are becoming more popular, students and Bloomington residents are going to these venues instead of Kerasotes.

The films shown by the BFCA are usually small. Mostly students come to see the films. “It’s different marketing,” said Heyde. He also said that Bloomington is going through a change. “People are becoming more interested in other movie opportunities, not just those films offered by Kerasotes,” said Heyde.

Leung said that if Bloomington continues to attract people to bring alternative film venues, then diverse films will continue to be available. However, without the independent filmmakers, independent films wouldn’t exist.

Back to top

Matthew Weinberg is a graduate student at Harvard. He is an independent filmmaker who recently made his first movie with his brother, called Mower, Blower, Whacker.

Weinberg recently completed the editing for the film. It is a comedy about a landscaper in Kansas City who is a musician by night. It has been released at a limited number of venues.

With the advancement of technology making it cheaper for everyday people to produce films, more and more independent filmmakers are surfacing. Now the territory of feature filmmaking is open to anybody, and not just to those who could afford all of the expensive equipment.

Weinberg decided to shoot in a digital format instead of film because it is inexpensive and is fast and easy to edit. “Money is hard to come by,” said Weinberg. “You have to know your limits…but if you have a good story, why not give it a try.”

He has been to Bloomington on several occasions, and said he enjoys Ryder’s films at the Fine Arts Building. “Bloomington is fertile ground for great independent film makers,” said Weinberg. Bloomington has big-city resources, but a small town community that loves to help. He also said that any college town has a great base for crew and actors because many students have time.

Back to top