In an aim to help now-shuttered independent theaters, IFC Films will allow cinemas to screen 200 of its library titles for free once they open back up. The distributor hopes that favorites like “Frances Ha,” “Y Tu Mamá También,” and even “The Human Centipede” will help drive audiences back to theaters in the coming months, a time when fewer and fewer new releases are being scheduled.
The Indie Theater Revival Project‘s offerings will be available to theaters beginning May 29, with traditional rental fees for library titles waived for theaters in the first 30 days that they’re open, starting from whatever date they reopen their doors. That means more money in the pockets in the form of ticket sales for local theater owners who have been faced with a near-zero revenue stream after closing their doors last month.
The announcement comes as the likelihood of theaters reopening in select states in the coming weeks looks increasingly likely. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced this week he’ll allow movie theaters in his state to reopen starting April 27. That falls in line with President Donald Trump’s three-phase plan to reopen the economy. The first phase calls for large venues like cinemas to reopen their doors under social distancing protocols, provided a given state or region has seen a downward trajectory of documented cases and meets other criteria.
The National Association of Theatre Owners previously said it envisions theaters to begin reopening by late May or early June. But theaters will be faced with a challenge of coaxing the previously locked-down masses out of their homes and giving them a reason to head to cinemas. Many distributors have pushed back some of the biggest summer releases to the fall or next year — from Marvel’s “Black Widow,” to Searchlight’s Wes Anderson comedy “The French Dispatch,” and “The Sopranos” prequel “The Many Saints of Newark” from Warner Bros.
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“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 company said 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.”
IFC has assembled 20 retrospective programs that include some 200 films. Theaters can book as many of the programs as they’d like, in whole or in part. Some programs will screen at IFC Center in Manhattan.
Meantime, IFC continues to have a full slate of films dated for summer, including the Beanie Feldstein starrer “How to Build a Girl” on May 8, Shannon Murphy’s “Babyteeth” on June 19, and “Tesla,” starring Ethan Hawke as Nikola Tesla and Kyle MacLachlan as Thomas Edison, on August 21.
Here are the first three programs announced by IFC.
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 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 winners:
ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW (Miranda July, 2005)
HUNGER (Steve McQueen, 2008)
Grand Prix winners:
GOMORRAH (Matteo Garrone, 2008)
THE KID WITH A BIKE (Dardennes Brothers, 2011)
Jury Prize winners:
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
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)
More information on the project is available at IFC Films’ website.
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