Chattanooga Pulse

Written by Janis Hashe
Wednesday, 25 February 2009 20:05

All in all, Oscar kind of rocked this year. (People who are still whining about, “Why no Dark Knight or Iron Man for Best Picture”, please, get over it.)

The global nature of the film industry was on full display, as British, Indian, Japanese, French, German, Spanish and other film artists took awards alongside their American peers. And as has been Oscar’s habit the last few years, the “little” films took most of the “big” awards.

As they should have done. The Academy Awards are not populist, nor were they ever designed to be. They are awarded by the people who make, direct, act, shoot and design films, and they are designed to award excellence.

OK, having lived in Los Angeles for 25 years, I know “The Industry” loves rags-to-riches stories (Slumdog Millionaire), comeback stories (The Wrestler), and actors going outside their comfort zone (Milk). But those films genuinely are (with WALL-E) the best of 2008. And if you haven’t seen them, I urge you to do so. It’s likely the ones not currently playing here will return for at least short engagements post-Oscar.

Allow me a short rant. I recently read an article in a publication that shall remain nameless in which a local theatre operator said something akin to, “Well, people say they want these independent films, but then they don’t come to see them.” To which I retort, “You’re giving many of these movies one week to find an audience. One week is not enough time for many people to get out and see a movie, especially if they have not seen a review or reviews.” Small films need buzz, and that is hard to achieve in a city the size of Chattanooga. But those of us who love independent films continue to search for ways to bring more of them to town. Stay tuned for further developments on this.