IndieCollect Celebrates 50th Restoration By Announcing Advisory Board Featuring Mary Harron, Ethan Hawke, Todd Solondz & Many More

Sadly, when folks talk about the state of the film industry, they often forget to talk about the issues facing independent filmmaking. Thankfully, there is an organization such as IndieCollect, who not only wants to raise awareness of indie filmmaking and the landmark features that have been released over the decades but also a group committed to making sure classic indie films don’t get “left behind,” which is an unfortunate reality.

One of the ways IndieCollect contributes to its #SaveIndieFilm mission is by spotlighting oft-forgotten indie works with beautiful new digital restorations. And in honor of the group’s 50th such restoration, IndieCollect not only is celebrating by launching a new website, but also by announcing the first class of filmmakers and independent cinema champions who are going to help spread the mission throughout the industry. 

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“It is absolutely thrilling to reach this milestone, take a quick victory lap, and then aim for the next 50,” said IndieCollect president Sandra Schulberg. “Through our work we’ve realized many filmmakers don’t know if their original film and sound elements survive let alone where they are located. Fewer can afford 4K digital restorations, and even fewer are making plans for what happens to their films after they die. Digital motion picture files are even more vulnerable than celluloid, which spells disaster for today’s indie filmmakers. That’s why we started IndieCollect — to raise awareness and ‘future-proof’ these essential works.”

Restoration Services Manager Cameron Haffner added, “We have six incredible films poised to cross the 50th restoration mark by mid-December, all by women directors: ‘Suspect’ by Darnell Martin; ‘Suzanne, Suzanne’ by Camille Billops & James Hatch; ‘Possum Living’ by Nancy Schreiber; ‘Under This Sky’ by Randa Haines; ‘Healthcaring’ by Denise Bostrom & Jane Warrenbrand; and ‘Weeki Wachee Girls’ by Kim Cummings. Additionally, we have just finished restoring the fun music video ‘Put Your Hand Inside The Puppet Head,’ shot on film by Adam Bernstein for iconic Brooklyn band They Might Be Giants.”

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Of the 50 restorations in IndieCollect’s history (you can see the entire catalog here), the non-profit touts amazing diversity and inclusivity with the majority (nearly 60%) of films are by women directors (including co-directors), 20% are by African-American directors, and 30% are by directors who identify as LGBTQ+.

In addition to the announcement of the latest films being restored by the organization, IndieCollect announced the first class of people joining the Advisory Council, comprised of filmmakers and indie film champions who will help raise consciousness about IndieCollect’s mission. The first class of Advisory Council members includes Beth B, Joe Berlinger, Michelle Byrd, Chaz Ebert, Su Friedrich, Nicole Guillemet, John Hart, Julie Hebert, Mary Harron, Ethan Hawke, Rachael Horovitz, Warrington Hudlin, Jon Kamen, Nancy Kelly, Jason Kliot, Barbara Kopple, Fran Kuzui, Rick Linklater, Jim McKay, Gary Moore, Greg Nava, Victor Nunez, Jacki Ochs, Jan Oxenberg, Janet & John Pierson, Christopher Racster, Alexandre Rockwell, Jeff Sharp, Todd Solondz, Whit Stillman, Julie Taymor, Mario Van Peebles, Joana Vicente, Marc Weiss, and Josh Welsh

To learn more about the IndieCollect mission, you can visit the new website here. There, you can learn all that the non-profit is doing to help preserve the beauty of indie cinema, which is obviously something we all love.