independent film

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IFC Center Lobbies For an Expansion That Would Bring Six New Screens

Rendering via IFC Center

Rendering via IFC Center

Anyone who has visited the IFC Center in winter knows the particular pain of waiting in line for a popular film in the freezing cold. No, it’s not an effort to separate the diehard arthouse film enthusiasts from the weak dilettantes. The center, formerly the Waverly Theater and before that a church, is just really old and the owners sacrificed lobby space for screens. But now, relief for those long lines– and much more– may be on the way. The IFC Center is preparing for a serious upgrade, with plans to double the size of its building and add six new screens.

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I Visited an Outlaw Motorcycle Club's HQ to Hang With Some Vampires

(Photo: Nicole Disser)

(Photo: Nicole Disser)

A few things came to mind when I though about what I might encounter during a visit to the Bushwick headquarters of the outlaw motorcycle gang, Forbidden Ones. And none of them involved peace and harmony. For one, there’s the image of the old-timey cast iron cannon one member allegedly sold to an undercover NYPD officer a few years back (definitely the most hilarious of the items that led to a slew of criminal weapons trafficking charges brought against a number of the club’s members). And then there was the unmistakable visage of Tatu Jesus, an FO with a preference for blood-red contact lenses, heavy chains, and black leather.
It’s hard to explain until you see him, but Tatu looks exactly like a vampire biker. Naturally. Which makes sense, seeing that I was invited here by was Eric Rivas, the director of Vamp Bikers Trilogy. The Brooklyn-born-and-bred filmmaker was wrapping up part three, starring Michael Alig as a Club Kid zombie alongside “authentic, real outlaw bikers.” (The second installment, Vamp Bikers Dos, screens tonight, March 1, at 8:45 p.m., as part of Anthology Film Archives’ New Filmmakers series.) 
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DIY Venue Aviv Is Dipping Its Toes Into Underground Cinema

11070082_10205082200627238_7206259708723299086_oDo you sneer at the Iron Man franchise? Do Twilight and 50 Shades of Grey provide you with positively no ironic pleasure? Did you feel that Boyhood was just another celebration of the magic of white male experience? Well, perhaps underground film is more your thing then. And if there’s one thing we can never get enough of it’s avant-garde art and experimental work because, like, isn’t that what living in New York City is all about? Well, maybe it used to be. But let’s make it that way again.

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