IFC Films Will Allow Indie Theaters to Screen Library Titles for Free (EXCLUSIVE)

IFC Films is offering embattled indie theaters hundreds of films from its library to screen when they re-open from their mass COVID-19 related shutdown.

The movies, which include such IFC classics as “Y Tu Mama Tambien” and “Boyhood,” will be made available to cinemas without any rental fees. The retrospective program boasts roughly 200 films. Theaters will not be charged any film rental.

“We are honoring the partnership we’ve had with theaters over the last 20 years and we’re sending them a message of solidarity and gratefulness,” said Lisa Schwartz, co-president of IFC Films. “They’ve been with us since beginning and when they come back, we want to be there with them.”

The indie studio is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary and had been putting together programming to honor the occasion. After coronavirus closed most theaters in March, IFC began to rethink its plans.

“This was a positive way to redirect our energy and creativity at a time when there’s so much uncertainty and stress,” said Schwartz.

The studio is dubbing the initiative, “The Indie Theater Revival Project.” The films will be made available to cinemas across the U.S., starting May 29. A selection of the programs will also be presented at IFC Center, IFC Films’ cinema in New York City, when it reopens. The hope is that the library titles will help fill a programming gap. With theaters shuttered, many studios have delayed upcoming releases indefinitely, leaving arthouse cinemas with a dearth of new releases to exhibit when social distancing guidelines are relaxed.

The 20 retrospective programs available in “The Indie Theater Revival Project” include “Yes We Cannes!” (award-winners from the Cannes Film Festival); “Discover Together” (a slate of family-friendly documentaries); portraits of the famous and infamous (movies about icons and iconoclasts such as Joan Rivers and Che Guevara); outrageous genre favorites; and IFC Films’ greatest hits.

The first three retrospective programs to be announced are:
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 (Best Film) 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 (Best First Film) winners:
ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW (Miranda July, 2005)
HUNGER (Steve McQueen, 2008)

Grand Prix (Second place award) winners:
GOMORRAH (Matteo Garrone, 2008)
THE KID WITH A BIKE (Dardennes Brothers, 2011)

Jury Prize:
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 – What makes a cult icon? Only the audience can decide. Explore 10 cult hits from IFC Films.
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)