Throughout his career–from Incendies (2010) to Blade Runner 2049 (2017) and now Dune–Villeneuve has remained steadfastly loyal to the independent filmmaking frame of mind. His career loyalty, Villeneuve says, is to story–not to the studios paying to make his movies. Said the director: “My loyalty is to cinema. I have a sacred relationship with cinema; it is like a kind of religion.”

Watching a Ramin Bahrani movie feels how I imagine it must to be a method actor preparing for a role. So immersive and tactile is his filmmaking that, by the end of Chop Shop I felt like, if dropped off in Queens with nothing to my name, I could probably earn some dough by buffing scratches out of cars, selling bootleg DVDs and, if desperate enough, snatching a purse or two.

First-time filmmaker Maggie Gyllenhaal is joined by cast members Dakota Johnson, Peter Sarsgaard and Paul Mescal to discuss the Elena Ferrante adaptation 'The Lost Daughter', streaming on Netflix.

As part of our weeklong takeover of the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills last week, Film Independent’s Bring the Noise series returned–revived and reimagined by none other than the sublimely lyrical French film composer Alexandre Desplat.

Guest moderator Janelle Riley (Deputy Awards & Features Editor, Variety) talks to the band Sparks, brothers Ron and Russell Mael, about their debut movie musical, the Leos Carax collaboration 'Annette'.