An observatory of independent cinema — published weekly since MMXXVI
An observatory for independent cinema.
We are a small editorial desk in West Los Angeles that reads films the way our grandparents read newspapers — slowly, with margins and cups of coffee. Every Friday we publish a short bulletin on the week in independent film: a lead essay, five posters, four filmmakers, and a column of notes. No algorithms. No autoplay. A hand-set page.
Still from «Halfmoon» (dir. E. Kovacs, 2025) — featured this weekFrame 0042 · 35mm
This week’s bulletin — five films to readNo. 03 / 2026
Halfmoon
E. Kovacs · 96 min
Green Room, Quiet Room
A. Osei · 74 min
Saltlands
T. Nakagawa · 112 min
Night Draft
J. Reeves · 68 min
Archival Light
M. Ferrante · 51 min
Programs — four editorial desks§ II
01
Documentary
Feature and mid-length non-fiction, with particular attention to observational cinema and the essay form. Twice-monthly reviews; a rolling list of what is worth the drive.
Fiction under thirty minutes: graduate thesis work, festival standouts and early cuts from directors we will all be reading about two winters from now.
Independent features from American and international studios under 50 people. We interview producers, read the call sheets and watch the rough cuts so you do not have to.
Documentary and slow-cinema director. Her third feature, Halfmoon, premiered at Locarno in August and is the subject of this week’s lead essay. Currently in residence through June.
Amara Osei
Green Room Collective · Accra — Marseille
Short-form dramatist whose interior fictions are set, almost always, in rooms where very little happens for very long. Her collected shorts are screening as a single program throughout April.
Theo Nakagawa
Saltlands Studio · Portland, Oregon
Landscape-documentary work. Saltlands is a 112-minute meditation on the high desert north of the Great Salt Lake, shot over fourteen months in 16mm and sound design.
Marcella Ferrante
Archival Light · Rome
Visual essayist whose work constructs short histories out of 1970s Italian television advertising. Teaches found-footage practice at the IULM once every spring.
Index of terms — a short film glossary, A through H§ IV
A — 01Aspect RatioThe ratio of width to height of the film frame; 1.33:1 is the television standard, 2.39:1 the modern anamorphic wide.
B — 02B‑RollSupporting footage cut under narration or dialogue; often drawn from location work or the archive.
C — 03ChiaroscuroA lighting approach built on strong contrasts between illuminated and shadowed areas; borrowed from Renaissance painting.
D — 04Diegetic SoundSound whose source exists within the world of the film — a radio, a footstep, an off-screen voice.
E — 05Eyeline MatchA continuity cut that joins a character’s look to the object or person looked at; the principal mechanism of narrative looking.
F — 06FoleyEveryday sound effects re-performed in a studio and mixed over the image; named for Jack Foley, RKO, 1920s.
G — 07GradingThe post-production stage where colour and contrast are shaped to give a film its final visual tone.
H — 08HandheldCamerawork performed without a tripod or stabiliser; a signature of direct cinema and a lingua franca of modern documentary.
If you have made a film and want it read carefully, submit a film →