There's not much new that I've seen this week.  For fans of the franchise, the big block-buster X-men Apocalypse is out, plus a couple of smaller offerings with limited releases. Visit www.cinephilia.net.au for reviews of Harry and the Snowman, a heart-warming horse story, and Highly Strung, a tale for lovers of violins. 

However I'm here to tell you of an exciting new festival featuring films from America's independent filmmakers, and a long way from the mainstream of popcorn movie-going. 

Essential Independents: American Cinema, Now is showing at Palace Como and Palace Westgarth.  

32 films will screen, with fourteen of them having their premier in this two-week festival which opened yesterday, May 18th. 

From feature films to docos to experimental films there is something thought-provoking and excitingly fresh in all of this.  A few old favourites will also be there, including Blood Simple, The Virgin Suicides, Cruising, and Midnight Cowboy.

A couple I've personally previewed are:

Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures. A revealing and confronting doco on the famed photographer who died of AIDS back in the 1980s. This is top level-documentary making, outlining the artist's life and featuring the most stunning photos which shocked and amazed the world. Be warned: if you are at all prudish, you'll be alarmed.

(T)error: a most timely doco about an FBI informant who decides to invite a camera crew into his latest surveillance job. There is humour and tension, but ultimately a disturbing message about the prices being paid today for all the paranoia around security. 

We're Still Here: Johnny Cash's Bitter Tears Revisited: This is a must see for fans of Cash who once made a a critically unsuccessful album featuring protest songs about the American Indian. Today renowned musos like Emmy Lou Harris  and several other notables are remaking that album. 

Yosemite: A gentle and melancholy film about three young boys whose lives intersect as they move in the world between childhood and adolescence. Although nothing dramatic happens in this tale (based upon short stories by James Franco), there is something poignantly beautiful about the innocence of the boys' world, and the knowledge that bad things can and do happen. Definitely a film to immerse in and savour. 

To view the entire program visit:

http://www.essentialindependents.com/

And to book tickets visit: 

http://www.palacecinemas.com.au/festivals/essentialindie/