Cannes spotlights New York as indie cinema powerhouse

NEW YORK: New York directors Noah Baumbach and the Safdie brothers, who have films in the running for this year´s Palme d´Or in Cannes, spotlight the vitality of independent cinema in America´s cultural capital.

Thousands of miles from the bright lights of Hollywood, New York has for decades been an inspiration for greats in US cinema, a tradition that binds Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese to today´s independent community.

They meet at the KGB, a bar in the East Village, or at showings at the Film Forum, which has been welcoming cinema lovers for nearly 50 years on Houston Street.

"There´s absolutely a circle of film geeks," said filmmaker Nathan Silver, who moved from Massachusetts to the Big Apple just days before the September 11, 2001 attacks and whose latest film "Thirst Street" is just out.

"A lot of directors are using the same cinematographers, composers. I rather enjoy it. I like being able to go to a movie and recognize everyone who´s in the theater."

Fellow New Yorker Oscar Boyson has co-produced two of Baumbach´s films and two feature films with Josh and Benny Safdie, including "Good Time" -- the bank robber flick in the running for this year´s Palme d´Or.

"It feels that there´s a lot of support and people do assist each other," said Jonathan Wacks, founding director and professor at New York´s Barry R. Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema, the only film school in the United States built on a working film lot.