Here at the AFF, we are excited to announce our partnership with Big Indie Pictures for the Big Indie Pictures Screenplay Fellowship. Big Indie has partnered on some amazing projects over the years and our staff is excited to share their favorites.
Founded in 2006, Big Indie is a film, television, and documentary production company based in New York that is predominantly known for its work in independent film on projects like Still Alice, Manchester by the Sea, and Captain Fantastic. Big Indie has an extensive production services arm that has partnered on recent projects like Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Swarm, Daisy Jones and the Six, Underground Railroad, Being the Ricardos and many others. Big Indie also recently produced Michael Shannon’s directorial debut Eric LaRue.
“We are thrilled to partner with the Austin Film Festival and its 2024 iteration. The festival’s focus on writers and independent cinema could not feel more timely. Our goal for this partnership with AFF is to assist in continuing its efforts in supporting up and coming artists and filmmakers as they make their way into the industry. We can’t wait to start reading and looking forward to being inspired!”
– Karl Hartman, Big Indie Pictures
Big Indie is credited with producing incredible projects more than nearly 2 decades. See some of AFF staff’s favorites below:
Daisy Jones and the Six, 2023
Watching Daisy Jones and the Six is like stepping into a Rolling Stone magazine from 1977. In 10 episodes you fall in love, get your heart broken, and basically rethink all career choices that steered you away from a life of rock and roll. Watching the rise and fall of a band with as much drama off the stage as on is a rollercoaster that I never wanted to end. The world of Daisy Jones is a reality most of us can only imagine, but in this series, (for better or for worse) we get to feel like we’re in the thick of it. I’ve been wearing gold hooped earrings and 70s bohemian shawls since its premiere last year.
– Grace Donaldson, AFF Screenplay Director
Mr. and Mrs. Smith, 2024
The new Mr. and Mrs. Smith series for TV intentionally oozes cool from the very first frame. It wants you to think it’s a glossy, smart, and stylish spy drama. But, in reality, you quickly find it’s like when you spruce yourself up for a first date. You want to present the most charming, intelligent version of yourself. Of course, no matter how hard you try to be the best you, it all might be for naught unless, by the end of the date is if there is a hint of the potential relationship to come. The same can be said for Donald Glover and Maya Erskine’s performances, which center more on the intricacies of their budding relationship than on their slick new job or the situations in their own lives that brought them together. As their made-up-for-work relationship becomes something more, they bring along all the baggage, suspicion, and emotional fragility that a genuine partnership brings. Any married couple can attest to what that feels like. Sure, there is spycraft and action aplenty, but the couple’s chemistry and interplay drive the show. So, get gussied up for a great spy thriller, but stay to explore what it means to be committed to someone in all its puffy-eyed, messy-hair, sweatpants-wearing, bruised-egos ways.
–Travis Broughton, AFF Marketing Director
Thoroughbreds, 2017
Thoroughbreds is a cult classic in the making. It had been on my watch list for years. I missed it during its theatrical run, so when I saw it on Hulu, I dropped what I was doing, tossed a bag of popcorn into the microwave, and turned on my TV. Thoroughbreds is Heathers for the disillusioned Tumblr teens of the 2010s with an astounding amount of star power. It spoke to the 17-year-old me who lived exclusively in flannels and Dr. Martens, while wishing she could pull off a Peter Pan collar, and it speaks to me now in my twenties as I remain in awe that I got to watch Anya Taylor-Joy and Oliva Cook share a screen. My advice, watch it now, so you can watch it again and see how much better it gets.
– Tatum McDonald, AFF Film Administrator
Hunters, 2020
Set in the late 1970s, Hunters pulls you in like no other. The series features a tight-knit crew whose mission is to track and kill the Nazis that the United States brought over during Operation Paperclip. The show intends to make you uncomfortable and does so by cutting between the violent bloodshed and comedic game show-esque bits. At best, you find yourself chuckling at the awkwardness and at worst, you become a sopping mess, but it’s all worthwhile. The cherry on top? The performances delivered by actors such as Al Pacino, Carol Kane, and Logan Lerman. The emotional moments in the show have left a lasting effect on me and is something I will carry around forever.
– Yasmin Al-Omair-Nuncio, AFF Youngfilmmakers Program Coordinator
Still Alice, 2014
As a fairly emotionless movie goer, I’m proud to say that Still Alice devastated me through a nuanced performance helmed by Julianne Moore (who I’ve helmed a fan club for since the age of 9) and subject matter that is beautifully conveyed for anyone who has ever had Alzheimer’s impact their family. The complexities of the narrative are never once sacrificed for drama, and are played straight with emotional weight, giving a varied look at the POV of Alice’s (Moore) family as they adjust and acclimate to the impending lifestyle change. All the while Moore is giving an Oscar recognized performance of a lifetime, bleeding all these threads together in a means to give every audience member someone’s experience that could resemble their own. Movies that are able to successfully ace this type of balancing act aren’t easy to find, and if you have the time and tissues to give this film a watch I couldn’t recommend it more.
– Samuel Garcia, AFF Shorts Film Programmer
Submit your Drama or Comedy Feature script to the Big Indie Pictures Screenwriter’s Fellowship!