Indie Films to the Big Screen: 80's Filmmakers in NYC

New York City’s world of low-budget filmmaking witnessed the creation of numerous small independent movies which launched the careers of Christopher Nolan, Spike Lee, Susan Seidelman, Jim Jarmusch, David O. Russell and Richard Linklater (to name a few) in the 1980’s and 1990’s.

These early movies, often art-house or social commentary films, focused frequently on social issues including race, identity politics, and urban life. And filmmakers would often use these early critical successes to get their larger mainstream commercial movies picked up by the larger studios.

Highlights of their films will be shown in class, and links to streaming services will be provided for students to stream and view full movies at home.

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Instructor: James Bradney

James Bradney lived in New York City from 1987 to 1997, where he made many commercials, music videos and movies. Starting as a lowly production assistant, he moved up in experience and responsibilities from production coordinator, production manager and eventually was a producer. The work was arduous and demanding, but came with wonderful moments of hilarity, satisfaction and the respect for the real masters of their craft.