Please check out a lengthy conversation I had with Azazel Jacobs over at Hammer to Nail in conjunction with tomorrow's theatrical release of Momma's Man. If you have even a fraction of interest in truly independent cinema -- why in the hell are you reading this site if you don't? -- then I don't have to tell you how important it is that you block out two hours of your weekend (or should I say ninety-four minutes) to go the Angelika to buy a ticket for this movie. Aza will be doing a Q&A after the 7:30pm showing tomorrow night, but if you can't make it for that one, it doesn't matter. Just make sure you see it this weekend!

Another unforgettable Sundance film is also coming out in theaters this weekend. Documentary Grand Jury Prize winner Trouble the Water is as important a work as I've seen this year. I'll be posting my review of it on Hammer to Nail tomorrow, but for now I will simply say that it's going to be gushing in its praise. I watched it again yesterday since I hadn't seen it since January, and it worked just as mightily the second time around.

But that isn't it for great independent cinema this weekend. Rooftop Films (who also had a hand in the making of Trouble the Water) put their money where there mouth is once again in creating another filmmaker-friendly grant. This one is called the Rooftop Films and Eastern Effects Equipment Grant. In their words, this grant lends "one Rooftop alumni filmmaker a two-ton lighting and grip package for 30 days, to be used on a feature-length film." This year's winner proves once again that Rooftop has exceptional taste: Lee Isaac Chung. Chung's Munyurangabo took my breath away when I caught it at the Sarasota Film Festival this year (where it won the Best Narrative prize). As usual, Tom Hall's review at Hammer to Nail says it better than I ever could, so please read that. It's screening Saturday night at the Old American Can Factory in Gowanus, one of my favorite Rooftop locations, which only adds allure to the already exciting prospect of seeing an extraordinary film.

If these were the only three movies receiving a theatrical release in 2008, I would consider it a highly successful year. Independent cinema is not dead, even if the audiences seem to be. What's wrong with you people? Filmmakers like Azazel Jacobs, Lee Isaac Chung, and Tia Lessin and Carl Deal are giving you all that they have, producing works of genuine enlightenment, entertainment, and inspiration. I know the comfort of sitting on one's couch and watching under-aged children spin around in tights is tempting, but get off your asses and go to the movies this weekend!!!