IFC Films to Offer Free Library Titles to Reopen Indie Theaters

Boyhood star Ethan Hawke accepted the award on behalf of the film's helmer, Richard Linklater .

The 200 participating titles, across 20 planned retrospectives, include 'Boyhood' and 'Frances Ha.'

As theaters across the nation reopen in the coming months after closures due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, IFC Films will offer library titles to indie houses and waive the rental fees. The company is calling the initiative the Indie Theater Revival Project.

Available starting May 29, IFC will offer theaters 20 curated retrospective programs, which include approximately 200 films spanning the company's library. Titles include Boyhood, Frances Ha and Y Tu Mama Tambien, among many others.

The project allows theaters to book any number of the retrospective programs, in part or in total, anytime through the first month after a theater reopens.

“Independent theaters across the country have been essential partners for us at IFC Films, and we would not be where we are today without their support,” the company said Tuesday in a statement. “We wanted to take the first step and let theaters know that we are committed to helping them reopen their doors by providing a selection of films to program while the new release landscape gets back to normal.”

Talks have begun of theaters reopening across the nation, as state governments have begin to layout plans to ease shelter-in-place restrictions. On Monday, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced an aggressive reopening plan that would allow cinemas to begin reopening early next week.

Still, it largely remains to be seen when movie theaters will open again en masse. An additional issue facing reopened theaters will be a lack of new releases from studios, which have shuffled their release calendars dramatically.

See the first three retrospective programs below.

Greatest Hits — Indie blockbusters from IFC Films

Boyhood (Richard Linklater, 2014)

Y Tu Mamá También (Alfonso Cuaron, 2002)

The Death of Stalin (Armando Iannucci, 2018)

Cave of Forgotten Dreams (Werner Herzog, 2011)

Touching the Void (Kevin Macdonald, 2004)

45 Years (Andrew Haigh, 2015)

Frances Ha (Noah Baumbach, 2013)

Buck (Cindy Meehl, 2011)

Me and You and Everyone We Know (Miranda July, 2005)

The Man Who Knew Infinity (Matt Brown, 2015)

Phoenix (Christian Petzold, 2014)

Blue Is the Warmest Color (Abdellatif Kechiche, 2013)

Yes We Cannes! — A selection of 15 IFC Films releases that have won major prizes at the Cannes Film Festival

Palme d’or (Best Film) winners:

I, Daniel Blake (Ken Loach, 2016)

Dheepan (Jacques Audiard, 2015)

Blue Is the Warmest Color (Abdellatif Kechiche, 2013)

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Cristian Mungiu, 2007)

The Wind That Shakes the Barley (Ken Loach, 2006)

Camera d’or (Best First Film) winners:

Me and You and Everyone We Know (Miranda July, 2005)

Hunger (Steve McQueen, 2008)

Grand Prix (Second place award) winners:

Gomorrah (Matteo Garrone, 2008)

The Kid With a Bike (Dardennes Brothers, 2011)

Jury Prize:

Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold, 2009)

Like Father Like Son (Hirokazu Kore-Eda, 2013)

Best Director:

Personal Shopper (Olivier Assayas, 2016)

Best Actress – Charlotte Gainsbourg: Antichrist (Lars von Trier, 2009)

Best Actress – Juliette Binoche: Certified Copy (Abbas Kiarostami, 2010)

Best Actor – Benicio Del Toro: Che (Steven Soderbergh, 2008)

Cult Icons — What makes a cult icon? Only the audience can decide. Explore 10 cult hits from IFC Films.

The Autopsy of Jane Doe (André Øvredal, 2016)

The Babadook (Jennifer Kent, 2014)

Cold in July (Jim Mickle, 2014)

Depraved (Larry Fessenden, 2019)

Following (Christopher Nolan, 1998)

The House That Jack Built (Lars Von Trier, 2018)

The Human Centipede (Tom Six, 2009)

Kill List (Ben Wheatley, 2011)

Sightseers (Ben Wheatley, 2012)

Valhalla Rising (Nicholas Winding-Refn, 2009)

Witching and Bitching (Alex De La Iglesia, 2013)