With the endless number of ways creators can post their work – from short clips on TikTok to full-length works on Youtube – indie film festivals may seem passé to outsiders. Yet, CAMD alumni, who have been part of the indie film circuit in many capacities from writers and directors to founding members of new programs at Sundance, highlight just how important these festivals are for new creators.

Catherine Argyrople
Argyrople (‘21) is the director and writer behind Growing Pains. Argyrople started working on the film while at Northeastern with the help of principal lecturer Michelle Carr. Since graduating, Argyrople has showcased her film at indie fests around the country, including a New York City debut at the Chelsea Film Festival.

When asked about the importance of indie film festivals to connect new audiences to her film, Argyrople can’t stress their importance enough: “[i]t’s huge… I got to meet a lot of local filmmakers and people who were just really, really great at what they do, and really looking to champion indie film. And it’s so difficult nowadays to get your film seen, especially because there’s so much content out there you can watch, whether that be like a 15 second Tiktok or a whole TV series, and there’s so many different streaming platforms or or even like a YouTube you can watch. So I think it’s really hard to market your film and get it out there and compete for people’s attention. And film festivals are a really great way to get their film  seen and get it played, also on the theater screen, because that’s an accessibility thing that not a lot of indie films have bandwidth to [do].”

Terence Nance
Nance (‘12) showed his debut film, An Oversimplication of Her Beauty, at the Sundance Film Festival in 2012. Nance told Black Film that it took six years for him to finish the film and debut it at Sundance as part of the New Frontier category.

“I learned that the festivals are really a viable way to get the world to experience your film,” he said in 2013. “As I started making the film, I didn’t understand the festivals and the way it helps market a film. Through the different labs I was involved with, and making music videos and me starting to make films, I understood its existence and scale and it showed me the power of sharing a film. It’s not a light thing. It can take you around the world and change your resource base as an artist in a way that I don’t think other platforms have. Instantly, there’s a base that’s a world wide network and mobilizing around that has been positive for myself.”

He returned to CAMD to lead a Dean’s Distinguished Lecture in 2023 called “Liberation(s), Ritual(s), Consciousnes(s) Transformation(s), Dis-individuation(s), Beyond Information.”

Michelle Satter
Satter (‘74) has led the way for indie filmmakers as part of the Sundance Institute, where she works as the founding senior director of artist programs. “A lot of great movies were made, but there wasn’t that room for a next generation of filmmakers,” Satter told Northeastern Global News. “The idea of supporting filmmakers who had projects –– early stage drafts of scripts, possibly had directed a short film –– and providing them with a place to learn the craft, learn the skills, test their work, experiment, take risks, push their boundaries –– it was an incredible opportunity for artists to have that space to develop their work and build a community,” she added.