Our goal was simple. Or at the time, it seemed to be. All we really wanted to do was to create a place where people could find out where indie films were playing. The idea came to me one day, after a long day at work at a place where every day I was trying to help indie filmmakers to get their films made. However, despite the filmmakers' efforts and sometimes success in getting their films made, the way to get these films to audiences was the same--spend huge amounts of money on advertising and pray that you will be able to get some buzz if you got into a film festival.

How could we change the market so that "regular" audiences would be able to find indie films? Could we make it affordable for indie filmmakers to market their films directly to those audiences? This idea kept running around my head for a while. I ran it by Julie and here we are. This journey began about four years ago. At that time, MySpace was just a new competitor for the already popular,Friendster. Filmmakers only method of marketing their film was postcards and chain emails. Netflix had just begun to make a name for itself. YouTube, Joost, and Jaman, and all of the other movie download companies did not even exist.

Earnest and eager, we set out to try and build our little website that we believed would at least put a dent in the divide between filmmaker and audience. Much like an independent film, we had very little funds but great supporters. Some people believed in us. Others laughed. But we stood by our dream. And that's why it pains us to say that although we had a little success, our journey has come to an end.

Looking back now, I realize the one thing that kept us going was our belief in independent and foreign films. Just this past week, I found myself completely moved with excitement and anticipation of seeing an indie film while at a movie theater, and that was just during the trailers. I don't know what it is that makes these films different. The definition of an indie film is constantly changing, but the thing that people usually agree on is how it is made. The money. But with indieIN, we wanted to focus on much more than that.

Indie films represent personal stories that dare to look at the world in a different way, or sometimes, even just as it is. The characters in an indie film have faults, they sweat, they lie, they cheat and are often not at all glamorous. They are alive. The stories of these films can make you think, leave you hanging, anger you, and move you to say, what the fuck? To me, my favorite place in the world is still third row center of a movie theater, just as the lights go down. It's the only place I feel free.

It's been almost four years and although many people were excited by the idea of indieIN, we were unable to find the resources to expand the site to a full online magazine. As a result, indieIN will be "closing its doors." But even though we won't be around, we ask you to continue to support indie film, because--as our tagline states--there is more out there.

Go support your local film festival. Check out your independent theater and see a movie that you don't know anything about. Or, add some new indie and foreign movies to your DVD queue. If you have cable, spend a weekend watching IFC and Sundance or check out their INDemand section on Comcast and HDnet. The movies are out there if you know where to look. By supporting even one independent film, you are supporting many, many more. You can make a difference in how many independent and foreign films get made and released. If you live within the two coasts, we especially encourage you to support this work. Box office numbers mean wider distribution so you will not have to drive miles to see the next Michel Gondry film.

We'd like to give a special thanks to the following people who have supported and contributed to the success of indieIN.

Kurt Neumann, Quimbik Inc., P. David Ebersole and Todd Hughes, Justina Krakowski-Gruettemann, Kelly DeVine, Dan Edelman, Cari Beachump, Tara Veneruso, Scott Ahlberg, Arianna Bocco, Michelle Byrd, Louis Dienes, Eugene Hernandez, Michael Lawson, N. Bird Runningwater, Elizabeth Stanley, Joan La'Bassiere, Nicholas La'Bassiere, Susan La'Bassiere, Gary Phillips, Mark Vennis, Claire Battersby, Fred Nelson, Paul Howson, Sharon Swart, Barclay Butera, Julie DuBrow, Johanna Schaetzke, AFI Film Festival, Brian Newman, Maxyne Franklin, Moira Griffin, Jacques Thelemaque, Thomas Ethan Harris, Elizabeth Gilcreast, Daniele Neuharth, Debra Maniscolo, Mia Villanueva, Greg Lontok, Melissa Bella, Debra Balamos, Diana Williams, Michael Harrison, Kate Tremills, Ellen O'Donnell, Andrea Dudley, Jennifer DeFilippo, Dino Ladki, Susannah Bridges, Elizabeth Liput, Rebecca Wiegand, Colan Mehaffey, Bruce Lynch



Long live indie film,

Michelle and Julie