What Are We Watching?

The fourth annual Kickstarter Film Fest begins tonight, with a screening in Brooklyn! (If you can’t make it, don’t worry — we’ve got screenings to come in London, Los Angeles, and at your house.) Yesterday, we asked some of the creators who’ve participated in our film fests about the movies they’ve been enjoying lately. Today, we asked around the Kickstarter office to get recommendations for things you can check out on our Watch page — a selection of hundreds of Kickstarter-funded films you can watch online, right now.

Here’s what we heard:

Jamie (our comics specialist) recommends Room 237, “a fascinating and fun look into theories around Kubrick’s The Shining, and at obsession in general.” (Jamie is possibly understating just how wonderfully obsessive some of these people’s theories about The Shining really are — one guy builds a meticulous case that the film is Kubrick’s way of confessing that he helped fake the moon landing.) Jamie would also recommend Meanwhile, “a terrific recent movie from independent film icon Hal Hartley,” and Urbanized, “Gary Hustwit’s outstanding documentary on urban design.”

Katherine (from our support team) recommends Indie Game: The Movie — an “inside look into the brains of game developers, the effort it takes to make your dream come alive, and how emotionally devastating it can be when things go wrong. Everyone should be more sympathetic to creators!”

Nitsuh (a writer) recommends a goofy lowbrow buddy comedy called Ass Backwards: “As a person who will basically always laugh at June Diane Raphael’s ‘fancy’ schtick, I’m pretty glad to live in a world where she and Casey Wilson got to make this. Also if you’re one of those people who’s constantly referencing Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, this might make a nice temporary substitute.”

Justin J. (an engineer) recommends The Punk Singer — “a very personal jaunt through the Riot Grrl years and beyond, following the genre-defying work of Kathleen Hanna” — and Inequality for All: “More than just the An Inconvenient Truth of income inequality. Robert Reich’s unassailable dedication to his cause is inspiring and ultimately hopeful.”

Margaret (who puts together Kickstarter events)  recommends The Internet’s Own Boy, the much-praised documentary about programmer and activist Aaron Swartz — “a touching and fascinating history of the internet, told through the story of one of the pioneers.” (She’d also recommend Finding Vivian Maier, “a narrative mystery of one woman’s life, and the discovery of a trove of some of the 20th century’s finest photographs.” Chicagoans especially might love that one.)

Michael (who does a lot of things) recommends last year’s Tiny, about people who downsize their homes and live as minimally as possible — a “really charming film that explores the ideas of home, growth, and what’s gained by living life more simply.”

Liz C. (who works with film projects) recommends Trash Dance — “a beautiful portrait of the lives of Austin’s sanitation workers, and how they come around to the idea of working with an enthusiastic dance choreographer to put on a show for thousands.”

Brandon (an iOS developer) recommends Beauty Is Embarrassing, a documentary about visual artist Wayne White, whose work you might know from the set of Pee-Wee’s Playhouse or the cover of Lambchop’s Nixon: “White is an interesting guy, and this doc covers his work in NY, LA, and TN.”

Victoria (who works with creators) recommends Bridegroom, “a personal testament to the importance of marriage equality.”

Stephanie (who works with creators) recommends Boy, “one of my favorite films of 2013. It weaves art, pop culture, and life stories straight from New Zealand.” (She figures she can’t really top this description from its iTunes page: “Boy is a hilarious and heartfelt coming-of-age tale about heroes, magic, and Michael Jackson.”)

And Yancey (our CEO) recommends Brooklyn Castle, a documentary about how a budget-starved Brooklyn public school built the most winning junior-high chess team in the country: “So inspiring, great story, and great kids. Pobama!”