off: independent films?

Do any of you know if there's a newsgroup devoted to independent films? Or any other way i can run down more info on the new movie "Slam", which won awards at the Sundance festival? What I'm really after is a video of this film and I am wondering if videos of such films are sold and how long it takes them to come out after the movie is released? Any feedback or leads would be greatly appreciated! Cynth

I'll bet VIDWHIZ can get you a copy of it.

Cheap shot!

Thanks for the posting the review. I saw a lot of snotty off the cuff critiques on current films newsgroup but somehow missed this review. I thought it was a great film and the fact that it reached ALL my students (many ethnic backgrounds) was enough for me.

    >The "finding oneself through art" premise isn't entirely original, but
what makes _Slam_ such a triumph is the
     freshness of its voice. >

BTW "Finding oneself through art" may not be "original" but it's rare enough as a film theme today! Dead Poets. Any others you can think of? Cynth

Slam (1998)

                                           reviewed by
                                        Michael Dequina

     _Slam_ (R) **** (out of ****)

         Marc Levin's _Slam_ is a powder keg of a movie, exploding with emotional
honesty and truth and the
     exuberant passion of raw young talent. It is an uplifting and exhilarating
experience, a powerful work that deservedly
     won the Grand Jury Prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival.

         Newcomer Saul Williams plays Ray Joshua, a talented Washington, D.C.
rapper/poet whose dealings in the
     drug biz land him in jail. There, given the choice of falling into the trap of
violence or hone his gift, Ray chooses the
     latter, and with the help and love of prison writing teacher Lauren Bell
(Sonja Sohn), he discovers the transcendent
     power of his words.

         The "finding oneself through art" premise isn't entirely original, but
what makes _Slam_ such a triumph is the
     freshness of its voice. The first scene where Ray "slams," with the help of an
inmate (Momulu Stewart) in the next
     cell, is dazzling in its sheer energy and percussive force. "Force" can also
be used to describe Williams and Sohn,
     who are not only talented poets but charismatic screen presences and
extraordinary actors. The two are downright
     electrifying; one highly charged confrontation in which she tries to convince
him to own up to his past mistakes packs
     an overwhelming emotional potency. The same can be said of the entire film,
which Williams has called--and
     rightfully so--"more of a movement than a movie." (opens October 16)

One of four in: http://us.imdb.com/TUrls?REV+Slam+(1998)

There do not seem to be any videos out yet.