Movies are a versatile medium. They can be used to educate, entertain or even protest. The impact of movies, whether that be blockbuster action or low budget coming of age indie, are generational. However: the popularity of certain types of cinema changes overtime and right now, that change lies within an independent production company, A24.
Daniel Katz, David Fenke, and John Hodges founded A24 in August of 2012. In its time of establishment, it has created a new community for cinema as it mixes Arthouse with Hollywood talent.
Arthouse, classified by independent films which carry themes that are presented with subtext through cinema, has become more mainstream, creating competition with its Hollywood counterpart.
To truly understand the significance of this shift, an acknowledgement of the silent films in the history of moviemaking must be made. Charlie Chaplin was a staple of old Hollywood. His movies built the backbone of comedy and romance in modern days and were loved by a multitude of people. However, in the same time period, arthouse films were building a quiet audience.
The 1928 film The Passion of Joan of Arc is one of the most beloved arthouse films from the silent era because of its rawness. It’s an authentic portrayal of not only a religious figure, but a woman in prosecution and turmoil shown through various camera shots, an emotional performance by Renée Jeanne Falconetti and intentional breakage of the 180-degree rule which calls for every shot in a given scene to stay within the same side of an imaginary line in order for characters to face the same direction in every shot. Although the film was not a hit in the Box Office like Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights or The Kid were, it did make a generational impact on arthouse cinema lovers everywhere.
A24 is doing the same thing, only this time the films are getting the recognition they are owed. Their breakthrough is marked by the movie Spring Breakers, released in 2013 – almost a year after their establishment.
At first, many audiences questioned what the plot of the movie was. All it seemed to be was a film carried by its aesthetically pleasing shots and bizarre, spur of the moment situations.
One of the main reasons arthouse has its own small niche of people is because of this fact alone. Most people don’t like to solve puzzles when they are watching a movie. However, in Spring Breakers’ case, the mystery was also an intrigue. Much like Hollywood, Spring Breakers also included action sequences, modern pop music, and the famous faces of former Disney stars Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens.
From there, the appeal of arthouse grew as their small community turned into a large mainstream fanbase.
As A24 continued to sweep the market with its intriguing plots and familiar faces, their credibility went up as well. At the 2017 Academy Awards, the A24 film “Moonlight” directed by Barry Jenkins won Best Picture. From this award, A24 not only beat out a multitude of Hollywood studios, but now acquired a critically acclaimed status, broadening its sea of viewers even more.
Then, in 2018, A24 placed its claim on the horror genre. Ari Aster’s Hereditary shocked viewers with its gore, clever symbolism and anxiety-inducing plot development. It introduced Arthouse Horror to a wide population, creating a new subgenre to compete with Hollywood’s paranormal and slasher films.
After that, there was no going back. A24 had reached mainstream status and only went up from there. Greta Gerwig’s Sophomore film Ladybird, Ari Aster’s Midsomer starring Florence Pugh, and this year’s Academy Awards favorite Everything Everywhere All At Once are just of the few major features that garnered success for A24 and independent films alike.
Now more than ever, a wide audience of viewers wait for new A24 movies to come out in theaters, eager to have conversations about the symbolism and try to put together the ambiguous plot.
While Hollywood movies continue to progress in popularity and funding, A24 brings a little hope to independent filmmakers. It is the hope to create movies on their terms without the restrictions many mainstream Hollywood movies place on directors.
A24’s loyalty to authenticity continues to harbor a variety of audiences whether that is horror movie lovers or people who just want to challenge their brains. This brings back the realness of movies. Although they are meant to take people away from reality, they are also there to comment on it and create discussions amongst the audiences living in it.
