Dogville Vs Hollywood

Interpreting Lars yon Trier's film Dogville as a comment on the Hollywood film industry and the moviegoing process, Jake Horsley examines the age-old conflict between 'artistic' and 'commercial' filmmaking. He proposes that the term 'independent', when applied to filmmaking, refers to sensibility and vision rather than backing or funds. Moving beyond the simple question: 'Can an "independent" film achieve commercial success in Hollywood and still be called independent?', Horsley also raises the disturbing possibility that the very creativity of maverick filmmakers is dependent on the 'evils' of the studio-system.

Including detailed analysis of work from early independent visionaries such as Francis Ford Coppola, Stanley Kubrick and Roman Polanski, through 80s indie cinema and 90s slacker films to present day pioneers such as Keith Gordon, Charlie Kaufman and Richard Linklater.