While I’m in Texas for the week, Texan filmmaker (and sometime Spout contributor) David Lowery is in New York, attending Independent Film Week to support his feature St. Nick, which is a product of IFP’s Emerging Filmmaker Labs. He’s writing about his experience for Hammer to Nail, and had some interesting observations about the health of the industry. An excerpt:

Most of the folks at Independent Film Week have projects in development. They’re trying to attach producers, to find money, to build buzz, to find more money. We’re only one day removed from Black Monday, but what a nice counter to all that downtown woe to see that the hustle and bustle of this insane business we’re in is as strong as ever, and focused here to a hilt. Indepednent film seems to be an increasingly illogical business venture, and yet the drive to find those ever-diminishing means is stronger than ever…I’m certain that independent film will survive as both a commodity and an art form…

As someone with a completed feature in the can, Lowery admits that he’s got sort of an outsiders perspective on the business scene at IFW––that is to say, he might feel differently if he himself were hustling for money––but it’s nice to see some counterpoint to all the indie film doom and gloom going around.