Indie Film Weekly [EP 31]: Eddington (2025) & Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)
Welcome back to Indie Film Weekly—the podcast that champions the brilliant, the bizarre, and the barely distributed. I’m Glen Reynolds from Circus Road Films, here with your July 18 rundown of new theatrical releases, fresh TVOD picks, and one classic you’ll want to revisit (or finally get around to).
Before we dive in: please go see these movies in theaters. Indie films only survive when you show up, buy a ticket, and bring a friend. Streaming can wait. Let’s keep this ecosystem alive!
New in Theaters
First up, Eddington from A24, directed by Ari Aster. Yes, that Ari Aster—known for Hereditary and Midsommar—now turning his lens on small-town America during the COVID-19 pandemic. The film chronicles the standoff between a sheriff and mayor in Eddington, New Mexico, as neighbor turns against neighbor and paranoia replaces protocol. It’s claustrophobic, character- driven, and eerie in the way only Aster can make everyday rage feel mythic.
Next, from Japan’s Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Cure, Pulse) comes Cloud, a minimalist psychological thriller with a Kafkaesque edge. Ryosuke Yoshii, a quiet man who supports himself by selling goods online, slowly becomes the target of vague and escalating hostility from the people around him. As tensions mount, Kurosawa builds dread out of polite smiles and misdelivered packages. It’s eerie, elliptical, and pure Kurosawa.
Then we have Shari and Lamb Chop, a heartfelt documentary from Lisa Dapolito (Love, Gilda). Before Mister Rogers and Jim Henson, Shari Lewis was revolutionizing children’s TV with her sock puppet sidekick, Lamb Chop. This doc chronicles her career as a magician, dancer, and ventriloquist—and how she paved the way for future generations of educational entertainers. Full of archival footage and surprising insights, it’s a loving tribute to a trailblazer often left out of the puppeteer pantheon.
So, that’s Eddington, Cloud, and Shari and Lamb Chop—three totally different films, all demanding your eyeballs on the big screen.
Films to Rent or Download
Our TVOD pick this week is It’s a Disaster, a 2012 indie gem from director Todd Berger. Four couples gather for a Sunday brunch that quickly goes off the rails when they learn that the world may be ending outside their door.
This comedy of manners meets apocalyptic farce stars Julia Stiles, David Cross, and America Ferrera, all playing people who are wildly unprepared to confront mortality—or even each other.
Smart, claustrophobic, and darkly hilarious, it’s perfect if you’re in the mood to laugh nervously while clutching a mimosa.
Indie Classic
This week’s classic is Exit Through the Gift Shop, Banksy’s genre-defying 2010 documentary—or is it a prank? Or maybe a self-portrait disguised as satire?
Narrated by Rhys Ifans, the film follows Thierry Guetta, a Frenchman living in LA who obsessively films underground street artists, eventually trying to become one himself under the name Mr. Brainwash. The result is a meditation on fame, authenticity, and whether any of this modern art stuff is real—or matters.
On its 15th anniversary, Exit Through the Gift Shop still sparks debate and earns laughs. Whether you think it’s a hoax or not, it’s one of the most entertaining films ever made about creativity and con artistry.
It’s available to stream on YouTube. Yes, the whole thing. Legally.
That’s it for July 18. As always, I’m Glen Reynolds, reminding you to seek out the films that challenge, charm, and change you. And if you loved the pod, send it to a friend, tag us online, or shout it into a sock puppet. Just don’t keep it to yourself.
Until next time—keep it smart, keep it strange, and keep it indie.