Indie Film Weekly [EP 34]: It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley (2025), Hola Frida (2025), Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965)
Welcome back to Indie Film Weekly, the podcast that throws a lasso around this week in indie film and drags it straight into your ears. I'm Glen Reynolds from Circus Road Films, your loyal hype-man for arthouse, edge-case, and microbudget brilliance.
Friendly reminder: Indie film only exists if people go see it. So grab a friend, find your nearest theatre, and go support these stories while they’re still glowing on the big screen. Also brought to you by Indie Igniter—our newsletter and toolkit for filmmakers trying to get seen without selling their soul. Sign up at theindieigniter.com.
New in Theaters
First up, It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley, a musical documentary from Amy J. Berg. You might know her from West of Memphis or Janis: Little Girl Blue. This time she turns her lens on Jeff Buckley, the ethereal rock poet who dropped one perfect album, Grace, before drowning tragically in 1997. This is more than a biopic—it's a resurrection of an artist whose voice still makes people cry in their cars. Expect rare performance footage, emotional interviews, and a portrait of a talent too huge for the time he had.
Next: Hola Frida, an animated feature from Level 33, following young Frida Kahlo as she battles polio and discovers the power of imagination. This isn’t the tragic romance era Frida; this is the curious kid stuck in bed with nothing but her creativity. Co-directed by Karine Vézina and André Kadi, this is a tender and inspiring take on Frida’s childhood, rich in Mexican color, folk magic, and emotional honesty. A must for families and future artists.
And finally, By the Stream from the ever-enigmatic Hong Sang-soo. Plot? Vibes. Resolution? Maybe. What you will get: a story about a woman, her uncle, a school play, and a scandal by a stream. As usual with Hong, it’s less about what happens and more about how it drifts: like wine at lunch, awkward conversations, and fate dressed in beige. If you know, you know.
So that’s It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley, Hola Frida, and By the Stream — a mix of memory, imagination, and melancholy for your weekend cinematic soul-food.
Films to Rent or Download
On TVOD this week, check out Ghostlight, directed by Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson. It’s about a grieving construction worker who accidentally wanders into a small-town theater rehearsal and slowly gets drawn into the world of Shakespeare, strangers, and self-expression. Heartfelt, hilarious, and painfully true. Ghostlight was one of the quiet breakouts from Sundance earlier this year, and now it's finally on TVOD—giving you the perfect excuse to see what the quiet buzz was about (or pretend you always knew).
Available now on all major platforms.
Indie Classic
This week we salute a wild 60-year-old: Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! Directed by Russ Meyer, this 1965 cult classic is still one of the most deliriously anarchic things ever committed to celluloid. Imagine if Mad Max: Fury Road was shot in the desert on a shoestring and starred three go-go dancers with vengeance in their veins. Tura Satana’s Varla remains an icon of cinematic rage and swagger. The film is equal parts exploitation and empowerment, and it’s aged into something mythic. It’s currently on the Roku Channel, and it’s a rite of passage.
That wraps up this edition of Indie Film Weekly. This week, you can stare at ruins, race through Paris, or disappear into metaphor—and maybe even revisit a night that shaped American history. Go see a movie in a theater if you can. Indie film survives on your curiosity and your ticket stub. Subscribe to Indie Igniter for more weekly picks and smart strategies. And if you’re loving the pod, leave us a review—or better yet, tell your favorite local arthouse usher.
Until next week, keep it thoughtful, keep it bold, and keep it indie!