Independent filmmakers are experiencing a public interest not seen since the pre-studio beginnings of the film industry. The enormous popularity over the last few years of such independent features as Memento, Requiem for a Dream, Magnolia, The Blair Witch Project, Reservoir Dogs, Clerks, and others, along with the rise of the Independent Film Channel and numerous online indie-film communities, signals a fresh trend in moviemaking. Film festivals celebrating independent film, such as the Sundance Film Festival, are now being paid close attention to by the public, and are beginning to dovetail with the industry mainstream--a trend, curiously enough, celebrated by some and resented by others.
    Why is Moving important? Our film, a full-length feature film adventure comedy, was shot for less than $9,000, which is less than the price of a coffee break on a Hollywood set, and a miniscule fraction of the budget of even most independent feature films. The project, despite containing such difficult technical elements as crane shots, special-effects shots, driving shots, dolly shots, and an entire house being lifted from its foundations and moved, was filmed with a full-time crew of only four. While most super-low-budget films stick to a very few simple locations and small casts, Moving has over 40 locations, night and day, interior and exterior, and a cast of over 70. It features a soundtrack of exceptional quality and diversity, from classical to bluegrass to rock, with contributions by both local and national recording artists. It was a full-scale major motion picture adventure comedy shot for the price of a community theater production of "Our Town." What makes this project especially notable, however, is the fact that it was successfully completed. Moving opened to a sellout crowd in a 900-seat theater, sold out its first shipment of videotapes, and has received critical praise, including from FilmThreat, one of the largest independent film sites on the Web, calling it "one of the funniest independent films of the year."
    The film was shot and edited entirely on digital video, a developing technology long embraced by independent filmmakers, and which fellow pioneer George Lucas is using for the last two Star Wars installments. The website, meanwhile, has its own concurrent storyline and is its own entertainment experience. On top of the parts that are just for fun, the website and its associated mailing list are a living documentary of the making and marketing of the film. The Friedman brothers consider their movie the most grueling challenge of their lives, and the most artistically satisfying. From script to screen, their intention was to give the audience something unrelentingly fun. The film and the website advance no social, political, or dramatic agenda other than the pure joy of making movies.