Life is busy – you’re battling snowstorms and/or rainstorms and/or heatwaves, all while watching cutthroat competition on a global scale (the Winter Olympics and/or The Traitors). It can be tough to stay up-to-date on film industry news, profiles, analysis, and advice. That’s why we’ve curated some essential reads you may have missed over the past month. So take some time to catch up with this month’s good reads!
This Month’s Good Reads (February 2026)
The Art of Nostalgia: Wes Anderson’s History Films (via Andrew Eckholm for The Point)
Analyzing the recent string of Anderson period pieces.
Deepfaking Orson Welles’s Mangled Masterpiece (via Michael Schulman for The New Yorker)
Can AI save the long-lost director’s cut of The Magnificent Ambersons?
What Markiplier Learned from Releasing Iron Lung (via Dana Harris-Bridson for IndieWire)
Lessons from a self-distributed film that had a $22 million opening weekend.
Warnings as SAG’s 5-Month Strike Clock Starts: ‘They’re Angry. And Feel Unheard’ (via Ashley Cullins for The Ankler)
Negotiations began this month. Here’s what’s at stake.
How TIME’s Film Critic Chose the 50 Most Underappreciated Movies of the 21st Century (via Stephanie Zacharek for Time)
The making of a movie list.
VideoStore.Age Is Trying to Help Fix Indie Distribution (via Max Cea for Nothing Bogus)
A new film distribution model, one USB drive at a time.
7 Brothers, an In-Law and a Movie Dream (via Sarah Bahr for The New York Times)
How the Kinnane Brothers, an 8(!)-man filmmaking family, started an indie enterprise.
True Story: I Used My Jeopardy! Winnings to Finance My First Feature (via Peter Johnston for Filmmaker Magazine)
What is “an extremely unique way the film Magic Town got financed”?
How Popcorn Took Over the Movies (via Heidi Mitchell for The Wall Street Journal)
The history of cinema’s favorite salty snack.
Frederick Wiseman, Titan of Documentary Filmmaking, Dead at 96 (via Tim Grierson for Rolling Stone)
Honoring the memory of the documentor of everyday life, from High School to State Legislature to City Hall and beyond.
Casting Directors Hate the Spotlight — but for the Oscars, They’ll Make an Exception (via Rebecca Ford for Vanity Fair)
Meet the nominees for the new Best Casting Academy Award category.
Don’t Call Tom Noonan a Monster (via Greg Cwik for Flood Magazine)
Remembering the actor (and filmmaker) who brought humanity to The Monster Squad, Manhunter, and The House of the Devil.
Film Festivals Have Always Been Political (via Bilge Ebiri for Vulture)
Why “No comment” didn’t cut it at the Berlinale Q&As.
Netflix Walks Away from Warner Bros Deal, Clearing the Path for Paramount (via Wyatte Grantham-Philips for The Associated Press)
Hot Monopoly Winter is upon us.
In case you were ignoring us (aka blatant self-promotion)
2026 Sundance Film Festival Recap
We bid adieu to Park City and give our highlights of the final Sundance Film Festival in Utah, with award-winners, favorite films, memories, and more.
2026 Film Independent Spirit Awards Winners
The big winners from this year’s indie film awards ceremony.
Filmmaker Interview: Amy Landecker, writer/director/producer/star of For Worse
We talked to the actor/filmmaker about her feature directorial debut.
Videos worth watching
Fair Use tips for filmmakers, from the makers of Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie (via TIFF)
How ’bout you? Read anything good this month?
——
If you’re an independent filmmaker or know of an independent film-related topic we should write about, email blogadmin@sagindie.org for consideration.
