New Yorker Films, “the pioneer independent-film distributor that was an art-house fixture” for 43 years, said Jeffrey Bloomer in Paste, announced on Monday that it “would auction off its library and end operations immediately.” Apparently, the company “had been put up against a loan, which is now in default.” Given the state of the economy, “stories like New Yorker’s will become increasingly common.”
“It’s probably safe to speculate,” said Scott Tobias in The Onion’s A.V. Club, “that the massive hole the company leaves behind in the acquisition and distribution of challenging, auteur-driven foreign films will be difficult to fill.” New Yorker Films distributed movies by such greats as Antonioni, Bertolucci, Chabrol, Denis, Fassbinder, and Godard, to name just a few. This is very sad news for the independent film world.
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