Independent films

Shelton, who died May 15, directed the films Humpday and Your Sister's Sister, as well as episodes of the TV shows Mad Men and Little Fires Everywhere. Originally broadcast in 2012.

John Waters reflects on his morbid fascinations as a boy, and what it's like to be an aging rebel. He has a new memoir.

The film is about a teenage girl who sleeps with a boy and is suddenly under a curse. Critic David Edelstein says he didn't enjoy feeling "sick with dread," but the ending is unexpectedly moving.

Film critic David Edelstein says in 2014 none of the great material came from Hollywood studios. But, he says, it was a "wonderful year" for indie films. He names Boyhood as the best of the year.

In the Australian chiller, a bogeyman announces himself in a rhyming, pop-up book on a 7-year-old's shelf. But the real horror is that the boy's mom, a grieving widow, is battling psychic demons.

The Truffaut borrowings are explicit in Noah Baumbach's Frances Ha, while Richard Linklater's Before Midnight takes its cues from Eric Rohmer's gentle but expansive talkfests. In both films, conversation is a centerpiece as characters navigate relationships.

Jeff Nichols and Ramin Bahrani made names with small, low-budget movies: Nichols with Take Shelter and Bahrani with Man Push Cart. Both have now directed big-budget films with big stars: Nichols' Mud features Matthew McConaughey, and Bahrani's At Any Price stars Dennis Quaid and Zac Efron.

In January, DuVernay became the first African-American woman to win Sundance's best directing award for her second feature-length film, Middle of Nowhere. It's about a young woman who puts her life and dreams of going to medical school on hold while her husband is in prison.

Film producer Christine Vachon's new book is A Killer Life: How an Independent Film Producer Survives Deals and Disasters in Hollywood and Beyond. She has produced more than 30 feature films, including Infamous, Far From Heaven, One Hour Photo and Boys Don't Cry. This book is a follow-up to Vachon's best-selling first book, Shooting to Kill.