It’s been another long hard year for cinema. While a few blockbusters have returned to theatres and done exceedingly well at the box office, the health risks associated with public gatherings mean many more people have turned to online content to get their regular dose of film – and not only on the standardised streaming platforms.
In 2021, Indy Film Library hosted four special online showcases to meet that demand – and they were by far our best viewed content of the year. Thousands of people from around the world converged on our site to tune in to our Student, Experimental and Horror Shorts events – seeing sharp spikes in our site’s traffic during the weeks we hosted them – as viewers sought to experience a small slice of the future, from some extremely talented up-and-coming filmmakers.
Even more viewers converged on our annual showcase, which due to lockdown took place via an online screening platform. And we also launched a new podcast, Tube Rats, finding free-to-view short films for our audiences via YouTube and Vimeo.
At the same time, readership of IFL’s written content also ballooned, with the site garnering 27% more views than it received in 2020. As we celebrate the start of 2022, it is only right that we look back on the most popular films of 2021, without whom we could never have enjoyed such an excellent second year.
The top 10 films reviewed on Indy Film Library in terms of readership were:
10. Verzerrung
5. Staying Sane (During a Global Pandemic)
4. Coo-Coo
3. People Who Pretend to be Crows in their Spare Time
2. Externo
Once again, all of us at Indy Film Library would like to sincerely thank all the artists, academics and film-lovers who have helped make 2021 an incredible year for us. Hopefully the months ahead of us will be filled with even more exceptional cinema, and opportunities to reach viewers with brave, insightful and entertaining new films – by whatever means are available to us. Maybe we’ll even see some of you in the real world in 2022…
We wish you all a Happy and Healthy New Year!