Derek Cianfrance: ‘The Struggle of the Industry Is Always a Good Thing’

Derek Cianfrance is back behind the camera — as a producer on New Directors/New Films entry “Exhibiting Forgiveness.”

The Oscar-nominated “Sound of Metal” writer is best known for his work as the director of raw break-up drama “Blue Valentine,” which earned Michelle Williams a Best Actress Oscar nomination and launched Cianfrance’s collaborations with Ryan Gosling. That “Barbie” Oscar nominee went on to star for Cianfrance in “The Place Beyond the Pines,” written by Cianfrance and Ben Coccio with Darius Marder (“Sound of Metal”).

Cianfrance joined IndieWire at the New Directors/New Films festival in New York on Thursday, April 4 for a live discussion of his work, including “Exhibiting Forgiveness,” with “Screen Talk” co-hosts Anne Thompson and Ryan Lattanzio. The directorial debut of contemporary painter Titus Kaphar, “Exhibiting Forgiveness” stars André Holland as an artist confronted with the return of his long-estranged and abusive father; Andry Day and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor also star.

Watch the “Screen Talk” episode live in full above or listen below or on podcast platforms.

While the 2024 Sundance U.S. Dramatic Competition world premiere “Exhibiting Forgiveness” has yet to land a U.S. distributor, Cianfrance said he and his fellow producers (including Sean Cotton, Stephanie Allain, Jamie Patricof, and Kaphar himself) are in “deep negotiation” with a buyer.

“The struggle of the industry is always a good thing,” Cianfrance said. “Resistance from the industry is always a good thing. I’m blessed. When I was trying to make ‘Blue Valentine,’ it took 12 years to make that movie. It took 66 drafts. I’m still thankful the industry rejected me on drafts one through 65 because, and I felt cursed for a long time.”

He added, “Movies are just continually evolving. You go back to silent movies, Lumière movies, it is just movies on tripods — single-take, minute-long movies. All of a sudden, the camera starts moving. All of a sudden, they start editing, all of a sudden, they bring in sound. And when sound comes in, [everyone says] it’s going to destroy movies, and it does destroy some careers, but new careers come out of that, and new voices come out of that. So I think it’s just a beautiful young art form, and hopefully, the business side of it just keeps up.”

Presented by Film at Lincoln Center and MoMA, New Directors/New Films runs through April 14 in New York City.

Watch the full episode above or listen to it below.

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