What Exactly is an art house film?

Seeing as we have chosen a brief which we know little about, we thought it would be useful if we did some background research on not only about the event, but what defines an arthouse film.

Basic Definition?

An arthouse film is typically a serious, independently made film aimed at a niche audience rather than a mass audience. 

What conventions does an arthouse film include?

An arthouse film usually  includes, a social realism style, a very distint style or emplasis of the director, and a focus on the thoughts and dreams of characters, rather than presenting a clear, goal-driven story.

Art films are aimed at small niche market audiences, which means they can rarely get the financial backing which will permit large production budgets, expensive special effects, costly celebrity actors, or huge advertising campaigns, as are used in widely-released mainstream films. this is a convention of an arthouse film because it shows how little money they have to produce a film, and they have to rely on talented producers.

From the research i did on Art house films, i have summarised the main points that in my opinion are the main points we must consider. Here are the conventions that makes an art house film an art house film:

1. Art house films rarely have a feel good quality.
2. They may make us feel smarter or more wise about the world.
3. They tell the truth about the world or an event.
4. They have no famous actors/actresses, just unheard of talent.
5. Very low budget films, but heavily relies on talented directors.
6. It doesn't have a general frame because there is no rules.
7. It faces topics that conventional films don't consider, E.g. Prostitution, drugs.
8. It includes different formats and ideas (unusual)
9. The director can be as imaginative as they like.
10. The film usually would have a message which makes you think out of the box.

After reading and exploring about the art house themes conventions, i'm confident that our film opening will follow the aspects of an art house film so the brief will be fulfilled.