A co-editor of the pioneering media journal JUMP CUT and professor in the Radio/TV/Film department for more than thirty years shares what he thinks are the three most important independent films.1. Shadows, John Cassavetes, 1959A pioneering work of the New American Cinema movement, this film was the first example of independent cinema I ever saw. With cinematic daring, combining improvisational camera and acting, the film remains a stunning revelation of what film can do.2. Killer of Sheep, Charles Burnett, 1977A deeply humanistic portrayal of African-American working class life in Los Angeles, the film is on the Library of Congress list of classic U.S. films.3. Happiness, Todd Solondz, 1998The darkest black comedy, Happiness is a full frontal assault on American sentimentalism. Something to discomfort everyone.Every NU student should see… Milk, Gus Van Sant, 2008A wonderful corrective to the current amnesia and cynicism about the social and political movements of the 1960s and ’70s. At a moment when there’s new hope for change in America, the film shows just how exciting, energizing and fun working for change can be.