If you’ve visited Reel 13 before, you probably notice we’ve undergone some pretty big changes. The old site didn’t provide much opportunity for feedback or interaction with you, the audience. But that’s all changed.

Now, we’ve updated Reel 13 so you can discuss the films you watch with other users, share your thoughts on Reel 13 Classic and Indie films, and keep up with what’s going on in the NYC film community.

Our new blog will offer interviews with filmmakers – both known and obscure – along with dispatches written by filmmakers, critics, journalists, curators, and others deeply involved in New York City’s filmmaking community. The curator of Reel 13 shorts will post weekly introductions to the films she chooses for the competition, including insights about why she chose them, what she looks for in potential competitors, and thoughts about the winners and losers from the previous week’s competition.

We’ve made voting on short films a lot easier, and we’ve added some new features, like film quizzes and a place to tell us what classic and indie films you’d like to see.

Perhaps the biggest change you’ll notice on Reel 13 is our partnership with Vimeo, a fantastic community of people who make and share video. Going forward, filmmakers will submit their work to us by uploading their films via a Vimeo account. Short films selected for competition will play in Vimeo’s high quality, embeddable, linkable player. For you filmmakers, that means more eyeballs across the Internet will see your work.

In the past, once Reel 13 short films aired on television, you couldn’t view them on our site. Now we’ve added a short film library so you can watch the shorts you missed. We’re launching with 23 shorts, but we‘re currently uploading our entire back catalog – nearly 150 films.

The idea here is to create an online community of independent filmmakers – a place to share your films and discover the films made by your peers. We hope you’ll stick around and watch a few films, vote on this week’s shorts, and while you’re at it, submit a film!

–Daniel Ross, Producer

This Saturday, Gene Kelly’s 1952 classic Singin’ in the Rain airs on Reel 13. We thought it would be interesting to sit down with a contemporary choreographer and pick his brain about Gene Kelly’s influence on American dance. So we caught up with Andy Blankenbuehler, who choreographed In the Heights, last year’s Tony Award-winner for Best Musical and Best Choreography. Andy is currently choreographing 9 to 5, which opens April 7th at the Marriott Marquis Theater.

Turns out Gene Kelly is one of Andy’s heroes. But is Kelly’s work relevant to the rest of us?

Watch the video:

Test your knowledge of Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen’s 1952 classic American musical, Singin’ in the Rain. Take the quiz now!

In honor of one year of Reel 13, Richard Pena spoke to Deborah Harry, who stars in the indie film My Life Without Me.

Harry examines the difference between performing as an actor vs. performing as a musician, talks about her role in the indie film My Life Without Me (2003) and working with Sarah Polley.

In honor of one year of Reel 13, Thirteen interviewed Martin Landau, one of the stars of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thriller North by Northwest.

Landau dishes on Cary Grant, tells us about yet another Hitchcock practical joke, discusses his collaboration with Tim Burton for Ed Wood, and talks about his new movie Lovely, Still.