Will Smith, his production company Overbrook Entertainment, and Sony have bought the rights to the life story of Hurricane Katrina hero, John "The Can Man" Keller. While John Lee Hancock will be writing the script and directing The American Can, Sony has also bought a spec script about Keller from writer and producer Adetoro Makinde. Keller himself is also one of the associate producers.

Keller, who was a resident of the American Can Company at the time of the storm, helped the other residents of the building -- many elderly and/or handicapped -- and a few refugees stay safe while the flood waters raged outside. Keller also documented his story with photos and videotape. He told The Times-Picayune in 2007, "There were other people rescuing people. But they didn't hot-wire boats, hot-wire cars, swim to the grocery store, come back with food, cook for all those people, organize them, get the thugs off them." In the end, 244 people were evacuated safely with help from Keller.

When was the last time you saw a short film in the theater? I don't mean an 85-minute animated movie; I mean an actual short, like they give separate Oscars to. Otherwise known as a short subject, defined (by the Academy) as anything with a running time less than 40 minutes. Chances are, unless you attend film festivals, go to see the toured screenings of Oscar shorts, or bought a ticket to Paris, Je T'Aime, it's been awhile since you actually saw a short film on a big screen.

Or, maybe I should specify that it's likely been awhile since you purposefully went to see a specifically timed screening of a short film or compilation of shorts at the theater. Technically some ads for Coca-Cola and other companies, the ones made by novice filmmakers as part of a competition or something, count as shorts. And, I'm fully aware that some arthouse cinemas, such as NYC's IFC Center, run a short film in place of pre-show commercials. But as far as I can tell, such shorts are not specifically advertised as screening at a designated time. Sure, you can go on the IFC Center's website and find out that Erik Rosenlund's Looking Glass is the short currently being shown (as it was this past week when I saw Trouble the Water there), but for most people (myself included), it's a surprise. And I doubt anyone has trekked to IFC just to see that particular film, unless anyone is a huge aficionado of frightening black and white Swedish animation.

These are the times (i.e., late August) that try movie-lovers' souls. But if this week's multiplex offerings are lackluster, don't forget about the art houses! The Indie Spotlight is here every Friday to let you know what's opening in "select cities," keeping you informed so you know which titles to look out for when you're in the mood for something different.

This week's indie releases, in alphabetical order, are: Cthulhu, I.O.U.S.A., Momma's Man, and Trouble the Water. Here's the scoop on each of them:

I.O.U.S.A.
What it is: A documentary about America's debt crisis, from the director of the crossword puzzle documentary Wordplay.
What they're saying: All the reviews at Rotten Tomatoes so far are positive, praising it for making a dull subject lively and for getting its point across effectively.
Where it's playing: About 20 theaters in and around New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dallas, Miami, Kansas City, Omaha, Chicago, and Washington D.C.
Official site: You owe it to yourself.

When was the last time you tried to see a movie, but couldn't, because it was sold out? I mean really sold out. Sure, you may have recently sat in a packed auditorium and watched a movie that was "sold out." And you may have recently been turned away from a specific showtime for some new movie because that one showing was "sold out." These things come with the season, when everyone's rushing to see the latest summer blockbuster as soon as it's released to theaters. But I bet it's been a long, long time since you were shut out completely from seeing a movie on opening weekend.

I experienced two sellouts this week (details forthcoming), and the frustration made me recall an experience from 21 years ago, when Beverly Hills Cop II came out. The reason I remember this specific movie's release is because I was keeping a summer journal at the time. I was only ten, so I didn't write much on each day, but through the opening weekend for BHC2, I repeated the same phrase three times: "Tried to see Beverly Hills Cop II, but it was sold out." Then, through the movie's second weekend, I again repeated the same phrase on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Finally, in its third weekend, I was able to write, "Saw Beverly Hills Cop II. It was good."

On Sunday, I got really, really excited about going to see the documentary Trouble the Water, which was playing in Brooklyn as part of the Sundance @ BAM series. But when I went to buy my tickets on Moviefone, the single showtime was sold out. "Oh well," I thought. "I'll just see it when it's officially released to theaters." Then I discovered that, despite winning the non-fiction Grand Jury Prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival and despite garnering tons of great reviews, including one from New York Times critic Manohla Dargis calling it "one of the best documentaries in recent memory," the film had no domestic distributor.

Two days later, I'm finally relieved. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Hurricane Katrina doc has been picked up by Zeitgeist Films for a platform release beginning August 22. Fans of the film (including our own Kim Voynar, who picked it as her favorite at Sundance -- read her review here) should be happy that it will at least receive Oscar-qualifying runs in NYC and LA, because everyone who's seen it seems to agree that it will definitely get a nomination. Those of us who haven't seen it should also be happy that it's likely to be given a proper expansion, at least to the major U.S. cities.

Trouble the Water was directed by longtime doc producers Carl Deal and Tia Lessin (Fahrenheit 9/11) and depicts the tragic events of Hurricane Katrina mostly through the eyes and camcorder of Kimberly Roberts and Scott Roberts, who shot footage before, during and after the storm and its subsequent effects.

For the third year in a row, Sundance is partnering up with the Brooklyn Academy of Music to present the "Sundance Institute at BAM" series, where flicks from this year's film festival will play for New York audiences May 29-June 8. It's just like going to Sundance, only without the snow and ice. Oh, and Brooklyn is actually big enough to handle large crowds. So maybe it's nothing like going to Sundance, except for the movies.

The movies -- 22 features and 36 shorts -- include several must-see titles, some of which have not played anywhere yet except for Sundance. Hot-buzz documentary American Teen (pictured) is on the schedule (complete with a prom-themed BAM party!), as is the soldier drama American Son. Anvil! The Story of Anvil was one of the most popular films at this year's fest, and the heavy metal band featured in it will perform live at BAM. There's the Chuck Palahniuk adaptation Choke, Stacy Peralta's L.A. gang doc Made in America, the South American cannibalism doc Stranded, and award-winning documentaries Trouble the Water and Man on Wire. If you've been paying attention to the indie/film-fest scene this year, you've probably heard of some of these, so it's pretty cool that the Sundance/BAM partnership will give wider audiences a chance to see them.

Tickets for the "Sundance Institute at BAM" series go on sale to BAM members on April 21, and the general public on April 26. Neither Sundance nor BAM has the complete info on its website yet, but here's the BAM page to keep your eye on.

One of my favorite films at Sundance this year was Trouble the Water. The film, directed by Michael Moore producers Tia Lessin and Carl Deal, was a collaboration with Kimberly Rivers Roberts and Scott Roberts, two residents of New Orleans who were trapped by floodwaters during Hurricane Katrina when the levees broke a few blocks from their home. Kim Roberts, who like many of New Orleans' poorer residents, didn't have the resources to evacuate when the hurricane hit, had just purchased a camcorder off the streets for $20 the week before the storm blew in, and she was able to capture some remarkable footage of the hurricane, the flood waters rising, and the aftermath as New Orleans residents tried to rebuild their lives.

I was disappointed that the film, which won the Grand Jury prize for documentary at Sundance, didn't get picked up during the fest. Word just came out this morning that Trouble the Water has been acquired by Maximum Films International for international rights. It's great news that the filmmakers have a deal for rights outside North America, but I really want to see the film get picked up for North American distrib as well, and it's surprising that none of the independent distributors have picked it up yet. With the right marketing campaign backing it up, Trouble the Water has "Oscar contender" written all over it. Where are THINKfilm or Magnolia? Come on guys, get on the ball here -- someone needs to pick this film up and get behind it, and get it out in North America as well.

The most powerful documentary I've seen at Sundance is Trouble the Water, a take on Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath unlike anything I've seen. Combining footage shot by longtime Michael Moore collaborators Carl Deal and Tia Lessin with amateur video footage shot from the eye of the hurricane by New Orleans resident Kimberly Rivers Roberts (who received director of photography credit) the film shows the impact of Hurricane Katrina and what happened to the city's poorest residents both during and after the storm.

Roberts, who bought a camcorder off the street for $20 a week before the storm hit, intending to use it only to shoot family gatherings, captured the residents of the 9th Ward, one of the hardest-hit areas of New Orleans, as those who could got out and those who couldn't battened down the hatches in preparation for the storm. Roberts and her husband Scott were among those who were unable to evacuate the city because they had no transportation and no money to go anywhere. The mayor of New Orleans ordered the city evacuated, but there was no public transportation organized to get out those people who didn't have the means to do so on their own.