This is a list of notable American independent films (which are also known sometimes as "specialty", "alternative", "indie", and/or "quality") [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] that were made outside of the Hollywood studio system or traditional arthouse/independent filmmaking yet managed to be produced, financed and distributed by the two with varying degrees of success and/or failure. [8]
The American independent film, prior to the 1980s and first half of the 1990s, [9] [10] [11] was previously associated with b movies, exploitation films, avant-garde underground cinema (when it was known as the New American Cinema [12] ), social and political documentaries, experimental animated shorts (since the mid-1930s featuring works by pioneer animators Mary Ellen Bute and Oskar Fischinger) and social realist dramas. [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]
Throughout the middle of the 1990s, the word "Indiewood" (a.k.a. "indie boom" or "indie film movement") [19] [20] [4] was invented to describe a component of the spectrum of American films in which distinctions exist, it seemed as if Hollywood and the independent sector had become blurred. [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [4]
The films are often made for far less money than Hollywood films [26] [27] (some films like Robert Townsend's 1987's satire Hollywood Shuffle and Kevin Smith's 1994 Gen X comedy Clerks were funded by using credit cards [11] ) and each aspect of the filmmaking process has to undergo less scrutiny by committees. Additionally, within the Indiewood approach the filmmaker can take as long as they need in the post-production phase of their film - whereas in Hollywood they are contracted to finish the film in a specific period of time (usually 10 weeks). In Hollywood, the film then goes on to show in focus group screenings on the studio lot. In Indiewood, the filmmakers can determine the next steps of the film. They also bear striking similarities to as well as were influenced by the "proto-indies" of the 1960s such as Robert Downey Sr's still image film Chafed Elbows (1966), John Cassavetes's Academy Award-nominated Faces and Brian de Palma's Greetings (each from 1968) which in turn were influenced by the culture of the Beat Generation, the polar opposite to the conformist, gray-flannel conformity of 1950s America. [28] [16]
Many indie films were made by small companies that were created daily in the 80s and 90s to the point where most of them went bankrupt. [29]
Most Indiewood films are first shown at film festivals with the hopes of further distribution by being picked up (or purchased) by a larger film company or distributor in order to find broader audiences alongside awards consideration [30] [31] (e.g. 2009's A Single Man ). [32]
Indiewood divisions gain from expert experience of the niche industry by hiring leading independent personalities such as Harvey Weinstein [33] from the Disney fold after the exit of the Weinsteins, [34] [35] and James Schamus, former joint head of Good Machine, at Focus Features. [36]
[152] [64] [100] [101] [16] [44] [127] ≈
[151] [152] [14] [64] [100] [101] [44]
[100] [14] [101] [127] [74] [96] ≈
[146] [43] [164] [73] [174] [151] [152] [64] [74] [126] [100] [175] [14] [176] [101] [16] [44] [66] [96] ≈
[6] [171] [152] [64] [74] [66]
[66] [180] [99] [16] [44] [74] ≈
[6] [171] [191] [152] [44] [74] [192]
[164] [73] [6] [171] [195] [77] [74] [180]
[191] [152] [64] [100] [99] [44] ≈
[4] [190] [150] [41] [6] [64] [16] [44] ≈
[152] [100] [44] [74] [179] [180]
[6] [195] [77] [44] [179] [180]
[102] [64] [77] [44] [74] [66]
[73] [64] [100] [99] [44] [74] [224]
[246] [191] [152] [227] [64] [99] [77] [44] [74] [224]
[9] [101] [16] [44] [127] [74] [66] [126]
[208] [43] [164] [73] [171] [152] [16] [74] [305]
[146] [43] [164] [151] [152] [9] [101] [127] [74]
[151] [101] [16] [74] [7] [66]
[43] [73] [174] [152] [99] [101] [44] [74]
[164] [73] [171] [152] [101] [16] [44] [66] [305]
[20] [139] [164] [73] [174] [151] [152] [206] [175] [16] [44]
Cinéma vérité is a style of documentary filmmaking developed by Edgar Morin and Jean Rouch, inspired by Dziga Vertov's theory about Kino-Pravda. It combines improvisation with use of the camera to unveil truth or highlight subjects hidden behind reality. It is sometimes called observational cinema, if understood as pure direct cinema: mainly without a narrator's voice-over. There are subtle, yet important, differences between terms expressing similar concepts. Direct cinema is largely concerned with the recording of events in which the subject and audience become unaware of the camera's presence: operating within what Bill Nichols, an American historian and theoretician of documentary film, calls the "observational mode", a fly on the wall. Many therefore see a paradox in drawing attention away from the presence of the camera and simultaneously interfering in the reality it registers when attempting to discover a cinematic truth.
The term independent animation refers to animated shorts, web series, and feature films produced outside a major national animation industry.
An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies. Independent films are sometimes distinguishable by their content and style and how the filmmakers' artistic vision is realized. Sometimes, independent films are made with considerably lower budgets than major studio films.
The New Hollywood, Hollywood Renaissance, American New Wave, or New American Cinema, was a movement in American film history from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, when a new generation of filmmakers came to prominence. They influenced the types of film produced, their production and marketing, and the way major studios approached filmmaking. In New Hollywood films, the film director, rather than the studio, took on a key authorial role.
The Film Independent Spirit Awards are awards presented annually to independent filmmakers. Founded in 1984, the event was renamed the Independent Spirit Awards in 1986. The ceremony is produced by Film Independent, a not-for-profit arts organization that used to produce the LA Film Festival. Film Independent members vote to determine the winners of the Spirit Awards.
Postmodernist film is a classification for works that articulate the themes and ideas of postmodernism through the medium of cinema. Some of the goals of postmodernist film are to subvert the mainstream conventions of narrative structure and characterization, and to test the audience's suspension of disbelief. Typically, such films also break down the cultural divide between high and low art and often upend typical portrayals of gender, race, class, genre, and time with the goal of creating something that does not abide by traditional narrative expression.
Indiewood films are made outside of the Hollywood studio system or traditional arthouse/independent filmmaking system yet managed to be produced, financed and distributed by the two with varying degrees of success and/or failure.
IndieWire is a film industry and film criticism website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "include all aspects of Hollywood and the expanding universes of TV and streaming". IndieWire is part of Penske Media.
Yvonne Welbon is an American independent film director, producer, and screenwriter based in Chicago. She is known for her films, Living with Pride:Ruth C. Ellis @ 100 (1999), Sisters in Cinema (2003), and Monique (1992).
The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,660 attending in 2016. The festival takes place every January in Park City, Utah; Salt Lake City, Utah; and at the Sundance Resort, and acts as a showcase for new work from American and international independent filmmakers. The festival consists of competitive sections for American and international dramatic and documentary films, both feature films and short films, and a group of out-of-competition sections, including NEXT, New Frontier, Spotlight, Midnight, Sundance Kids, From the Collection, Premieres, and Documentary Premieres. Many films premiering at Sundance have gone on to be nominated and win Oscars such as Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor in a Leading Role.
David Linde is the CEO of the Los Angeles, California-based film production company Participant, a position to which he was appointed in October 2015. Prior to his role at Participant, Linde had leading roles at Universal Pictures, Focus Features, Good Machine, and Lava Bear Films, where films released during his tenures collectively earned more than $14 billion globally, with 158 Oscar nominations and 34 wins.
Vulgar auteurism is a movement that emerged in early 2010s cinephilia and film criticism associated with championing or reappraising filmmakers, mostly those working in the horror, sci-fi and action genres and whose work has otherwise received little attention or negative reception in the critical mainstream. It became a controversial topic in the cinephile community following the publication of an article in the Village Voice in 2013 and has been described as "a critical movement committed to assessing the 'unserious' artistry of popcorn cinema with absolute seriousness."
Sundae in New York is a 1983 American animated short film directed by Jimmy Picker and starring Scott Record.
Maximalist film or maximalist cinema is related to the art and philosophy of maximalism.
Minimalist cinema is related to the art and philosophy of minimalism.
Modernist film is related to the art and philosophy of modernism.
Arthouse animation is a combination of art film and animated film.
Postmodern horror is a horror film related to the art and philosophy of postmodernism. Examples of this type of film includes George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead, Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and John Carpenter's slasher film Halloween.
This is the list of the winners of the Sundance Grand Jury Prize for dramatic features.
This is a list of winners of the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award for dramatic features.