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.
Napoleon Dynamite is a 2004 American independent coming-of-age teen comedy film produced by Jeremy Coon, Chris Wyatt, and Sean Covel, written by Jared and Jerusha Hess, and directed by Jared Hess. The film stars Jon Heder in the role of the titular character, a nerdy high-school student who deals with several dilemmas: befriending an immigrant who wants to be class president, awkwardly pursuing a romance with a fellow student, and living with his quirky family.
Douglas Eric Liman is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing the films Swingers (1996), Go (1999), The Bourne Identity (2002), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), Jumper (2008), Edge of Tomorrow (2014), American Made (2017) and Road House (2024).
Miguel Arteta is a Puerto Rican director of film and television, known for his independent film Chuck & Buck (2000), for which he received the Independent Spirit John Cassavetes Award, and for the films The Good Girl (2002) and Cedar Rapids (2011).
Danielle RenfrewBehrens, or simply Danielle Renfrew, is an independent film producer with credits ranging from grassroots documentaries to major motion pictures. She has worked with prominent entertainment personalities including Quentin Tarantino, Elizabeth Banks, Courteney Cox, Nick Cannon, and Lily Tomlin. She previously served as the head of Animal Pictures alongside Natasha Lyonne and Maya Rudolph. Animal Pictures' releases include comedy special Sarah Cooper: Everything’s Fine and film Sirens, which was selected for Sundance Film Festival 2022.
Matthew Greenfield is the president of Searchlight Pictures, which has produced five Academy Awards for Best Picture winners, including Slumdog Millionaire, Birdman, 12 Years a Slave, The Shape of Water, and Nomadland. Greenfield and fellow Searchlight president David Greenbaum started Searchlight Television in 2018.
Rick Famuyiwa is an American filmmaker and television director.
Little Miss Sunshine is a 2006 American tragicomedy road film directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris from a screenplay written by Michael Arndt. The film stars an ensemble cast consisting of Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Paul Dano, Abigail Breslin, and Alan Arkin, all of whom play members of a dysfunctional family taking the youngest (Breslin) to compete in a child beauty pageant. It was produced by Big Beach Films on a budget of US$8 million. Filming began on June 6, 2005, and took place over 30 days in Arizona and Southern California.
Thomas Edgar Rothman is an American businessman, film producer, film executive and current chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group. In this role, Rothman oversees all of the studio's motion picture production and distribution activities worldwide, including Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures, Screen Gems, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Sony Pictures Animation, Sony Pictures Classics, 3000 Pictures, Sony Pictures International Productions, Stage 6 Films and AFFIRM Films. Rothman joined Sony Pictures in late 2013 as chairman of TriStar and in 2015 was promoted to Chairman of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, followed by the release in 2017 and 2018 of titles such as Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Venom, Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation, Peter Rabbit, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Under Rothman's leadership, the Motion Picture Group was returned to strong profitability and experienced several of its most profitable years in history with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Little Women. Driven by tentpoles such as Spider-Man: Far From Home, Jumanji: The Next Level, and Bad Boys for Life, fiscal year 2020 was the film studio's best in over a decade in terms of both ultimate profitability and operating income.
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.
Tamara Jenkins is an American filmmaker and occasional actress. She is best known for her feature films Slums of Beverly Hills (1998), The Savages (2007), and Private Life (2018).
Stoker is a 2013 psychological thriller film directed by Park Chan-wook, in his English-language debut, and written by Wentworth Miller. The film stars Mia Wasikowska, Matthew Goode, Nicole Kidman, Dermot Mulroney, and Jacki Weaver.
Fruitvale Station is a 2013 American biographical drama film written and directed by Ryan Coogler. It is Coogler's feature directorial debut, and is based on the events leading to the death of Oscar Grant, a young man killed in 2009 by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) police officer Johannes Mehserle at the Fruitvale district station in Oakland, California. The film stars Michael B. Jordan as Grant, with Kevin Durand and Chad Michael Murray playing the two BART police officers involved in Grant's death, although their names were changed for the film. Melonie Diaz, Ahna O'Reilly, and Octavia Spencer also star.
The Birth of a Nation is a 2016 historical drama film written and directed by Nate Parker in his directorial debut. It is based on the story of Nat Turner, the enslaved man who led a slave rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia, in 1831. The film stars Parker as Turner, with Armie Hammer, Mark Boone Jr., Colman Domingo, Aunjanue Ellis, Dwight Henry, Aja Naomi King, Esther Scott, Roger Guenveur Smith, Gabrielle Union, Penelope Ann Miller, and Jackie Earle Haley in supporting roles. Parker also petitioned financiers to invest in the film, ultimately getting $8.5 million in production budget, and started filming in May 2015 in Georgia. The film's title is an ironic callback to the 1915 KKK-focused silent film.
Donat Patrick Kack-Brice, known professionally as Patrick Brice, is an American film director, actor, screenwriter and cinematographer. He is known for directing Creep (2014), The Overnight (2015), Creep 2 (2017), Corporate Animals (2019) and There's Someone Inside Your House (2021).
Beatriz at Dinner is a 2017 comedy-drama film directed by Miguel Arteta and written by Mike White. An international co-production between the United States and Canada, it stars Salma Hayek, John Lithgow, Connie Britton, Jay Duplass, Amy Landecker, Chloë Sevigny, and David Warshofsky. It follows a holistic medicine practitioner who attends a wealthy client's dinner party after her car breaks down.
Andrew Droz Palermo, ASC is an American cinematographer, director, and screenwriter. He is known for his work on The Green Knight (2021), A Ghost Story (2017), You're Next (2011), A Teacher (2013), and for directing Rich Hill (2014) and One & Two (2015).
Sam Abbas is an Egyptian film director, screenwriter, and producer. He is noted for his artfully composed, poetic, and incident-light tableaus film style.
Wendy is a 2020 American fantasy drama film directed by Benh Zeitlin, from a screenplay by Zeitlin and his sister Eliza Zeitlin. The film stars Devin France, Yashua Mack, Gage Naquin, Gavin Naquin, Ahmad Cage, Krzysztof Meyn, and Romyri Ross. It is intended to be a re-imagining of J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan.
All Together Now is a 2020 American drama film directed by Brett Haley, from a screenplay by Haley, Marc Basch, and Matthew Quick. It is based upon the novel Sorta Like a Rockstar by Quick. It stars Auliʻi Cravalho, Justina Machado, Fred Armisen, Carol Burnett, Judy Reyes, Taylor Richardson, Rhenzy Feliz, Gerald Isaac Waters and Anthony Jacques.
