Independent film
An independent film is produced or distributed largely outside the major studio system, often with independent financing and greater creative control.
Film financing: The process of securing and structuring money for a film’s development, production, and release. Independent productions often assemble budgets from private investors, grants, presales, and other sources.
Crowdfunding: Raising money from many people, usually through an online platform or public campaign. Filmmakers can use small contributions to finance projects without a studio commission.
Shadows (1959 film): John Cassavetes’s 1959 feature, made outside Hollywood with a small budget and largely improvised performances. Its production and financing became an influential example of American independent filmmaking.
Hollywood studio system: The vertically integrated system through which major Hollywood companies controlled film production, distribution, and exhibition. Independent filmmaking took shape partly in opposition to this concentrated industrial model.
Major film studio: A large film company with substantial resources for financing, producing, marketing, and distributing movies. Its scale and integrated operations provide the clearest institutional contrast to independent production.
Film production: The process of developing, making, and completing a motion picture. Independent films operate across the same production stages as studio films, often with smaller teams.
Pre-sale: A financing arrangement in which distribution rights are sold before a film is completed. Advance sales can help independent producers secure production loans and reduce investor risk.
The Blair Witch Project: A 1999 American horror film presented as recovered footage from a missing-persons expedition. Its tiny production budget and inventive campaign preceded an unusually wide commercial release.
Paramount Decree: A 1948 U.S. Supreme Court decision that required major film studios to end practices tying production to theater ownership. The ruling reshaped studio control of exhibition and opened space for other production and distribution arrangements.
Studio system: An industrial model in which a small number of film companies control major stages of production and distribution. Independent status is often defined by distance from this concentrated system.