This indispensable collection offers 51 chapters, each focused on a distinct American independent film. Screening American Independent Film presents these films chronologically, addressing works from across more than a century (1915−2020), emphasizing the breadth and long duration of American independent cinema. The collection includes canonical examples as well as films that push against and expand the definitions of "independence." The titles run from micro-budget films through marketing-friendly Indiewood projects, from auteur-driven films and festival darlings to B-movies, genre pics, and exploitation films. The chapters also introduce students to different approaches within film studies including historical and contextual framing, industrial and institutional analysis, politics and ideology, genre and authorship, representation, film analysis, exhibition and reception, and technology. Written by leading international scholars and emerging talents in film studies, this volume is the first of its kind. Paying particular attention to issues of diversity and inclusion for both the participating scholars and the content and themes within the selected films, Screening American Independent Film is an essential resource for anyone teaching or studying American cinema.

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American independent cinema has undergone several incarnations since its emergence as a politically charged underground movement in the 1960s. Today, with high-profile Academy Award nominations and an increasing number of big-name actors eager to sign on to promising projects, these films garner more interest than ever before. This book extends its chronicle of the independent sector s rise as an outlet for directors who both challenge the status quo and enjoy considerable box office appeal, without sacrificing critical legitimacy. This book includes one hundred and fifty reviews of significant American independent films, ranging from such cult classics as Faces, My Hustler, and Supervixens to recent releases like Drive, Mysterious Skin, and Win Win. At a time when independent films are enjoying considerable cultural cachet, this easy-to-use yet authoritative guide will find an eager audience among media historians, film studies scholars, and movie buffs alike.

Indie Cinema Online maps out a cultural history of American independent cinema online from 1999 to the present, from Netflix and its use of online streaming to the first feature film released on YouTube to Sundance's creation of digital shorts and web series intended for cell phone viewing.

Fizzle is a compilation, a journal if you will, of events and snippets from my experience in the film industry for over forty years. There was no place to log the bumpy ride that led to the demise of the American Independent film movement, an industry that once sizzled. You might say this book is about the Fizzle of the Sizzle. It is wishful thinking on my behalf to believe this book will explain how the sharks got away with fleecing filmmakers, and why they will continue to do so. Indie filmmakers, unlike the dinosaurs, will reinvent themselves. The hope is that this journal might save a few schmucks who are as naive as I was when I made my first two films. The nightmare is that it might attract a new generation of scumbags who can learn how to screw filmmakers. Both scenarios will undoubtedly play out. To paraphrase Shaw in my sole disclaimer: I often quote myself, in order to spice things up a bit. Norman Gerards tome is full of sound and fury. Hes got an impassioned viewpoint about why it all went wrong. The time has come for someone to offer a bruising critique, to speak truths about the indie world that the media has largely either chosen to ignore, or missed while they fell in love with the colorful young characters and the so-called spirit of American indie cinema. Gerard would argue that spirit is more like a disease, that the so-called honesty of the American indie film movement masked essential business deceptions that would inevitably lead to the current disastrous landscape... Prepare for a rollicking ride through good times and bad, high art and low-lifes, auteurs and con artists. Gerard has them all in the pages of this book. If there were any money left for indie film productions, it might make a great film and it clearly won't be a studio-backed picture. Its got corrosive honesty, hard-hitting political implications, sleazy characters no major star would want to play, all topped off by a downbeat ending. Theres one word for the spirit of this tome: Its truly INDEPENDENT. -- Steven Gaydos Variety, Executive Editor

This guide gives the lowdown on maverick filmmaking, from sleazy exploitation flicks and satirical documentaries to chilling horror movies and quirky suburban dramas.

The legendary figure who launched the careers of Spike Lee, Michael Moore, and Richard Linklater offers a no-holds-barred look at the deals and details that propel an indie film from a dream to distribution.

Celluloid Mavericks: A History of American Independent Filmmaking documents this rich history, showing what it meant to be "independent" in the 1930s and what it means today. Author Greg Merritt distinguishes between indie and semi-indie productions, explores the genres represented under the independent umbrella, and addresses the question of what makes a movie independent -- its "spirit" or the budget backing the production. From one-reel flicks at the turn of the century to the blockbusters of the ‘90s, Celluloid Mavericks takes readers on a fascinating tour of the industry.

The most important development in American culture of the last two decades is the emergence of independent cinema as a viable alternative to Hollywood's safe and innocuous entertainment. Indeed, while Hollywood studios devote much of their time and energy to churning out big-budget, star-studded event movies, a renegade independent cinema that challenges mainstream fare continues to flourish with strong critical support and loyal audiences.

"Independent Visions is an indispensable guide to the independent filmmakers who are changing how we look at movies. Donald Lyons writes with wit and passion."--Peter Travers, Rolling Stone Far from the big money movie machine of Hollywood lies the cutting-edge, artistically fresh world of American independent film. These independent filmmakers, working outside the formulas and constraints of the big studios, produce today's most exciting and innovative movies. In Independent Visions, film critic Donald Lyons surveys the surprisingly vast array of these independents from across the country and dissects the fascinating careers of the men and women who made them, Including: Joel Coen (Barton Fink) * Martha Coolidge (Rambling Rose) * David Cronenberg (Naked Lunch) * Abel Ferrara (Bad Lieutenant) * Carl Franklin (One False Move) * Leslie Harris (Just Another Girl on the I.R.T.) * Hal Hartley (Simple Men) * Jim Jarmusch (Mystery Train) * Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing) * David Lynch (Blue Velvet) * John McNaughton (Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer) * Robert Rodriguez (El Mariachi) * Nancy Savoca (True Love) * John Sayles (Passion Fish) * John Singleton (Boyz N the Hood) * Steven Soderbergh (Sex, Lies and Videotape) * Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs) * Gus Van Sant (My Own Private Idaho) * and many more!