What is an independent film, you ask? Strictly speaking, an independent film is a movie that has been made without the backing and distribution of major film studios. Independent movies are also often low-budget and are not necessarily as “refined” as a major studio production. You also have to take into consideration that indie film makers tend to have to work day jobs in order to support the film that they are making, even though sometimes they can get financed from one of several smaller movie studios. The idea of the independent film goes all the way back to the early days of the Edison Trust. The Edison Trust was formed in 1908 and was comprised of all the major studios that existed at that time. The Trust had a monopoly on all the production and distribution of movies. As a result, many film-makers either refused to participate or were rejected by The Trust. The folks that refused to join the cartel were considered “independent.” It didn’t last long, with the Supreme Court essentially cutting off the head of the snake in 1912 and 1915. All patents held by The Edison Trust were canceled. During this time, a number of film makers had banded together to form the first movie studio systems. These led to the creation of some of the big studios that we see today: MGM, Paramount, Warner Bros., 20 Century Fox and RKO Pictures.
Now, I touched briefly on the history of independent films, because I feel it’s important to point out where all this comes from. There’s a lot more that happened between 1908 and 1950, but I want to focus more on why the independent film is so important to the film industry, at least in my opinion. I’ve heard people refer to indie movies as a genre, when it is clearly not a genre at all. The indie film is more of a mindset and philosophy than a genre. When film-makers feel pressured or constrained by the major movie studios, they try to find other avenues of financing and distribution. This one of the reasons why film festivals are so vital. The Canne and Sundance Film Festivals give independent film-makers a chance to have their movies or short films put out there for people to see. That’s not to say that a major film studio like Paramount won’t pick these up, because sometimes they do, and that’s not always a bad thing. Having the recognition of a major studio can have a very positive effect on the film-maker and the people involved with his/her film. It also allows audiences outside of these festivals a glimpse at some of these “unsung heroes” of cinema, so to speak.
So, why is the independent film important in TODAY’S world? The answer is simpler than you would think: Technology. While the film festivals that I mentioned are still important, the advent of social media today actually makes it a lot easier for indie film makers to get their films out to the public. YouTube, Vimeo, Amazon, Netflix, Facebook, and Instagram are all tools that are available for indie film makers to utilize. You don’t even have to be super-rich or famous to get your stuff out there. I’ve seen a lot of short films and small movies over the past 6 years that have been really good. With social media, you can buck the system, and you don’t have to really adhere to the rules of the major movie studios or the MPAA. Now, you might not get your film into theaters, but movie theaters are becoming less and less relevant as time goes on, with the advent of online streaming. Why go to a movie theater, when you can stream the movie from the comfort of your own home? That’s not to say that big-budget movies and movie studios are evil. Not at all. They just have a very different mindset. They are more focused on the business side of things. It’s not wrong, but I feel that the quality of some of these big movies don’t justify the enormous price tag. Look at independent movies like Weapon of Choice, Road To Hell, The Evil Dead, Donnie Darko, and The Terminator. These films prove that you can have a compelling and decent movie without the backing of somebody like, say, 20th Century Fox.
The independent film is import because it forces the film-makers to get really creative in terms of not only their content, but in how to distribute it as well. It also shows that even with all these big-budget movies, it’s not necessarily as compelling. All you really need is a camera, maybe some actors, a few bucks, and the will and passion to create. THAT’S what draws me to independent movies. Sometimes the drive and desire to create something is far more important than making money. Money is important for independent movies, but it’s not the driving force. Money isn’t everything, and it shouldn’t be everything. Anyway, that’s my take on the whole independent movie thing. I tend to find independent movies far more interesting than the crap that’s being pushed into theaters these days.