To understand what's meant by "Undependent
Cinema" it's helpful to look at three basic categories of non-documentary
filmmaking:
Group (a) - Hollywood, Mainstream Feature
A film around 90 minutes long that is based on a scripted, narrative
plot and is produced with largescale funding and released through
major distribution chains with the intention of producing a profit
for the film's investors. Quite often these films also serve as vehicles
for product advertising and tie-ins related to other forms of commodification.
These films are produced by an industry analogous to the way Boeing
produces airplanes. This group also includes the foreign films that
likewise follow the Hollywood Industrial model.
Group (b) -Independent
A film usually based on a scripted, narrative plot that is produced
with small, though substantial, funding from friends, family and investors.
With some exceptions, the general goal of these films is to be submitted
to festivals with the hope of getting "picked up" or at least firmly
noticed by group (a). Often the longterm implicit goal of these films
is to provide the director, producer and/or actors entrance into group
(a). Since these films usually require budgets considerably larger
than the total-yearly-income of any average person, there is definite
ambiguity as to just what these films are "independent" from.
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