"Geoff King's important book stands with the best scholarship I haveseen on this vital, constantly evolving subject." -- David Sterritt, author ofThe Films of Alfred Hitchcock

The independent sector has producedmany of the most distinctive films to have appeared in the U.S. in recent decades.From sex, lies and videotape in the 1980s to The Blair Witch Project and New QueerCinema in the 1990s and the ultra--low budget digital video features of the 2000s, indie films have thrived, creating a body of work that stands out from the dominantHollywood mainstream. But what exactly is "independent" cinema?

In American Independent Cinema, Geoff King argues thatindependence can be defined partly in industry terms but also according to formaland aesthetic strategies and by distinctive attitudes toward social and politicalissues, suggesting that independence is a dynamic rather than a fixed quality.Chapters focus on distribution and relationships with Hollywood studios, narrativeand other formal dimensions, approaches to genre, and alternative sociopoliticalvisions. King also traces the history of the independent sector from the days ofearly cinema through the beginning of the 21st century.