independents

(indie and independent films)

  small independent, low-budget companies, mini-majors, or entities for financing, producing, and distributing films (i.e., Miramax, New Line Cinema, Polygram) working outside of the system or a major Hollywood studio; however, an indie may lose its independent status when its grows large and powerful; also refers to a movie, director, distributor or producer (sometimes unconventional) not associated with or produced by a major Hollywood film studio; often with groundbreaking subject matter designed for sophisticated audiences, and not necessarily produced with commercial success as the goal, unlike mainstream films

  Example: California-based Miramax, although the leader in the independent film movement in the early 1990s, has become so powerful and successful that it has lost most of its independent studio status; indie films include Jim Jarmusch’s Stranger Than Paradise (1984), and Kevin Smith's Clerks (1994); the cable TV Independent Film Channel showcases indie films; see 50 Greatest Independent Films