Due to the success of the independent filmmaking movement, & the web, & the digital revolution, Independent Film, at this point in time, is largely a meaningless label. Because at this point Independent Film does not represent one set of ideas, or one particular political stance - it's just temporarily-outside-of-Hollywood filmmaking - covering genres from horror to coming of age romantic comedies - so almost anything can be called Independent now - even multi-million dollar movies featuring Hollywood stars. Also, no content - critical voices, just plain bizarre scenes, characters, dialogue, etc - are outside of the mainstream anymore - everything is readily available from one source or another, nothing is forbidden. So, Independent Film is largely an art/entertainment making movement of the very recent past. So, what's new - what do we have now?
We have all kinds of interesting filmed art & entertainment happening - on movie screens, on regular TV, on cable TV, on the internet, on DVDs, on cell phones. As a content creator or filmmaker - find out what you would like to make & find out the best available way to make it right now - maybe fully self financed on a budget of $100 or financed by investors on a budget of $100,000, or a TV series produced by a major studio - whatever works. As an audience member, seek out what excites you through all the available avenues. Indie recommendations, indie theaters, even indie film focused blogs, are no longer very relevant - as what is being considered officially indie has become very uninteresting (for example - Miranda July's The Future, pretty much most of the Mumblecore movies, etc) and very interesting things are starting to pop up from unexpected sources (Woody Allen's Midnight In Paris being better/more enjoyable than most indie movies by younger filmmakers that I've seen recently, also Star Trek: Enterprise coming up with some very interesting & entertaining episodes on Netflix - available for streaming).
So, thanks Independent Film, you changed the world, enjoy your retirement. If the media making & distribution & consumption landscape radically changes for the worse, I am sure you'll be brought back to action - like an old timey superhero.
In the meantime, hello interesting & unusual & enjoyable movies - regardless of the way you were made, how much or little money went into making you, who stars, etc.
All in all I think this post-indie film present-near future situation is an improvement on things. Lets see if we end up with better movies, more enjoyable movies, & more useful movies under this system than we did with the old indie vs. hollywood or indie & hollywood system.
- S
