What Is an Indie Film? Definition, Examples, and Filmmaking Tools
An indie film is a movie made outside the major studio system, usually with private funding, smaller crews, and greater creative control for the filmmaker. The label covers scrappy microbudget features, festival dramas, genre experiments, and even films later bought by large distributors. A classic case is The Blair Witch Project, which cost about $60,000 and earned nearly $249 million worldwide [source: Box Office Mojo].