10 of the best contemporary indie filmmakers
An independent film, or indie film for short, is characterised as a feature film or short film produced outside the central movie studio system. As created and distributed by independent entertainment companies, indie productions are distinguishable by their content and style, with indie filmmakers executing their artistic vision. The genre achieves all of this with a considerably lower budget when compared to the significant big Hollywood studios.
Indie film fans, described as a niche market, view these releases at independent theatres, with no IMAX or 3D to heighten the visual experience. Independent films are often screened at international film festivals before distribution and can rival mainstream film production if it has the necessary funding and distribution. Despite all these credentials and processes of an indie movie, it can sometimes be misconstrued as what counts as an indie film. Movie fans sometimes cite a feature as indie based on style and style alone, neglecting the independent aspect of the film type.
A break in conventions distinguishes indie style; when it comes to visual media, this can mean a non-narrative film having repetition in unconventional shots. A stylistic indie film also has a grunge, ‘effortless’ costume department worn by suburban teenagers currently experiencing a ‘coming-of-age’ story. There also has to be a fitting soundtrack to accentuate the indie style, composed of underground bands of the indie folk or rock subgenre.
Indie filmmakers design and direct their work to employ both these sides of the indie film; the background context and filmic appearance. Here are ten of the best filmmakers contributing to the indie genre and process of filmmaking.
10 of the best indie filmmakers:
Greta Gerwig
Actor-turned-director Greta Gerwig made a name for herself in the film industry by appearing in and writing mumblecore films, meaning low-budget films characterised by naturalistic and improv dialogue. Gerwig’s first directed film was Nights and Weekends, a story about a long-distance relationship.
Gerwig’s second directed feature, LadyBird, is one of the most recent quintessential indie film examples. Saoirse Ronan plays the titular character as she navigates the transition from high school to college during the 1990s. Lady Bird, exhibited by the independent company A24, is a coming-of-age drama that is as realistic as it is decorative, with staple ’90s trends mixed with the indie style. When discussing her vision of the film, Gerwig explained how Lady Bird is an extension of her documentation of her experiences: “I tend to start with things from my own life, then pretty quickly they spin out into their own orbit.”
Damien Chazelle
This French-American filmmaker began his career in 2009 with his independent musical Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench. After writing two horror thrillers, Chazelle wrote and directed Whiplash, a psychological drama showing music schools’ darker side.
Miles Tiller stars as an aspiring student under J.K. Simmons’ challenging mentor. Whiplash had a medium-sized budget of $3.3 million and ended up grossing $49 million after opening to a limited release. Chazelle’s film snagged Academy Award nominations for Best Film Editing and Best Sound Mixing. The film was produced by Blumhouse Productions, a production company that scopes out low-budget features. Its themes of perfectionism and dedication resonated with audiences deeply, generating a response that triumphed over its lower budget and small release.
Noah Baumbach
Noah Baumbach’s features include The Squid and the Whale, an independent comedy-drama that follows two boys dealing with their parent’s divorce. Baumbach made the film with a £1.5 million budget and a super 16 mm camera he held, having been inspired by French New Wave. This approach resulted in a niche style that portrays a grounded story reflected in the grounded visuals.
In addition, Baumbach is known for his collaborations with fellow indie-style filmmaker Gerwig, the two becoming a dynamic duo in niche indie filmmaking. He wrote the comedy-drama Greenberg that Gerwig starred in and directed her screenplay for Frances Ha, made from a budget of $3 million.
Lynn Shelton
Another veteran of the mumblecore genre was Lynn Shelton, an American filmmaker known for writing and directing films such as Humpday and Your Sister’s Sister, the latter being made from a budget of $120,000 and grossing $3.2 million. Just shows what a well-made indie film can make of its roots.
Shelton also directed the A24 comedy Laggies, which starred Sam Rockwell, one of the most significant indie film actors. The director’s films mostly premiered at festivals, such as Toronto and South by Southwest.
Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez
This directing duo changed ideas of filmmaking from a budget of $200,000 and no expert equipment. The Blair Witch Project follows the story of three students who head into an alleged haunted woods to document the legend of the local Blair witch. The film is shot as found footage using a Hi8 camcorder due to its low budget and was the most impactful of its sub-genre.
The Blair Witch Project also had a cast of unknown faces playing fictionalised versions of themselves and was marketed as an actual missing people case story. As a result, audiences flocked to the theatres to see what they thought was a horror documentary, and the film grossed $248.6 million at the box office. It is now cited as one of the greatest horrors of all time, influencing the genre for years to come and proving indie filmmaking’s potential and power.
Sofia Coppola
The daughter of Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola, Sofia Coppola made her directorial debut with the 1999 coming-of-age drama The Virgin Suicides, establishing a different filmmaking path to that of her father. This film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival before undergoing a limited release in theatres. The Virgin Suicides was shot on a budget of $6.1 million as an extension of Coppola’s appreciation of suburban life photography: “There was always a sort of romantic quality about American suburbia that was so clear in my head once I figured out the puzzle of adapting it.”
Coppola then directed Lost in Translation, a romantic drama starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson. The film uses bold and attentive visual language to emphasise its thematic values, such as intentional coloured lighting, dream-like editing, and unique camera movement. Coppola also wrote and directed the film to defy mainstream narrative conventions, causing Lost in Translation to be cited as a staple of indie filmmaking.
Benh Zeitlin
This director is most known for writing and directing the 2012 fantasy drama Beasts of the Southern Wild. Following a six-year-old girl’s quest to find her lost mother, this film premiered at numerous film festivals before a limited release. Beasts of the Southern Wild was made from a budget of $1.8 million and surpassed it by grossing $2.3 million. The film was shot on location with a naturalistic atmosphere contrasting its fantasy elements.
Zeitlin also directed a re-imagining of J.M Barrie’s Peter Pan, Wendy, released to film festivals in 2020. He has also directed three short films and co-founded the Court 13 independent collection of filmmakers.
Barry Jenkins
Barry Jenkins directed his first film, My Josephene, in 2003, followed by Medicine for Melancholy in 2008. This independent romantic drama had its premiere at SXSW, distributed by the independent company IFC Films. Medicine for Melancholy employs an unconventional use of colour to execute its values, such as the film being edited in black-and-white with specific sequences only having colour to reflect when the characters are not thinking about race.
Jenkins’ most notable film is the 2016 coming-of-age drama Moonlight. The film is separated into three stages of its main character’s life: childhood, adolescence and early adult life, documenting his journey with his sexuality and race. Moonlight is a remarkable story in the film industry, as its budget was $1.5 million, yet it grossed $65.3 million and won the Academy Award for Best Picture following an infamous mix-up where La La Land was accidentally announced. It was the second lowest-grossing film to win the award, with The Hurt Locker being the first. The film exhibits a distinct colour palette of purples, and blues, framed in melancholic shots to heighten the emotional experience.
Jeremy Saulnier
This filmmaker and cinematographer was awarded the John Cassevetes Award, given to the creative team of a film budgeted at less than $500,000, in 2013 for Blue Ruins. This film was funded by a Kickstarter campaign and premiered at Cannes, proving that low-budget non-studio films have all the potential of studio films when narrative and style are utilised correctly.
The director’s third feature, Green Room, is an A24 horror that impressed audiences in a limited release. Green Room relies on punk music and its underground culture to communicate its story and soundtrack, appealing to this subculture’s niche audience. The rest of Saulnier’s work has been screened at film festivals to limited audiences.
John Cassavettes
Cited as the pioneer of indie filmmaking, John Cassavattes revolutionised DIY filmmaking. His film Faces was shot in his own house with his friends on a grainy 16 mm film stock with handheld movement. The film defies Hollywood standards and conventions through its consistent close-ups, awkward yet realistic dialogue and a fly-on-the-wall naturalistic atmosphere.
Criticisms of being unprofessional with poor execution skills met Cassavetes; however, he continued to contribute to indie filmmaking to rejuvenate it to what it is today. Through his actor-centred approach and rejection of the Hollywood style, the actor-turned-filmmaker cemented himself in film. His films told stories focused on raw emotions prioritised over flashy cinematic style. The director outlined his views and issues on filmmaking: “The hardest thing for a filmmaker, or a person like me, is to find people … who want to do something … They’ve got to work on a project that’s theirs.”
This outlook emphasises his personal and creative approach and motivation for filmmaking, which differs from big-budget studios venturing out for profit.
