Directory Of World Cinema: American Independent

Product Description

With high-profile Academy Award nominations & an increasing number of big-name actors eager to sign on to promising projects, independent films have been at the forefront in recent years like never before. But the roots of such critical & commercial successes as The Hurt Locker & Precious can be traced to the first boom of independent cinema in the 1960s, when a raft of talented filmmakers emerged to capture the attention of a rapidly growing audience of young viewers. A thorough overview of a thriving sector of cultural production, the Directory of World Cinema: American Independent chronicles the rise of the independent sector as an outlet for directors who challenge the status quo, yet still produce accessible feature films that find wide audiences & enjoy considerable box office appeal, without sacrificing critical legitimacy. Key directors are interviewed & profiled, & a sizeable selection of films are referenced & reviewed. More than a dozen sub-genres
- including African American cinema, queer cinema, documentary, familial dysfunction & exploitation
- are individually considered, with an emphasis on their ability to exemplify & engage with tensions inherent in American society. Copious illustrations & a range of research resources round out the volume, making this a truly comprehensive guide. At a time when independent films are enjoying considerable cultural cachet, this easy-to-use yet authoritative guide will find an eager audience in media historians, film studies scholars & movie buffs alike.