This introduction to American Independent Cinema offers both a comprehensive industrial and economic history of the sector from the early twentieth century to the present and a study of key individual films, filmmakers and film companies. Ordered chronologically, beginning with independent filmmaking in the studio era (examining both top-rank and low-end independent film production), moving to the 1950s and 1960s (discussing both the adoption of independent filmmaking as the main method of production as well as exploitation filmmaking) and finishing with contemporary American independent cinema (exploring areas such as the New Hollywood, the rise of mini-major and major independent companies and the institutionalisation of independent cinema in the 1990s), readers will develop an understanding of the complex dynamic relations between independent and mainstream American cinema. Thoroughly updated to include developments from the mid-2000s onwards, this second edition includes new case studies, a new chapter on American Independent Cinema in the Age of Media Convergence, a new prologue and an enhanced epilogue and bibliography. Each chapter includes case studies focusing on specific films or filmmakers, and independent production and distribution companies are discussed throughout the text.