"Cinematic Independence traces the emergence, demise, and rebirth of big-screen film exhibition in Nigeria. Film companies flocked to Nigeria in the years following independence, beginning a long history of interventions by Hollywood and corporate America. The 1980s and 90s saw a shuttering of cinemas, which were almost entirely replaced by television and direct-to-video movies. After 1999, the exhibition sector was again revitalized with the construction of multiplexes. Cinematic Independence is about the periods that straddle this disappearing act: the decades bracketing independence in 1960, and the years after 1999. At stake in both instances is the postcolony's role in global debates about the future of the movie theater. That it was eventually resurrected in the flashy form of the multiplex is not simply an achievement of commercial real estate but also a testament to cinema's persistence--its capacity to stave off annihilation or, in this case, come back from the dead"--

A free open access ebook is available upon publication. Learn more at www.luminosoa.org. Cinematic Independence traces the emergence, demise, and rebirth of big-screen film exhibition in Nigeria. Film companies flocked to Nigeria in the years following independence, beginning a long history of interventions by Hollywood and corporate America. The 1980s and 1990s saw a shuttering of cinemas, which were almost entirely replaced by television and direct-to-video movies. However, after 1999, the exhibition sector was revitalized with the construction of multiplexes. Cinematic Independence is about the periods that straddle this disappearing act: the immediate decades bracketing independence in 1960, and the years after 1999. At stake is the Nigerian postcolony’s role in global debates about the future of the movie theater. That it was eventually resurrected in the flashy form of the multiplex is not simply an achievement of commercial real estate, but also a testament to cinema’s persistence—its capacity to stave off annihilation or, in this case, come back from the dead.

The independent sector has produced many of the most distinctive films to have appeared in the US in recent decades. From 'Sex, Lies and Videotape' in the 1980s to 'The Blair Witch Project' and New Queer Cinema in the 1990s and the ultra-low budget digital video features of the 2000s, indie films have thrived, creating a body of work that stands out from the dominant Hollywood mainstream. But what exactly is 'independent' cinema? This, the first book to examine the question in detail, argues that independence can be defined partly in industry terms but also according to formal and aesthetic strategies and by distinctive attitudes towards social and political issues, suggesting that independence is a dynamic rather than a fixed quality. Chapters focus on distribution and relationships with Hollywood studios; narrative ('Clerks' and 'Slacker' to 'Pulp Fiction', 'Magnolia' and 'Memento') and other formal dimensions (from 'Blair Witch's' 'authenticity' to expressive and stylized camerawork and editing in work from Harmony Korine to the Coen brothers); approaches to genre and alternative socio-political visions.

This is the first-ever book on the rise of the new wave of independent Indian films that is revolutionising Indian cinema. Contemporary scholarship on Indian cinema so far has focused asymmetrically on Bollywood—India’s dominant cultural export. Reversing this trend, this book provides an in-depth examination of the burgeoning independent Indian film sector. It locates the new 'Indies' as a glocal hybrid film form—global in aesthetic and local in content. They critically engage with a diverse socio-political spectrum of ‘state of the nation’ stories; from farmer suicides, disenfranchised urban youth and migrant workers to monks turned anti-corporation animal rights agitators. This book provides comprehensive analyses of definitive Indie new wave films including Peepli Live (2010), Dhobi Ghat (2010), The Lunchbox (2013) and Ship of Theseus (2013). It explores how subversive Indies, such as polemical postmodern rap-musical Gandu (2010) transgress conventional notions of ‘traditional Indian values’, and collide with state censorship regulations. This timely and pioneering analysis shows how the new Indies have emerged from a middle space between India’s globalising present and traditional past. This book draws on in-depth interviews with directors, actors, academics and members of the Indian censor board, and is essential reading for anyone seeking an insight into a current Indian film phenomenon that could chart the future of Indian cinema.

Discussing a variety of independent and experimental Italian films, this book gives voice to a critcically neglected form of Italian cinema. By examining the work of directors such as Marinella Pirelli, Mirko Locatelli and Cesrae Zavattini, the book defines, inspects and studies the cinematic panorama of Italy through a new lens. It thereby explores the character of independent films and their related practices within the Italian historical, cultural and cinematic landscape.

This anthology addresses the salient aesthetic, ideological and economic determinants of independent American cinema over the past three decades.

This book explores how independent film and music artists and labels use crowdfunding and where this use places crowdfunding in the contemporary system of cultural production. It complements an analysis of independence in film and music with the topic of crowdfunding as a firmly established form of financing cultural activity. In the second half of the 20th century, the concept of artistic independence was vital to classifying and distinguishing artists, their works, and labels or publishers who released them. However, during the last three decades, this term has become increasingly blurred, and some commentators argue that independence is in crisis. Can crowdfunding be the answer to this crisis? Some believe that it is, whereas others argue otherwise, seeing crowdfunding instead as just the next manifestation of this crisis. This dilemma is a starting point for the analyses of the relationships between crowdfunding and artistic independence conducted in this book, and will be of great interest to people looking for a deeper understanding of crowdfunding, how it can influence artistic independence, and what it means for artists and audiences. It will be a stimulating read for scholars and students with an interest in media and cultural studies, digital humanities, fandom, sociology, economics, business studies, and law, while also offering insights to artists and practitioners in the creative industries.