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= Wiki Article Draft - Independent Film =

Contribution 1 - International Independent Film
The Independent Film Industry has been expanding beyond just the United States. In fact, many of the most prestigious film festivals are hosted in various cities around the world. The Berlin International Film Festival attracts over 130 countries, making it the largest film festival in the entire world. Other large events include the Toronto International Film Festival, Hong Kong International Film Festival, and the Panafrican Film and TV Festival of Ouagadougou.

Additionally, some countries are focusing on funding and strengthening their own film industries in order to keep up with that of the US. The European Union, specifically through the European Cinema and VOD Initiative (ECVI), has established programs that attempt to adapt to an increasing digital demand for film, outside of theatrical screenings. With this program, VOD offerings are paired with traditional movie screenings. There is also more of a push from EU National governments to fund all aspects of the arts, including film. The European Commission for Culture has an Audiovisual sector, for example, whose role is most notably to help distribute and promote films and festivals across Europe. Additionally, the Commission organizes policymaking, research, and reporting on "media literacy" and "digital distribution."

Contribution 2- Present day and digital filmmaking
In an effort to join the growing independent film industry, today's six major studios have established numerous subsidiary branches, designed to develop less commercial films that appeal to the growing art house market. These include United Artists, New Line Cinema, HBO Films, Castle Rock Entertainment, Turner Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation, TriStar Pictures, Disneynature, DreamWorks, Sony Pictures Classics, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Miramax Films, Warner Independent Pictures, Picturehouse, Paramount Classics/Paramount Vantage, Focus Features, Hollywood Pictures, Lucasfilm Ltd., Rogue Pictures, Five & Two Pictures, and Sherwood Pictures, among others.

An increasing access to widespread technologies has led to more people making movies of their own. These people may have little to no technical training, but instead are self-titled "filmmakers." Aspiring filmmakers can range from those simply with access to a phone or camera, to those who write spec scripts, actively network, and pursue a budget to have their films professionally produced. Often times, aspiring filmmakers have other day-jobs to support themselves financially while they pitch their scripts and ideas to independent film production companies, talent agents, and wealthy investors. New York City is a major resource for people pursing film as a career, because of the countless opportunities it has to offer. There are universities like NYU, which is considered to have one of the best film programs in the country, second only to USC in Los Angeles. . Additionally, according to the Motion Picture Association of America, many movie and television shoots have been moving to New York City; in 2016, the city was the shooting location of 128 films, including Spider-Man: Homecoming, The Dark Tower, and The Fate of the Furious. The economic side of filmmaking is also less of an obstacle than before, because the backing of a major studio is no longer needed to access necessary movie-funding. Crowdfunding services like Kickstarter, Pozible, and Tubestart have helped people raise thousands of dollars; enough to fund their own, low-budget productions. As a result of the falling cost of technology, filmmaking is more widely accessible than ever before.

Full-length films are often showcased at film festivals such as the Sundance Film Festival, Slamdance Film Festival, South By Southwest (SXSW) film festival, Raindance Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, and Palm Springs Film Festival. Award winners from these exhibitions are more likely to get picked up for distribution by major film studios. Film festivals and screenings like these are just one of the options in which movies can be independently produced/released.

The following are considered to be the most prevalent of the modern independent studios (they are used to produce/release independent films and foreign-language films in America):
 * A24
 * Amazon Studios
 * Amblin Partners
 * Annapurna Pictures
 * Bleecker Street
 * Bold Films
 * Broad Green Pictures
 * CBS Films
 * Drafthouse Films
 * Elevation Pictures
 * Entertainment One Films
 * EuropaCorp
 * Film4 Productions
 * Freestyle Releasing
 * GKIDS
 * Gravitas Ventures
 * IFC Films
 * Image Entertainment
 * IMAX Corporation
 * Lionsgate Films
 * Magnolia Pictures
 * Media Rights Capital
 * Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
 * Miramax
 * Music Box Films
 * Myriad Pictures
 * Neon
 * Netflix
 * Open Road Films
 * Oscilloscope
 * Phase 4 Films
 * Picturehouse
 * Pure Flix Entertainment
 * Relativity Media
 * Roadside Attractions
 * Samuel Goldwyn Films
 * Screen Media Films
 * STX Entertainment
 * Troma Entertainment
 * Variance Films
 * Vertical Entertainment
 * Voltage Pictures
 * The Weinstein Company
 * Worldview Entertainment
 * Yari Film Group
 * Zeitgeist Films

There are thousands of smaller production companies that produce authentic independent films yearly, in addition to these higher profile "independent" studios. These smaller companies look either to release their films regionally in theaters or for additional financing and resources to distribute their projects on a national scale. The direct-to-video market is not often noted as a strong outlet, nor as artistically fertile ground, but among its many entries are ambitious independent films that either failed to achieve theatrical distribution or did not seek it. As technology advances and distribution of films continues to shift more towards digital methods, the line between "film," direct-to-disc productions, and feature-length videos whose main distribution channel is wholly electronic, will continue to converge.