Film festivals are where independent projects find studios

Defining an indie film

Indie movies have a definite history, but the use of the word by contemporary audiences can be vague. This brief explainer goes into a few tiers of indie film and a quick historical overview.

The Cannes Film Festival was created as a response to fascism

Initially called the International Film Festival, Cannes was created as an alternative to the Venice Film Festival, which French diplomat Philippe Erlanger believed had been politicized by the influence of Hitler and Mussolini.

A statistical breakdown of the global film industry

Dive into this collection of stats and infographics explaining the current state of both Hollywood and the global film industry. The page covers a variety of topics, including independent film production, box office revenue, global film markets, movie-going demographics and more. It also addresses the relatively new phenomenon of home video streaming.

The 100 greatest cinemas in the world

Sure, it's convenient to stream a movie at home, but we believe there's no better way to see a great film than at a great theater. This extensive list explores the best of the best, featuring profiles of a Pennsylvania drive-in, an Icelandic arthouse, and many other amazing venues.

The people behind the indie film studio A24

The movie "Everything Everywhere All At Once" has dominated at the box office and in awards shows, the latest in indie film studio A24's string of cult favorites. This absorbing piece reports on what makes A24's executives distinct from other...

Regional theaters help develop shows for Broadway

Theaters like the La Jolla Playhouse often act as testing grounds for Broadway, allowing audiences to witness groundbreaking world premieres before they hit the Great White Way.

Films must meet a long list of requirements to be considered for an Oscar

Each nominating category has slightly different rules. For best picture, the film must have run for at least a week in one of six specified US cities; for best original screenplay, the nominee must provide a copy of their shooting script.

In recent years, Hollywood studios have reevaluated their Comic‑Con presence

Comic-Con’s impact on the movie industry may be diminishing. In 2025, major studios—including Marvel, DC, Lucasfilm, Sony, Paramount, Legendary, and Lionsgate—scaled back Comic‑Con participation. They cited high costs, timing that didn’t align with release schedules, and limited marketing impact in a crowded promotional landscape.

Thomas Edison inadvertently spurred the film industry's move to Hollywood

The inventor's patent on the motion picture camera included several stipulations that required independent movie studios to work with Edison's Motion Picture Patents Co., making the East Coast undesirable for aspiring filmmakers.

Why the Linux Foundation partnered with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

In founding the Academy Software Foundation in 2018, the Linux Foundation spread its open-source philosophy to the cinema by establishing a neutral forum for sharing animation, visual effects, and audio technologies across projects. Its founding members include DreamWorks Animation, Epic Games, Google Cloud, Intel, and Walt Disney Studios.

The Sundance Film Festival is named after a Robert Redford character

Redford purchased a plot of land in Utah in 1969, calling it Sundance Mountain Resort, a nod to his role in the film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." Soon after purchasing the land, he began hosting workshops to develop young artists. The Sundance Film Festival (originally called the Utah/US Film Festival) was first held in 1978 and was intended to draw attention to independent cinema.

Movie trailers used to air after the film, hence why they’re called ‘trailers’

These in-theatre advertisements used to “trail” the movie rather than precede it. The first movie trailer shown at the movies dates back to 1913, when marketer Nils Granlund put together rehearsal footage of an upcoming Broadway musical to drive ticket sales.

Why so many movies are filmed in Vancouver

Vancouver, a major city in British Columbia, is a hugely popular filming location. The Canadian metropolis hosts film sets for movies based in New York City, Seattle, Kansas, and even India. Filmmakers seek out Vancouver for a number of reasons, mainly boiling down to tax breaks and the area’s diverse array of landscapes and city settings. Watch this Vox video for an in-depth breakdown of the rising interest in using Canada as a film backdrop.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

Nollywood is Nigeria's booming film industry

With storytelling roots in the Yoruba tradition of traveling theater troupes, Nollywood has slowly expanded its influence—and the world is taking notice. Over the last decade, Netflix invested more than $23M in the Nigerian film industry.

Startup accelerators offer mentorship and seed funding in exchange for equity

Those programs, such as Y Combinator and Techstars, not only offer expert advice to founders, but also seed funding in exchange for equity. The goal is to help young startups learn from successful companies, making it more likely they attract venture capital.

YouTube evolved into a film distributor

YouTube has evolved from a random clearinghouse of user-uploaded video content to a global media powerhouse. One example is the use of YouTube to distribute "Milk & Serial," a slasher film made for $800 that eventually racked up hundreds of thousands of views.

‘Eureka Park’ is CES' startup hub at Vegas’ famed Venetian

For years, new ventures looking for funding and a network appeared alongside established bigwigs like Microsoft and Sony at CES. In 2012, CES created “Eureka Park,” a part of the convention where startups could congregate (some viewed it as being sidelined at the time). Producers of hit reality show “Shark Tank” scout new startups in the park every year.

An indie film helped launch Basquiat's art career

Basquiat starred in “Downtown 81” as a struggling artist, which was not far from reality. In fact, the paintings that he carries throughout the film are some of his earliest works. The production gave him canvas and paint, which he used to create other paintings.

Smaller companies’ IPO information can be hard to track down

This calendar keeps you updated on the current IPO dates and pricing from different companies. You can search for upcoming and future IPO dates and see which companies withdrew from the IPO process.

Cult classics are often defined by their initial commercial failure

Whether they're films, albums, television shows, or some other work of art, cult classics usually develop ardent followings because of their early struggles, either as box office flops or modest, self-released affairs. Richard Kelly, director of cult film "Donnie Darko," explains why he believes that endears audiences.

'You shouldn't dream your film, you should make it!'

- Filmmaker Steven Spielberg (1946-present)

Hotels in Cannes, the glamorous city on the French Riviera, hire hawks to ward off seagulls during the city's famous film festival.

In communist Poland, the VHS black market provided a window into the US

Although government censors often banned official releases, Polish residents enjoyed a healthy black market of stores and traders, who offered all the latest Hollywood movies.

What happened at Fyre Festival?

Top supermodels and influencers, including Bella Hadid, promoted Fyre Festival—which was supposed to be a luxury music festival on a secluded island—on their social media feeds. But when the people who had shelled out thousands to attend arrived, they found something closer to a horror movie turned survival situation.

Retail investors cannot directly invest in private credit funds—but other financial vehicles can offer exposure to the industry

For example, as some US regulations have loosened in recent years, retail investors have begun to get exposure to the private credit market via ETFs that invest in publicly traded financial vehicles with private credit exposure, such as BDCs.

Horror offers opportunities to safely experiment with fear

Researchers at Denmark’s Aarhus University study people attracted to what they call “recreational fear,” which includes any media (like a horror movie) or experience (like a haunted house) that’s intended to give them a scare. They say these people appreciate playing with fears and anxieties safely.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

Venture capital is a form of funding provided to early-stage companies with high growth potential, typically in exchange for an equity (or ownership) stake

The distributor behind 'Rocky Horror' pulled the film from its scheduled national release, believing it would be a failure, though it eventually amassed a dedicated fanbase through midnight showings, a trend that continues over 50 years later.

Learn how to read a prospectus, the juicy document that any company must file with the SEC before going public.

The first horror movie is believed to be George Méliès' 1986 short 'The Haunted Castle,' which pioneered the use of special effects

Fish populations in the Great Barrier Reef have increased after installing waterproof speakers on the ocean floor that played recordings of sounds from healthy coral reefs.

'Silent' fireworks have gained more interest in recent years as a quieter celebratory option.

How fusion—which releases energy when two lighter atoms combine to form a heavier atom—differs from fission

Children are now three times more likely to say they want to be a YouTuber when they grow up than an astronaut, with some even attending 'YouTube camps' that teach kids how to create content for the platform.

Shooting stars, or meteors, are fragments of asteroids and comets that burn up as they enter Earth's atmosphere, creating streaks in the sky called meteor showers.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

Doctors differentiate between a phobia and fear by asking patients whether their fear interferes with their day-to-day activities.

Scientists have struggled to pin down Ebola's natural reservoir species for decades, but the available evidence suggests that it's very likely fruit and insect-eating bats found in Africa.

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

Planarian flatworms are small, aquatic worms with exceptional regenerative capabilities. When cut, the worms can regenerate multiple bodies in a matter of weeks.

Sony set the standard for cylinder-shaped batteries when it repurposed manufacturing equipment used to make rolls of magnetic recording tape.

The 1987 Nintendo video game 'Stadium Events' isn't known for being particularly fun, but its scarcity has made it a highly sought-after item that has sold for up to $35K at auction.

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

Hear 50 years of iconic hip-hop samples, the genre's foundational looped tracks

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by more than 1.5 million Muslims each year.

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

Explore the archaeological treasures of Pompeii, the city buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE.