General Information

About.com
About.com’s vast Internet guide contains an independent film section where you can find reviews of recent and classic independent films, fan sites, top ten lists, profiles of actors and directors, plus an alphabetical database of movies.

Indiewire
“The leading source on independent film since 1996,” touts IndieWire, truly a valued resource of industry news for both filmmakers and fans. Read reviews, interviews, festival news, articles, blogs and more. Indie enthusiasts can sign up to receive the daily dispatch delivered via e-mail.

Internet Movie Database
In addition to providing a searchable database that includes thousands of movies, this comprehensive portal also features a section specifically devoted to independent film. Special indie features include an "ask the filmmaker" section with well-known independents, as well as a newswire, feature articles and TV listings. The site also includes a glossary of film terms.

Film Festivals.com
An information resource focusing on film festivals around the world, this site offers information, links and contact details for a staggering number of film festivals.

Filmmaking.tv
A selective portal of filmmaking resources with an emphasis on learning, Filmmaking.tv organizes lists of links into categories that range from screenwriting to editing, distribution to collecting and festivals to jobs.

GreenCine Daily
Primarily written by GreenCine editor David Hudson, this daily blog features film-related commentary and links to relevant interviews, reviews, news and articles on independent film.

Microcinema International
Microcinema International organizes international screenings of independent films, videos and digital art, and its Web site provides a screening schedule and locator as well as information for submitting work to their "Independent Exposure" series.

Reel.com
This commercially oriented site incorporates, but does not focus on, independent film. Offerings include reviews, interviews and movie news, as well as event coverage and a guide for parents.

SCREENsite
Created by the University of Alabama, this site is primarily a resource for film and TV education with an exhaustive collection of links to journals, course syllabi, film databases and selected filmmaking resources.

Publications and Online News

Cineaste
This quarterly publication focuses on the art and politics of cinema, buoyed by interviews, special supplements and feature articles covering films, filmmakers and trends from all over the world. The site offers a handful of articles online and a brief summary of the archives.

Film Comment
Published bimonthly by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, Film Comment prides itself on literate, edgy articles about the art, entertainment and industry of filmmaking. Shortened versions of the print articles are available online.

Film Quarterly
Film Quarterly tackles the field of film studies through interviews, reviews, historical perspectives and discussions of film theory. The online version offers synopses of past and present articles.

Filmmaker Magazine
The online version of this print quarterly offers in-depth features, interviews and articles about independent film and filmmakers and provides access to selected articles in addition to extensive resources links.

FLM Magazine
Landmark Theaters’ quarterly magazine contains exclusive essays by filmmakers and a complete guide to independent cinema.

The Hollywood Reporter
The industry publication focuses on the business of film, television and music, and its site includes selected articles as well as breaking headlines. Special online features include subscription-only sections as well as a message board, resource links, an industry directory and more.

The Independent
This film and video monthly from AIVF offers numerous interviews, as well as articles about public television, documentaries, productions issues and more. The Web site version provides selected articles.

Indie Slate
Indie Slate provides a guide to independent film and TV productions with extensive production charts and "reel life" adventures in making, marketing and distributing indie productions. Get a free subscription to a bimonthly e-zine newsletter and find a calendar of events on the site.

Indiewire
Reviews, interviews, links to articles and more, IndieWire is a valued resource of industry news for both filmmakers and film fans. Indie enthusiasts can sign up to receive the daily dispatch delivered via e-mail.

International Documentary Magazine
The monthly periodical of the International Documentary Association covers the current documentary film scene, profiling makers and funders, film festival reporting and more.

Millimeter Magazine
Specializing in production and post-production of television, film and commercials, this monthly magazine offers industry news, features, headlines and commentary. The companion Web site provides selected material from the print version as well as a searchable production buyer's guide.

Moviemaker
This magazine on the art and business of making movies has a companion site full of resources, including craft articles, info on submitting to upcoming festivals and production links.

Questia
Questia, a subscription service, is the world's largest online library, with over 50,000 books and 399,000 journal, magazine and newspaper articles. The site has a large selection of books on independent and documentary filmmaking.

Real Screen
A weekly magazine, Real Screen covers the world of documentaries and lifestyle programming, offering only article titles and first sentence descriptions online.

Release Print
Film Arts Foundation's monthly print magazine profiles indie filmmakers, provides how-to articles, reports from conferences and contains listings for festival calls for entries and funding info.

Variety
A major mainstay of the entertainment trade news, the Variety Web site complements the print daily and offers breaking headlines, reviews and articles about film, television, music, books and more.

Documentary and Social Issue

DocuSeek Film and Video Finder
This specialty search site for independent, documentary, educational and social issue video and film allows users to find videos from seven U.S. distributors.

PBS: Independent Lens
“A film festival in your living room,” Independent Lens is a 29-week PBS series that presents an eclectic showcase of independent film, mostly documentary, but also dramas and shorts. Companion Web sites contain filmmaker Q&As and additional rich content to complement the diverse selection of indie films.

Independent Television Service (ITVS)
The site for ITVS, the presenter of Independent Lens, provides information for hundreds of independent films and documentaries, offering show summaries, filmmaker information, outreach resources, public television broadcast listings and more. Links to film companion sites and distributors are also featured.

MediaRights.org
Although primarily a site for organizations looking to use documentaries for social change, MediaRights.org features an impressive database of social issue films that allows viewers, educators, facilitators, activists and others to find relevant films.

Political Film Society
Awards for outstanding achievement in films that raise political consciousness are the main focus of this site, which also provides politically contextualized reviews for past and present films.

PBS: P.O.V. / Point of View
P.O.V. is an award-winning PBS series featuring 12-14 independently produced nonfiction films each year. Its site provides extensive resources for films featured in the series, including lesson plans, discussion guides, background info, filmmaker interviews, production journals and more.

Indie Film Rentals

Facets Multimedia
Roger Ebert calls the Facets rental department “a temple of great cinema.” Browse the catalog to find more than 25,000 rare and out-of-print films available for rental—in person or by mail—from early silents and vintage noir to contemporary comedies and fine arts videos.

Netflix
With more than three million members, the venerable Netflix pioneered its online DVD-rental service in 1999. Browse more than 40,000 movie titles in over 250 genres and get free next-day delivery.

GreenCine
Looking for rare titles? GreenCine’s rental-by-mail service covers a wide selection of independent, documentary, classic, international and other rare films, plus pay-per-view streaming and downloadable movies.

Movie Downloading

GUBA
Offers online video downloads.

Movielink
Movie download service formed as a joint venture by major studios offering new and classic hit movies, foreign films, and more.

Online Viewing

AmazeFilms
Browse the library of trailers—viewable with QuickTime or Windows Media Player— from this producer and distributor of indie films such as the "Short Series." AmazeFilms also seeks independent shorts, features and documentaries as well as screenplays. Read submission guidelines and check out film trailers.

AtomFilms
Atom's online showcase includes an extensive catalog of game, film and animation in addition to festival shorts, ratings and user reviews. AtomFilms seeks submissions for a variety of outlets (television, in-flight, Web, etc.) and looks for videos with running times under 30 minutes. Must have Shockwave plug-in to view.

ifilm
Boasting "the largest Web portal celebrating the world of film," this crazy site, a patchwork of short films, Hollywood trailers, movie clips and commercials actually does feature some independent work. Filmmakers may submit their own work to be included on the site. Must have plug-ins to view.

Electric Shadows
Electric Shadows projects present the “unflinching visions of independent producers” by exploring arts and culture via the Web, exclusively. Presented by Independent Lens and ITVS Interactive, these award-winning sites bring the power of non-linear storytelling online.

Media Arts Organizations

Anthology Film Archives
Anthology Film Archives is an international center for the preservation, study, and exhibition of film and video with a particular focus on American independent and avant-garde cinema.

Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers (AIVF)
The AIVF site offers selected online articles, profiles and other features from the film and video monthly The Independent. This site also includes discussion boards and information about AIVF's advocacy projects and regional salons.

The Center for Social Media
Part of the School of Communication at American University, The Center for Social Media showcases and analyzes strategies to use media as creative tools for public knowledge and action.

Independent Media Arts Preservation
IMAP is a nonprofit service, education and advocacy organization committed to the preservation of non-commercial electronic media.

International Documentary Association
The IDA is a membership organization that supports makers of non-fiction film with services, benefits, events and a magazine. Their non-membership portion of the site offers a valuable month-by-month resource for funding application deadlines, as well as detailed information about international film events, broadcast premieres, classes and more.

International Film Seminars
IFS is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the proposition that independent media can illuminate the human spirit. Its mission is to foster exploration, dialogue and introspection about the art and craft of all forms of the moving image.

MediaRights.org
This site for MediaRights.org, which promotes outreach and partnerships for social issue documentaries, combines relevant film news and documentary television listings with extensive database resources for finding documentaries, nonprofit organizations, media makers and more.

National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture
With a huge searchable directory of media organizations and a collection of filmmaker-friendly links and listings, NAMAC's site promotes art advocacy and peer support. The site also offers information about digital public policy, as well as member-only technical assistance boards and discussion groups.

Sundance Institute
This site offers detailed information about the Sundance Institute's diverse programs, which offer financial and creative support for independent screenwriters, filmmakers, film composers, film preservation organizations and others. Includes detailed information about its Lab projects, application information and links to the Institute's famous film festival.

Filmmaker Resources

“Best Practices in Fair Use”
“Fair Use is the right, in some circumstances, to quote copyrighted material without asking permission or paying for it.” The Center for Social Media and the Program on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest at the Washington College of Law have produced this tool for documentary filmmakers on how to approaches fair use.

Film-411
A resource for aspiring filmmakers and film lovers, Film-411 provides an extensive collection of links to film magazines, festivals, organizations, production companies, film equipment providers and more.

Filmmakers.com
A contest and news site for would-be filmmakers and screenwriters, Filmmakers.com also features how-to articles, profiles, and film industry announcements as well as a grab bag of other resources and listings.

Independent Feature Project
The site for this membership organization, which sponsors events in six cities around the country, offers in-depth feature articles about independent film and filmmaking as well as other information and "networking" resources.

Independent Television Service (ITVS)
ITVS, the presenter of Independent Lens, funds and promotes independent films for public television. The website includes companion sites for its films as well as a section "for producers" containing funding guidelines, FAQs, how-to advice, production manual offers and articles from the print and online publication Beyond the Box.

New Filmmakers
New Filmmakers is an ongoing series of cutting edge films by emerging and adventurous filmmakers. Submit your film to either the New York or Los Angeles branch for a chance at a limited live screening in those cities.