An increasingly pervasive influence on contemporary European cinema and mainstream Hollywood, American independent films have frequently provided the most experimental and distinctive voices in US cinema. A whole generation of innovative and idiosyncratic American film-makers, including Steven Soderbergh, Todd Haynes, Hal Hartley and Spike Lee, emerged during the critical and commercial renaissance of the late 1980s and 90s.
 
In this revised and updated new edition, Jason Wood provides a guide to one hundred of the most interesting and influential American independent films, featuring indie classics such as Shadows, Blood Simple and Reservoir Dogs, with twenty-five brand new entries, including recent releases such as Old Joy, Junebug and Me and You and Everyone We Know. Each entry includes a plot synopsis, a commentary on the film's significance, production and exhibition history and cross-references to other films. The new edition also includes prefaces by film-makers Tom Kalin and Scott McGehee and David Siegel, as well as an introduction by Jason Wood charting the history and defining features of American independent film.