LCSH, July 18, 2007 (hdg.: Independent films)

Films by genre, 1993 (independent production (alternative cinema, art film, concrete film, independent film, indie, oppositional film, radical film): Films which are not produced or financially backed by an established film production company are referred to as indies or independent productions; quasi-synonymous with that of avant-garrde and underground film, both older appellations for experimental films or films of personal artistic expression made outside the mainstream of commercially produced films [avant-garde and underground have their own entries])

Reeltime Independent Film and Video Forum collection catalog, 2005.

Wikipedia, Nov. 16, 2005 (an independent film (or indie film) is a film initially produced without financing or distribution from a major movie studio.)