Independent films began their rise to power in the 80’s and 90’s.  Blockbuster films were still what made the most money and had the biggest budgets to work with, but in the absence of true auteurs, independent films rose to fill the gap.  Independent films allowed directors to work outside of the conventional Hollywood blockbuster box and it also gave opportunities to women and people of color that they previously would not have had inside the blockbuster box.  Some of the most famous independent directors are the Coen brothers, John Sayles, and Steven Soderbergh, none of whom made much money from their movies but instead claimed name recognition and fame compared to some conventional directors, such as Michael Bay and Roland Emmerich, who both made more money with their blockbusters.  
The mid-80’s showed a large amount of independent films being produced, but few of these had much commercial success.  This is because independent films, also known as niche films, were made and designed to target certain audiences, instead of America as a whole.  Because of this, only select people would go and see select films because they wanted to see films that were actually about them and their lives.  Many niche films are written and directed by people who don’t fit the norm of studio Hollywood.  Women and people of color are more prominent as directors when it comes to independent films.
Besides niche films, the most popular indie films are made by the directors already named: Coens, Sayles, and Soderbergh.  The Coens started out with Blood Simple which was an actual success at the New York Film Festival and since then, the Coens have straddled the line between indie and commercial Hollywood films.  They have a loyal fan base that their films have hit home with, and so they are pretty well known.  They are considered auteur’s in that they have a signature pace and critical distance in their films.  One thing that unites practically all Coen brother films is the fact that they have stupid people doing stupid things in them, which is interesting because they are college educated and the sons of college professors.  They also use pervasive violence in their films, which is usually seen and used as comedic.  This comedic view of explicit violence is to show how they view violence compared to the glorification of violence that mainstream filmmakers exhibit.  
While the Coens have had crossover hits, John Sayles never did.  However, he still had a loyal fan base that followed his films and saw them as alternatives to everything that has gone wrong with Hollywood.  Soderbergh, on the other hand, hit the big time with Erin Brockovich, though he had had some indie success before this with sex, lies, and videotape.  He straddles the line between commercial and indie just as the Coens did very well.  He is known for showing character studies of people in a form of self-imposed exile throughout his films, and also has a signature of toying with time signatures like Tarantino did. 
