One of the main aims of the ‘American Indies’ book series, to which this monograph belongs, is to explore the shifting parameters of ‘independent’ US cinema over the course of the last twenty years. This subject underpins this book, as the discussions in individual chapters are all dedicated to concerns often associated with ‘independence’ in film practice and production: directorial authorship, adherence to/divergence from generic form, political messages and intentions. However, this first chapter will concentrate specifically on the field of American independent cinema, and Far from Heaven's position within that context. The chapter begins with a short historical overview which charts the movement from independent American cinema of the 1980s, to the development of ‘Indiewood’ as a hybrid field of production. Subsequent sections then consider specific aspects of Far from Heaven that could be seen as marking Haynes's film as ‘independent’: the budget, casting and acting style; its distinctive aesthetic; and its attention to issues of identity politics. In these later parts of the chapter, information about the film's gestation, production, distribution and exhibition will be introduced. In other words, this chapter has two main aims: to consider what makes an American film ‘independent’ in the first years of the twenty-first century, and to provide an outline of Far from Heaven's making.