In the 90s, film festivals played a crucial role in the rise of the independent film by giving filmmakers a platform to share their work with larger audiences and industry professionals. Helping launch the careers of new directors and bringing attention to low-budget, creative films that might not have been supported by major studios, festivals like Sundance and Cannes became a powerful outlet. Promoting international and independent cinema and showcasing a wide range of voices and storytelling styles, these festivals grew in popularity and influence leading to a glutton of powerful films around the world from filmmakers that are still leading voices in cinema today. Although studio-owned “independent” divisions and the commercialization of the festival circuit would eventually limit the opportunities by the late 90s, festivals remain an essential outlet for independent films to this day and the boom of the early 90s has become a vital part of film history.