Some risks involved in making an independent film include financial uncertainty and the chance that the story may not be what the mainstream viewing audience wants to hear. But to some of the filmmakers in the 20th annual Big Muddy Film Festival, these risks maintain the spirit of independent film.

It’s true that it does take a lot of financial support, which is sometimes hard to come by. One of my top goals in making Virgin of the Sea’ was to make it as cheap as possible. But applying for grants and raising funds are small parts of what it takes to be an independent filmmaker, said Christine J. Russo, a film and video artist from Rochester, N.Y., and producer of Virgin of the Sea.

Being an independent filmmaker takes time, a lot of determination and, yes, a couple of credit cards.

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Russo’s Virgin of the Sea, which plays tonight in the Films by and About Women showcase from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Student Center Auditorium, is an experimental narrative that follows a mermaid on a journey of self-discovery and sexual awakening. The film challenges historical readings of mermaid myths and folklore, creating an opportunity for alternative interpretations.

In the end, the mermaid doesn’t ride off into the sunset on a horse drawn carriage with Prince Charming. Instead, Russo said the mermaid rides into the twilight with a dike on a bike.

Although all independent films do not possess the same twist on reality, Jaki Ochs, executive director at the Human Arts Association, in New York, said the virtue of the independent industry is its diversity.

The best thing about independent films is that there are no specific genres. It’s open to everyone. It’s not bound by culture, time, politics, sexuality or commercialism, she said.

The absence of these boundaries leaves the filmmaker with a white canvas. The world they live in and the experiences they draw upon are the colors on the pallet of life from which they paint their personal murals.

Carolyn H. Sturgil’s film Rough Side Of The Mountain, which will be shown in a free documentary showcase from noon to 3 p.m. Wednesday in the University Museum Auditorium, is a documentary that took more than 10 years to produce. It is a story about a small factory town auctioned off when the factory, the sole employer of the town where it was located, went out of business.

I actually attended the auction 10 years before filming, Sturgil said. I was told by some townspeople that there would be a big change. In time, I returned to the town and found terrible cases of poverty and struggles.

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Creating your own time limit broadens your creative scope and allows you to get to know your subject.

Sturgil’s hometown Whitesburg, Ky., has an economic state related to that of the town portrayed in Rough Side Of The Mountain. Sturgil believes documentaries like these are stories that need to be heard.

I’m not into the missionary style of filmmaking. Unlike most filmmakers, I don’t script, Sturgil said. My films are designed to reach ordinary people. I’m not standing above looking down telling someone what to do. I’m on their level eye to eye. That’s where you get the best true stories.

Free expression, diversity and time are the assets of the independent filmmaking that overshadow the typical thoughts of what it’s like to be a filmmaker.

These assets are being recognized by major television networks and cable television stations around the world. In time, these assets might be the jewels that possess the power to raise the independent film industry to new heights.

Ochs, producer of Letters Not About Love, which will be screened Thursday in the free Guns and Crime Narratives showcase from noon to 3 p.m. in the University Museum Auditorium, said the lack of venues are the only thing keeping the independent filmmaking industry from growing.

Ochs has made films since 1976. Her films include both experimental and documentary genres and have been broadcast worldwide.

Finding a person who would be willing to take a chance to show your film is hard. This person is challenged by the content of the film and the need to draw an audience to pack the house, she said.

In the past couple of years some network television stations and cable stations such as Arts and Entertainment and Discovery, have started taking chances with independent filmmakers. The success of documentaries such as Hoop Dreams has prompted them to take more chances. So we should be seeing more documentaries and films by independent filmmakers in the future.

FACTOID:The 20th annual Big Muddy Film Festival continues through March 1.