This chapter locates the study of film distribution within the field of film studies. It highlights the importance of film distribution studies and situates this in the Philippine context. The chapter then explains the different approaches to film studies and surveys the related literature on independent cinema and film distribution studies. The chapter also maps out the theoretical trajectory in studying film distribution, which begins from the feuding schools of thought between cultural studies and political economy up to the cultural economy framework that the book adopts. It suggests a more balanced framing of the Philippine independent film distribution by deviating from a dichotomised discussion of the art-commerce or culture-economy paradigm.