It was literally just about a year ago that the sky was falling on the indie movie world — or at least that’s what folks in the know were saying here, here, and here. Combine that with the seeming evidence that serious adult dramas are on the decline ala here and here.

But check this out: A breath of fresh air per this HR article:

Amid the rubble of the contracting indie film sector, DF Indie Studios is raising its banner with plans to finance and distribute 10-12 films a year, each budgeted at as much as $10 million. The new outfit also is promising to be more producer- and investor-friendly.

Mary Dickinson and Charlene Fisher, both experienced in structuring entertainment ventures, spent two years researching opportunities and pitfalls in the arena before putting the company together. They have raised $100 million in capital from private investors, backed by $150 million in guarantees from output deals they are assembling and expect to announce shortly.

In this economic malaise, they’ve put together development and production funds, and guaranteed output deals.

“We want to offer indie style and studio dependability,” said Fisher, adding that when the duo asked indie producers what they need — Hope was among the first with whom they sat down — they were told 100% financing, guaranteed theatrical distribution to attract a higher level of talent and P&A commitments to ensure that films find an audience.

DFIS plans to pursue traditional theatrical-release strategies, from platform launches to wide openings of about 1,000 screens, depending on each picture’s needs.

At the same time, Dickinson said, “a lot of investors said they love independent film, but they wanted the opportunity for a better return on their investment.”

To ensure that, DFIS is offering investors who take a stake in the company a return on all revenue streams, including distribution fees and exit value.

Clearly these well-intentioned folks are insane, right? Don’t they know that independent cinema is, well… dead?

“We couldn’t be launching the company at a more perfect time,” Fisher said. “There is a huge opportunity in the independent film world, and we believe we have found a singular place in the market.

“There is a growing demand for commercial features and a lack of quality product at the right price. At DFIS, we have worked with our production partners to provide end-to-end financing, a rigorous greenlight process and guaranteed U.S. distribution to meet this increasing demand. No one else is supporting films produced for up to $10 million in this way.”

A veteran producer once told me that there is one undeniable fact about the movie business: It runs in cycles. 20 years ago, you couldn’t have sold a fantasy movie. Now we’ve got Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. 10 years ago, the horror movie audience was exclusively young males. Now the audience is split 50-50% male-female.

So yes, the specialty divisions that the major studios started between 5-10 years ago have pretty much bitten the dust (except Focus and Fox Searchlight). And “serious adult dramas” may be a bit wobbly now. But here come two people with a lot of experience in the indie movie world, managing to raise a lot of dough in this crappy economic environment — and they believe they “couldn’t be launching the company at a more perfect time.”

I damn well hope they’re right.