The man who would be KING: Indie film is badly in need of a new hero. Enter Bill Pohlad.

The American independent film marketplace is in Chicken Little mode. Blockbuster-minded studios have amputated their indie arms. Bidding wars are ancient history. A new age of digital distribution pits theatrical exhibitors against Google and Microsoft. The final blow came Jan. 28 when Miramax Films, which brought art-house cinema to mainstream America, ceased operations after 31 years.

Filmmakers and film lovers alike wondered who would do the risky business of acquiring and marketing sophisticated small films.

Like an eager understudy stepping into a lead role, Bill Pohlad -- the soft-spoken heir to one of Minnesota's greatest fortunes -- aims to succeed where so many have failed. His new venture called Apparition has lofty ambitions to become a key player in this brave new indie world.

"Miramax in the '90s is exactly the part of the market we want," said Pohlad, referring to the heyday of "Pulp Fiction," "Shakespeare in Love" and "The English Patient."

Pohlad, who once trained as a Formula race car driver, is not afraid of competition or carefully calculated risk. He's put his fortune where his mouth is, funding the enterprise personally.

His six-month-old distribution house already has a solid track record, balancing appeal to teen viewers and older audiences. Apparition's sumptuous period biographies "The Young Victoria" and "Bright Star" won four Oscar nominations. Its modestly budgeted crime thriller "Boondock Saints II" has earned over $10 million domestically, and its blaxploitation spoof "Black Dynamite" promises to become a DVD cult favorite.

"I took my 19-year-old son to a screening of it in Los Angeles and he's been reciting lines from it for a week," said Timothy Rhys, publisher of the indie-film journal MovieMaker magazine. "If they continue to make great choices like they have so far, I think they've got a shot. They're smart guys."

Surveying the ruins of Miramax, laid waste by years of creative drift and reckless investments, Pohlad sees an opportunity -- "the audience hasn't gone away" -- and a clear moral: "You've got to go in with a mix of humility and confidence. Once you start to think you know it all, things usually start to go bad. So it's keeping your ego in check."

That's atypical of an industry famed for phone-throwers and table pounders, but it's pure...