Blaxploitation was the first exploitation genre in which the major studios were central. Indeed, the United Artists release "Cotton Comes to Harlem" (1970), directed by Ossie Davis, is seen as the first significant film of the type. But the movie that truly ignited the blaxploitation phenomenon was completely independent: "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song" (1971) is also perhaps the most outrageous example of the form: wildly experimental, borderline pornographic, and essentially a manifesto for an African American revolution. Melvin Van Peebles wrote, co-produced, directed, starred in, edited, and composed the music for the film, which was completed with a loan from Bill Cosby. Its distributor was small Cinemation Industries, then best known for releasing dubbed versions of the Italian "Mondo Cane" "shockumentaries" and the Swedish skin flick "Fanny Hill", as well as for its one in-house production, "The Man from O.R.G.Y." (1970). These sorts of films played in the "grindhouses" of the day—many of them not outright porno theaters, but rather venues for all manner of exploitation cinema. The days of six quickies for a nickel were gone, but a continuity of spirit was evident.