LYNN SHELTON, AN independent filmmaker who directed Humpday and Little Fires Everywhere, has died aged 54.

Her publicist Adam Kersh said she died on Friday in Los Angeles from an unidentified blood disorder.

Shelton had become the leading voice of the new American independent cinema movement. She caused waves with her low-budget films, then made splashes through her work on television including Mad Men, Fresh Off The Boat, The Mindy Project and GLOW.

She directed four episodes of the miniseries Little Fires Everywhere, starring Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington.

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Actor Mark Duplass was a frequent collaborator with Shelton and starred in her 2009 film Humpday, which was a depiction of male sexuality through a female lens.

The actor said he had lost a “dear friend” and admired her creativity.

He wrote on Twitter: “We made so many things together. I wish we had made more.

“Her boundless creative energy and infectious spirit were unrivalled. She made me better. We butted heads, made up, laughed, pushed each other. Like family. What a deep loss.”

Shelton began her filmmaking career in her mid-30s after initially being an aspiring actor and photographer.

She directed four episodes of the miniseries Little Fires Everywhere, starring Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington.