Shane Carruth made his name in the independent film world in 2004 with his debut, “Primer,” a sci-fi, time-travel thriller that he wrote, directed, produced, edited, scored and starred in for a paltry sum of $7,000.

Critics loved it. Very few others actually saw it. But within a particular nook of the industry, “Primer” was duly heralded for its vision and precision, and it won the grand jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival, which is all the more impressive given that Carruth, a former engineer, taught himself how to be a filmmaker.