Topic: Independent Film (USA)

Direction Jonas Mekas

Cast Peter Beard · Ed Emshwiller · Ken Jacobs · Jonas Mekas

Direction Quentin Tarantino

Cast Tim Roth · Harvey Keitel · Chris Penn · Steve Buscemi

Synopsis Reservoir Dogs (1992) follows a group of criminals brought together for a diamond heist orchestrated by a seasoned crime boss. The men, identified only by color-coded aliases, are strangers to each other, ensuring no personal connections compromise the job. However,...

Direction Frederick Wiseman

Direction Christopher Nolan

Cast Guy Pearce · Carrie-Anne Moss · Joe Pantoliano · Mark Boone Junior

Synopsis Leonard (Guy Pearce) is an insurance investigator whose memory has been damaged following a head injury he sustained after intervening on his wife's murder. His quality of life has been severely hampered after this event, and he can now only...

Direction Shaun Monson

Cast Joaquin Phoenix

Synopsis EARTHLINGS is a feature length documentary about humanity's absolute dependence on animals (for pets, food, clothing, entertainment, and scientific research) but also illustrates our complete disrespect for these so-called "non-human providers." The film is narrated by Academy Award nominee Joaquin...

Direction Darren Aronofsky

Cast Jared Leto · Jennifer Connelly · Ellen Burstyn · Marlon Wayans

Synopsis Requiem for a Dream (2000) follows four interconnected lives spiraling into despair amid addiction. Sara, an elderly widow, becomes obsessed with diet pills to fit into her red dress for a TV appearance. Her son Harry, his girlfriend Marion, and...

Direction Jonas Mekas

Cast Timothy Leary · Ed Emshwiller · Jack Smith · Mario Montez

Synopsis Poet and hero of the American counter-culture, Jonas Mekas, born in Lithuania in 1922, invented the diary form of film-making. Walden, his first completed diary film, an epic portrait of the New York avant-garde art scene of the 60s, is...

Direction David Lynch

Cast Richard Farnsworth · Sissy Spacek · Harry Dean Stanton · Everett McGill

Synopsis The Straight Story (1999) follows Alvin Straight, an elderly man who embarks on an extraordinary journey across the Midwest to reconcile with his ailing brother. Unable to drive a car due to his failing eyesight, Alvin opts for a more...

Direction Godfrey Reggio

Synopsis An art-house circuit sensation, this feature-length documentary is visually arresting and possesses a clear, pro-environmental political agenda. Without a story, dialogue, or characters, Koyaanisqatsi (1983) (the film's title is a Hopi word roughly translated into English as "life out of...

Direction Damien Chazelle

Cast Miles Teller · J.K. Simmons · Melissa Benoist · Paul Reiser

Synopsis Whiplash (2014) follows Andrew, a young and ambitious jazz drummer, as he enrolls in a prestigious music conservatory. His talent catches the attention of Terence Fletcher, a ruthless and demanding instructor who pushes his students to their limits. Andrew strives...

Direction Don Hertzfeldt

Synopsis Compilation movie who includes Everything Will be OK (2006), I Am So Proud of You (2008) y It's Such a Beautiful Day (2011). The newly unified trilogy is titled IT'S SUCH A BEAUTIFUL DAY, the same title as the third...

Direction Dalton Trumbo

Cast Timothy Bottoms · Jason Robards · Donald Sutherland · Marsha Hunt

Synopsis Johnny Got His Gun (1971) follows Joe Bonham, a young American soldier severely wounded in World War I. Trapped in his own body—blind, deaf, mute, and limbless—he reflects on his past, dreams, and the brutal realities of war through fragmented...

Direction Alan Berliner

Cast Alan Berliner · Oscar Berliner

Synopsis With this documentary, Berliner's camera focuses on the life of his curmudgeonly father Oscar who resists his son's efforts nearly every step of the way because he feels his life has not been interesting or important enough to film. Still...

Direction Jim Jarmusch

Cast Tom Waits · Roberto Benigni · John Lurie · Nicoletta Braschi

Synopsis Down by Law (1986) follows three unlikely companions—Jack, Zack, and Roberto—who find themselves sharing a jail cell in New Orleans. Jack and Zack are small-time hustlers, while Roberto, an eccentric Italian tourist, adds a touch of whimsy to their predicament....

Direction John Cassavetes

Cast Gena Rowlands · Ben Gazzara · John Cassavetes · Joan Blondell

Synopsis A young woman gets killed in an accident trying to meet her favorite actress Myrtle Gordon after a play. Then Myrtle Gordon felt responsible for the killing leading her down to an emotional crisis that interferes with her professional work...

Direction John Cassavetes

Cast Gena Rowlands · Peter Falk · Katherine Cassavetes · Fred Draper

Synopsis John Cassavetes's A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE is an emotionally devastating drama that charts the mental disintegration of a California housewife. Mabel Longhetti (Gena Rowlands) has no emotional or creative outlets. Instead, she pours all her energy into her family,...

Direction Michel Gondry

Cast Jim Carrey · Kate Winslet · Kirsten Dunst · Mark Ruffalo

Synopsis Joel (Jim Carrey) is stunned to discover that his girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet) has had her memories of their tumultuous relationship erased. Out of desperation, he contacts the inventor of the process, Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson), to have Clementine...

Direction Sean Penn

Cast Emile Hirsch · Marcia Gay Harden · William Hurt · Jena Malone

Synopsis Into the Wild (2007) follows Christopher McCandless, a young man who abandons his privileged life to embark on a solitary journey into the Alaskan wilderness. Seeking freedom from materialism and societal constraints, he donates his savings, burns his money, and...

Direction John Cameron Mitchell

Cast John Cameron Mitchell · Michael Pitt · Miriam Shor · Alberta Watson

Synopsis Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) follows the electrifying journey of Hedwig, a genderqueer rock singer from East Berlin, as she tours dive bars across America with her band, The Angry Inch. Through raw, heartfelt performances, Hedwig recounts her tumultuous...

Direction Jonathan Dayton · Valerie Faris

Cast Abigail Breslin · Steve Carell · Toni Collette · Greg Kinnear

Synopsis Little Miss Sunshine (2006) follows the dysfunctional Hoover family as they embark on a cross-country road trip in their rundown VW bus to support their youngest member, Olive, in a children's beauty pageant. Each family member grapples with personal struggles:...