The American Independent Film Essential 100: A Guide To Shaping Personal Storytelling
In order to qualify for this list the film must have been Grand Jury at one of the following festivals SXSW, Tribeca, Sundance, Slamdance or nominated for International Spirit Award (Best Feature/First Feature Categories Only)
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- DirectorDamien ChazelleStarsMiles TellerJ.K. SimmonsMelissa BenoistA promising young drummer enrolls at a cut-throat music conservatory where his dreams of greatness are mentored by an instructor who will stop at nothing to realize a student's potential.
- DirectorRyan CooglerStarsMichael B. JordanMelonie DiazOctavia SpencerThe story of Oscar Grant III, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident, who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family, and strangers on the last day of 2008.
- DirectorMarielle HellerStarsBel PowleyAlexander SkarsgårdKristen WiigA teen artist living in 1970s San Francisco enters into an affair with her mother's boyfriend.
- DirectorKyle Patrick AlvarezStarsEzra MillerTye SheridanBilly CrudupIn 1971, twenty-four male students are selected to take on randomly assigned roles of prisoners and guards in a mock prison situated in the basement of the Stanford psychology building.
- DirectorJames PonsoldtStarsMiles TellerShailene WoodleyKyle ChandlerA hard-partying high school senior's philosophy on life changes when he meets the not-so-typical "nice girl."
- DirectorPatrick BriceStarsAdam ScottTaylor SchillingJason SchwartzmanAlex, Emily, and their son, RJ, are new to Los Angeles. A chance meeting at the park introduces them to the mysterious Kurt, Charlotte, and Max. A family "playdate" becomes increasingly interesting as the night goes on.
- DirectorRoger Ross WilliamsStarsOwen SuskindCornelia SuskindRon SuskindA coming-of-age story about a boy and his family who overcame great challenges by turning Disney animated movies into a language to express love, loss, kinship and brotherhood.
- DirectorAlfonso Gomez-RejonStarsThomas MannRJ CylerOlivia CookeHigh schooler Greg, who spends most of his time making parodies of classic movies with his co-worker Earl, finds his outlook forever altered after befriending a classmate who has just been diagnosed with cancer.
- DirectorJeff BaenaStarsThomas MiddleditchAdam PallyAlex Ross PerryJoshy's fiancée kills herself. 4 months later, Joshy's friends hope to cheer him up at the cabin in Ojai, CA, rented for his bachelor party weekend. Starting at the local bar, things get wild.
- DirectorChad HartiganStarsMarkees ChristmasCraig RobinsonCarla JuriThe romantic and coming-of-age misadventures of a 13-year-old American living in Germany.
- DirectorMichael Beach NicholsChristopher K. WalkerStarsRyan SchockHeather CookLee CookWhen a noted white supremacist moves into their town, the residents of Leith, North Dakota do what they can to prevent him from taking control of the municipality.
- DirectorRick FamuyiwaStarsShameik MooreTony RevoloriKiersey ClemonsLife changes for Malcolm, a geek who's surviving life in a tough neighborhood, after a chance invitation to an underground party leads him and his friends into a Los Angeles adventure.
- DirectorCraig JohnsonStarsKristen WiigBill HaderLuke WilsonHaving both coincidentally cheated death on the same day, estranged twins reunite with the possibility of mending their relationship.
- DirectorJosh MondStarsChristopher AbbottCynthia NixonKid CudiJames, a twenty-something New Yorker, struggles to take control of his self-destructive behavior in the face of momentous family challenges.
- DirectorSian HederStarsElliot PageAllison JanneyTammy BlanchardDesperate to be rid of her toddler, a dissatisfied Manhattan housewife hires a stranger to babysit and ends up getting much more than she bargained for.
- DirectorNate ParkerStarsNate ParkerArmie HammerPenelope Ann MillerNat Turner, a literate slave and preacher in the antebellum South, orchestrates an uprising.
- DirectorAdam SalkyStarsSarah SilvermanJosh CharlesSkylar GaertnerAddicted to drugs and alcohol, a housewife's self-destructive behavior starts to take its toll on her husband and two young children.
- DirectorJordan Vogt-RobertsStarsNick RobinsonGabriel BassoMoises AriasThree teenage friends, in the ultimate act of independence, decide to spend their summer building a house in the woods and living off the land.
- DirectorAndrew NeelStarsBen SchnetzerNick JonasGus HalperReeling from a terrifying assault, a 19 year-old enrolls into college with his brother and pledges the same fraternity. What happens there in the name of "brotherhood" tests him and his loyalty to his brother in brutal ways.
- DirectorKris ReyStarsCobie SmuldersAnders HolmGail BeanAn inner-city high school teacher discovers she is pregnant at the same time as one of her most promising students and the two develop an unlikely friendship while struggling to navigate their unexpected pregnancies.
- DirectorShane CarruthStarsAmy SeimetzFrank MosleyShane CarruthA man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives.
- DirectorJoe SwanbergStarsAnna KendrickMelanie LynskeyMark WebberAfter a break up, Jenny moves in with writer Kelly, her filmmaker husband, and their child. Despite a rocky start, Jenny's influence helps Kelly realize that an evolution in her life, career and relationship is necessary for her happiness.
- DirectorLake BellStarsLake BellFred MelamedMichaela WatkinsAn underachieving voice coach finds herself competing in the movie trailer voice-over profession against her arrogant father and his protégé.
- DirectorJim StrouseStarsJemaine ClementRegina HallJessica WilliamsWill Henry is a newly single graphic novelist balancing parenting his young twin daughters and a classroom full of students while exploring and navigating the rich complexities of new love and letting go of the woman who left him.
- DirectorBryan BuckleyStarsMelissa RauchGary ColeHaley Lu RichardsonA foul-mouthed former gymnastics bronze medalist with local celebrity status reluctantly trains a rising Olympics aspirant.
- DirectorStephanie SoechtigStarsMichele SimonKatie CouricBill ClintonAn examination of America's obesity epidemic and the food industry's role in aggravating it.
- DirectorDaniel KwanDaniel ScheinertStarsPaul DanoDaniel RadcliffeMary Elizabeth WinsteadA hopeless man stranded on a deserted island befriends a dead body, and together they go on a surreal journey to get home.
- DirectorJoey SolowayStarsKathryn HahnLink RuizCesar GarciaRachel tries to spice up her marriage with a trip to a strip club. She befriends McKenna, who gave her a lapdance. McKenna moves in with Rachel's family and becomes a nanny for the son.
- DirectorKat CandlerStarsAaron PaulJuliette LewisJosh WigginsWhen motocross and heavy metal obsessed thirteen-year-old Jacob's increasing delinquent behavior forces CPS to place his little brother, Wes, with his aunt, Jacob and his emotionally absent father, Hollis, must finally take responsibility for their actions and for each other in order to bring Wes home.
- DirectorElizabeth WoodStarsMorgan SaylorBrian MarcJustin BarthaSummer, New York City. A college girl falls hard for a guy she just met. After a night of partying goes wrong, she goes to wild extremes to get him back.
- DirectorChad HartiganStarsPaul EenhoornDemetrius GrosseTom PlunkettMartin Bonner has just moved to Nevada from the East Coast, leaving behind his two adult children and a life he spent more than two decades building.
- DirectorLyric R. CabralDavid Felix SutcliffeStarsKhalifah Ali Al-AkiliMike HealeyAli Kareem(T)ERROR is the first documentary to place filmmakers on the ground during an active FBI counterterrorism sting operation. Through the perspective of "Shariff", a 63-year-old Black revolutionary turned informant, viewers get an unfettered glimpse of the government's counterterrorism tactics and the murky justifications behind them. Taut, stark and controversial, (T)ERROR illuminates the fragile relationships between individual and surveillance state in modern America, and asks who is watching the watchers.
- DirectorJim MickleStarsMichael C. HallSam ShepardDon JohnsonWhen a protective father meets a murderous ex-con, both need to deviate from the path they are on as they soon find themselves entangled in a downwards spiral of lies and violence while having to confront their own inner psyche.
- DirectorKim A. SnyderStarsGene RosenSyeda Suriya AhmedAbbey ClementsA look at how the community of Newtown, Connecticut came together in the aftermath of the largest mass shooting of schoolchildren in American history.
- DirectorCraig ZobelStarsChiwetel EjioforChris PineMargot RobbieIn the wake of a disaster that wipes out most of civilization, two men and a young woman find themselves in an emotionally charged love triangle as the last known survivors.
- DirectorJill BauerRonna GradusStarsTressa SilgueroRiley ReynoldsRachel BernardA documentary about young women who have been drawn into the sex trade - and how easy it is for a web-savvy generation to end up making porn.
- DirectorRobert EggersStarsAnya Taylor-JoyRalph InesonKate DickieA family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic and possession.
- DirectorCrystal MoselleStarsMukunda AnguloNarayana AnguloSusanne AnguloConfined in an apartment from a New York housing project, the six Angulo brothers learned everything they know about the world through watching films and spend their time reenacting their favorite movies with intricate homemade costumes.
- DirectorMorgan NevilleStarsDarlene LoveMerry ClaytonLisa FischerBackup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight. Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we've had no idea who these singers are or what lives they lead, until now.
- DirectorAndrew RossiStarsElizabeth ArmstrongRichard ArumJamshed BharuchaA documentary that questions the cost -- and value -- of higher education in the United States.
- DirectorJeff BaenaStarsAubrey PlazaDane DeHaanJohn C. ReillyA young man's recently deceased girlfriend mysteriously returns from the dead, but he slowly realizes she is not the way he remembered her.
- DirectorFrancesca GregoriniStarsKaya ScodelarioJessica BielFrances O'ConnorA troubled girl becomes preoccupied with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to her dead mother.
- DirectorJosh KriegmanElyse SteinbergStarsAnthony WeinerHuma AbedinJordan Zain WeinerAn examination of disgraced New York Congressman Anthony Weiner's mayoral campaign and today's political landscape.
- DirectorMarta CunninghamStarsJames BingJeremy BingRosalie BlackOn February 12, 2008 in Oxnard, California, eighth-grade student Brandon McInerney shot his classmate Larry King twice in the back of the head during first period. When Larry died two days later, his murder shocked the nation. Was this a hate crime, one perpetrated by a budding neo-Nazi whose masculinity was threatened by an effeminate gay kid who might have had a crush on him? Or was there even more to it? Looking beyond all the copious news coverage of this tragic event, 'Valentine Road' tells the story of two victims: the murdered and the murderer. With keen insight, the film connects the human wreckage of Larry's and Brandon's troubled lives--both physically abused, both from broken homes, and both searching for a sense of belonging.
- DirectorDawn PorterStarsJune AyersAndrea FerrignoGloria GrayFrom 2011 to 2013, hundreds of regulations were passed restricting access to abortion in America. Reproductive rights advocates refer to these as "TRAP" laws, or Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers. While these laws have been enacted in 11 states, Southern clinics, in particular have been hit hardest and are now in a fight for survival. In Texas, less than half of the clinics open in 2013 are still functioning. In Alabama, three clinics struggle to keep their doors open. And in Mississippi, just one abortion clinic remains. Some of the most common requirements with which clinics struggle to comply include: requiring physicians to obtain admitting privileges from local hospitals for any doctor performing abortions, requiring that clinics undertake expensive renovations such as widening hallways by a few inches to accommodate wheelchairs and gurneys they will rarely use, and requiring other regulations usually reserved for hospitals even though abortion providers rarely require such a high level of care. But even in this hostile environment the doctors, clinic owners and staff refuse to give up. Trapped interweaves the personal stories behind these regulatory battles: from the physician who crisscrosses the country assuring medical services are available; to the strong women and men who run the clinics; to the lawyers leading the legal charge to eliminate these laws; to the women they are all determined to help. In this feature length character driven film, our main characters fight alongside a dedicated cadre of attorneys to preserve abortion rights in a country living with the mistaken belief that Roe v. Wade still protects a woman's right to choose.
- DirectorPeter SattlerStarsKristen StewartPayman MaadiLane GarrisonA soldier assigned to Guantanamo Bay befriends a man who has been imprisoned there.
- DirectorAndrew Droz PalermoTracy Droz TragosStarsAlyssa JewellAndrew JewellElizabeth JewellRich Hill intimately chronicles the turbulent lives of three boys living in an impoverished Midwestern town and the fragile family bonds that sustain them.
- DirectorAntonio CamposStarsRebecca HallMichael C. HallTracy LettsThe story of Christine Chubbuck, a 1970s TV reporter struggling with depression and professional frustrations as she tries to advance her career.
- DirectorGabriela CowperthwaiteStarsTilikumDave DuffusSamantha BergA documentary following the controversial captivity of killer whales, and its dangers for both humans and whales.
- DirectorAndrew MogelJarrad PaulStarsJack BlackJames MarsdenKathryn HahnThe head of a high school reunion committee tries to get the most popular guy in school to attend their class' upcoming 20-year reunion.