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Classic American Indie
Celebrating the outsiders and mavericks whose independent methods rewrote the rulebook for American cinema.
This collection features both landmark features from, and illuminating documentaries about, some of the movement’s key practitioners, including Kenneth Anger, John Cassavetes, Gregg Araki and John Waters. Told together their stories are testimony to a movement that changed the way Hollywood operates and revitalised American cinema.
Half NelsonHalf Nelson
Drama2006107 minsDirector: Ryan Fleck
Ryan Gosling received his first Oscar nomination for his performance as an inspirational inner city high school teacher, in this moving story of redemption in an unforgiving world
The ExilesThe Exiles
Drama196173 minsDirector: Kent Mackenzie
Kent Mackenzie's gritty, vérité depiction of the lives of marginalized Native Americans living in Los Angeles draws comparisons to the work of John Cassavetes and Vittorio de Sica.
King of New YorkKing of New York
Crime1990103 minsDirector: Abel Ferrara
Christopher Walken is the dogged drug-lord determined to keep his empire together, in Abel Ferrara's brutally gritty crime thriller.
A Woman Under the InfluenceA Woman Under the Influence
Drama1974146 minsDirector: John Cassavetes
John Cassavetes' powerful drama stars Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk as a blue-collar couple struggling to cope with the wife's slide into mental illness.
HeathersHeathers
Comedy1989103 minsDirector: Michael Lehmann
Winona Ryder and Christian Slater star in the endlessly quotable cult black comedy that subverted expectations of teen movies forever.
Listen Up PhilipListen Up Philip
Drama2014109 minsDirector: Alex Ross Perry
Jason Schwartzman is a hotshot writer with pathological intimacy problems in this caustic comedy of over-achievement.
Night MovesNight Moves
Thriller2013113 minsDirector: Kelly Reichardt
Jesse Eisenberg and Dakota Fanning star in a taut political thriller about radical environmentalists planning to commit an act of eco-terrorism.
VivaViva
Sex comedy2008116 minsDirector: Anna Biller
Anna Biller's outrageous sexploitation satire follows bored housewife Barbi as she searches for adventure in predatory 1970s Los Angeles.
Short Term 12Short Term 12
Drama201397 minsDirector: Destin Daniel Cretton
A care-worker is confronted by a troubled teen whose case history provokes an unwelcome reminder of her own concealed and traumatic past.
The Living WakeThe Living Wake
Comedy200792 minsDirector: Sol Tyron
Accompanied by his faithful assistant Mills (Jesse Eisenberg), self-proclaimed genius K. Roth Binew (Mike O’Connell) decides to go out in style following a terminal prognosis – staging a living wake.
Who Loves the SunWho Loves the Sun
Comedy200694 minsDirector: Matt Bissonnette
Lukas Haas and Adam Scott play two old friends with a tempestuous history in this delightfully witty character comedy.
Dark HorseDark Horse
Comedy201186 minsDirector: Todd Solondz
Todd Solondz directs Selma Blair and Jordan Gelber in this delightfully dark satire as romance blooms between a toy collector and a depressed woman.
I Am DivineI Am Divine
Documentary201390 minsDirector: Jeffrey Schwarz
A unique documentary about a unique person – follow Divine’s life from humble Baltimore beginnings to superstar status as the Queen of Cult.
Interior. Leather Bar.Interior. Leather Bar.
201360 minsDirector: James Franco and Travis Mathews
James Franco and Travis Mathews recreate explicit footage cut, rumoured to be lost, from one of the most notorious gay features ever made.
Spanking the MonkeySpanking the Monkey
Comedy199495 minsDirector: David O. Russell
David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook) made his feature debut in 1994 with this biting black comedy, which caused a stir with its incestuous subplot and portrayal of adolescent restlessness.
Frozen RiverFrozen River
Crime200893 minsDirector: Courtney Hunt
Nominated for two Oscars (Best Actress – Melissa Leo - and Best Original Screenplay) Frozen River is a riveting thriller that raises questions about the borders we construct, between countries, communities and each other.
Heaven Knows WhatHeaven Knows What
Drama201497 minsDirector: Joshua Safdie and Benny Safdie
From the directors of Good Time, this electrifying drama about a homeless addict on the streets of New York pulsates with a dark, raw energy.
Anger MeAnger Me
Animation & Artists Moving Image200671 minsDirector: Elio Gelmini
Like all good magicians, the life and work of Kenneth Anger, the Magus of underground film, is crowded with mystery and myth.
The Killing of a Chinese BookieThe Killing of a Chinese Bookie
Gangster1976109 minsDirector: John Cassavetes
John Cassavetes’s uncompromising character study of a gangster, with Ben Gazzara as the small-time club owner whose life begins to spin out of control.
Opening NightOpening Night
Drama1977144 minsDirector: John Cassavetes
John Cassavetes’s emotionally charged film stands as one of the great American movies about theatre and the art of performance.
ShadowsShadows
Drama195982 minsDirector: John Cassavetes
John Cassavetes' directorial debut follows the relationship between a mixed-race woman and a white man.
Pink NarcissusPink Narcissus
Fantasy197165 minsDirector: James Bidgood
With its highly charged hallucinogenic quality, its atmosphere of lush decadence, and its explicit erotic power, Pink Narcissus is a landmark of gay cinema.
VaporsVapors
Drama196532 minsDirector: Andy Milligan
Set in a New York bathhouse, this gritty but sensitive portrayal of pre-Stonewall gay life, chronicles an awkward encounter between two equally inexperienced strangers.
Totally F***Ed UpTotally F***Ed Up
Drama199376 minsDirector: Gregg Araki
Gregg Araki's typically excessive and eccentric portrait of the lives of a group of six gay and lesbian teenagers in Los Angeles.
Within Our GatesWithin Our Gates
Drama191974 minsSilentDirector: Oscar Micheaux
Oscar Micheaux’s startling silent classic – the earliest surviving feature from an African-American director – presents a fascinating black counterpoint to Griffith’s Birth of a Nation.
BirthrightBirthright
Drama193874 minsSilentDirector: Oscar Micheaux
Oscar Micheaux directs the story of a Harvard graduate whose attempts to establish a rural school runs into opposition from both races.
Blood of JesusBlood of Jesus
Drama194156 minsDirector: Spencer Williams
Spencer Williams feverish melodrama about a woman’s flirtation with Satan was independently produced out of Texas with an amateur cast and a budget of $5,000.
HoneydripperHoneydripper
Drama2007124 minsDirector: John Sayles
Acclaimed writer-director John Sayles brings the birth of rock 'n' roll to life with electrifying effect, with Danny Glover heading up a stellar cast.
Computer ChessComputer Chess
Comedy201391 minsDirector: Andrew Bujalski
Andrew Bujalski’s hilarious and surreal comedy about the birth of computer culture, set in an early 1980s conference where primitive programmers take on chess masters.
Why We FightWhy We Fight
Documentary200499 minsDirector: Eugene Jarecki
An unflinching and award-winning look at the anatomy of American war-making.
FacesFaces
Drama1968130 minsDirector: John Cassavetes
Richard and his wife Maria seek solace from their disintegrating marriage in the arms of other lovers in John Cassavetes's powerful 1968 feature.
SutureSuture
Thriller199496 minsDirector: Scott Mcgehee and David Siegel
David Siegel and Scott McGehee's sumptuously shot neo-noir is a moody, monochrome meditation on race and identity politics.
BallastBallast
Drama200796 minsDirector: Lance Hammer
Three haunted souls are thrust into co-existence in this searing debut work from Lance Hammer, a double prize winner at the Sundance Film Festival.