33 Independent Films Exploring Diverse Human Experiences in 2016

The Diary of a Teenage Girl

2015 • 102 min • Budget $2M • Box office $1M

Drama, Romance, Comedy

In 1970s San Francisco, fifteen-year-old Minnie Goetze dreams of becoming a comic-book artist and navigates typical teenage life. However, her world takes an unexpected turn as she secretly has a relationship with her mother's boyfriend.

6.6

6.8

17+

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Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

2015 • 105 min

Drama, Comedy

Greg is drifting through his senior year, deliberately staying out of the spotlight and only connecting with his best friend, Earl, through their odd filmmaking projects. This carefully constructed quiet life is disrupted when his mother insists he befriend a…

7.5

7.7

13+

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Mediterranea

2015 • 107 min

Drama

To provide for his sister and daughter, Ayiva leaves Burkina Faso and joins an illegal smuggling operation with his best friend Abas to reach Italy. He adjusts to life there, but escalating tensions with the local community create increasing danger.…

6.6

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H.

2014 • 93 min

In Troy, NY, two women named Helen lead seemingly identical lives. One Helen, in her sixties, is married and devoted to a lifelike baby doll she treats as her own child. The other Helen, in her thirties, is a successful…

5.3

5.9

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A Woman Like Me

2015 • 79 min

A WOMAN LIKE ME blends documentary and fiction to tell the story of director Alex Sichel, who received a metastatic breast cancer diagnosis in 2011. The film follows Alex's real-life experience as she grapples with her illness, alongside the fictional…

6.4

7.4

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Songs My Brothers Taught Me

2015 • 93 min

Drama

The film portrays contemporary life on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, focusing on the relationship between a brother and sister as they each journey to find their own sense of belonging.

6.9

7.0

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King Jack

2015 • 81 min

Drama

Raised in a rough rural town, Jack has developed a tough exterior to survive. With an absent father and a mother who doesn't see the world as he does, he's largely on his own. When his aunt becomes ill and…

6.4

6.9

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Meadowland

2015 • 105 min

Drama

Following a devastating loss, Sarah and Phil struggle to cope, acting impulsively and disregarding the consequences. As Sarah becomes increasingly reckless, Phil begins to compromise his principles, and she descends further into a distorted reality.

5.8

17+

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+16

Dirty Hands

2014 • 84 min

A desperate fisherman and a naive young boy transport millions of dollars worth of cocaine while towing a submerged torpedo behind their damaged fishing boat. Filmed entirely on location along Colombia's Pacific coast, the film avoids romanticizing the drug trade,…

6.6

7.2

17+

Stream on

Bone Tomahawk

2015 • 133 min • Budget $1M • Box office $475K

Western, Horror, Drama

In a saloon gunfight, Sheriff Hunt wounds a suspicious stranger. The doctor's assistant, the local foreman's wife, tends to him while he's jailed. That night, the town is attacked, and both vanish, leaving only an arrow from a cannibal tribe…

6.9

7.1

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+15

Out of My Hand

2015 • 87 min

A Liberian rubber plantation worker, facing hardship, takes a chance on a new beginning as a Yellow Cab driver in New York City.

7.1

6.2

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A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence

2014 • 100 min • Box office $1M

Drama, Comedy, Fantasy

This pitch-black comedy blends absurdity, surrealism, and shocking moments, shifting seamlessly between nightmare, fantasy, and deadpan humor. It explores the enduring theme of human cruelty.

6.8

6.9

13+

Stream on

+11

Glass Chin

2014 • 87 min

Drama, Thriller

Following a defeat in the fifth round, boxer Bud Gordon retreated from public life. He now lives in New Jersey with his girlfriend, dreaming of his past success in Manhattan. Hoping to return to boxing, he enters into an agreement…

5.0

5.4

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Heart of a Dog

2015 • 75 min

Documentary

This lyrical and deeply personal film explores grief through the lens of loss: the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother, and her dog, alongside reflections on family, surveillance, and Buddhist philosophy.

6.5

7.0

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Meru

2015 • 89 min • Box office $2M

Adventure, Documentary

Meru tells the gripping story of three top American climbers – Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, and Renan Ozturk – determined to conquer a seemingly insurmountable peak.

7.4

7.7

17+

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+26

Incorruptible

2015 • 94 min

In Spring 2011, Senegal faced a crisis when President Abdoulaye Wade attempted to extend his term in office through a constitutional change. This sparked a youth-led movement centered around artists, who mobilized to defend one of Africa's longest-standing and most…

4.0

6.0

The Mend

2014 • 110 min

Estranged brothers Mat and Alan reconnect briefly before Alan departs on a trip with his girlfriend. However, Alan returns unexpectedly early, without his girlfriend, to find that Mat and his family have moved into Alan's apartment.

4.8

5.6

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God Bless the Child

2015 • 91 min

Five siblings, ages one to thirteen, spend a day alone together, unsure if their depressed and unreliable mother has truly left them. Harper, the oldest and the only girl, tries to keep her brothers together as their day shifts from…

4.7

6.4

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The End of the Tour

2015 • 106 min • Box office $3M

Drama

This film chronicles a five-day interview between Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky and celebrated novelist David Foster Wallace. The interview occurred shortly after the release of Wallace's influential novel, 'Infinite Jest,' in 1996.

7.0

7.2

17+

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+13

Krisha

2016 • 81 min • Budget $30K • Box office $144K

Drama

Krisha goes home for Thanksgiving, but old problems resurface and put her family gathering in jeopardy.

6.8

7.1

17+

Stream on

Among the Believers

2015 • 84 min

"Among the Believers" offers a disturbing and revealing look at the radical Islamic school Red Mosque. The film documents how the school trains young children to dedicate their lives to jihad, or holy war, starting at a very early age.…

7.0

7.5

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Best of Enemies

2015 • 87 min • Budget $1M

Documentary, History

"Best Enemies" documents the 1968 nationally televised debates between liberal Gore Vidal and conservative William F. Buckley Jr., two prominent public intellectuals. Originally meant to discuss contemporary issues, their intense and often volatile clashes fundamentally changed public discourse in media.…

7.2

7.6

17+

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+15

Christmas, Again

2015 • 80 min

Drama, Romance

Each year, Noel journeys from upstate New York to sell Christmas trees in the city. This year, without his usual girlfriend, he struggles to perform the task he's always excelled at: selling Christmas trees. As Noel's struggles intensify and he…

6.2

6.7

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+10

It Follows

2015 • 101 min • Budget $2M • Box office $23M

Horror, Mystery

After a sexual encounter, a young woman finds herself relentlessly pursued by an unseen supernatural presence.

6.6

6.8

17+

Stream on

Heaven Knows What

2015 • 97 min • Box office $84K

Drama, Crime

In New York City, a young woman battling heroin addiction navigates the streets, seeking money for her next high. Her volatile boyfriend appears and disappears unpredictably throughout her life.

6.5

6.8

17+

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Girlhood

2014 • 112 min • Box office $60K

Drama

Feeling trapped by her family, limited educational options, and the local boys' influence, Marieme begins a new life when she connects with a group of three independent girls. She alters her name and appearance, and drops out of school to…

6.4

6.9

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James White

2015 • 87 min

Drama

James White, a troubled young man in his twenties, struggles to cope with life in bustling New York City. He increasingly seeks escape in a self-indulgent lifestyle, but his mother's worsening health throws him into a situation where he must…

6.6

7.1

17+

Stream on

Advantageous

2015 • 92 min

Science Fiction, Drama

In a city of extreme wealth built on a foundation of poverty, Gwen and her daughter, Jules, strive to maintain their happiness as cracks begin to appear in their world.

6.0

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Tangerine

2015 • 87 min • Budget $100K • Box office $925K

Comedy, Drama

On Christmas Eve in Los Angeles, Sin-Dee returns to her neighborhood. She learns that her pimp boyfriend cheated on her during her 28-day jail sentence, and she and her best friend, Alexandra, set out to investigate. Their chaotic search takes…

6.9

7.1

17+

Stream on

+15

Results

2015 • 105 min • Box office $104K

Comedy

The lives of two very different personal trainers are thrown into chaos when they get a new, affluent client.

5.0

5.5

17+

Stream on

+11

The Russian Woodpecker

2015 • 80 min

Documentary, History

Amidst revolution and war in Ukraine, a man who survived the Chornobyl disaster uncovers a disturbing secret. He is then faced with a difficult choice: risk everything to reveal this secret and become involved in the fight for change.

6.3

6.7

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Mississippi Grind

2015 • 108 min • Budget $7M • Box office $130K

Comedy, Drama

Gerry, a skilled but struggling gambler, finds a turning point when he meets Curtis, a younger, captivating poker player. They quickly become friends, and Gerry convinces Curtis to join him on a road trip to a famous high-stakes poker game…

6.0

6.4

17+

Stream on

+12

(T)ERROR

2015 • 93 min

Documentary

This film offers an inside look at FBI counterterrorism work, showing both the perspective of the government informant and the individual being targeted.

6.1

6.6

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