30 Top Films from 2012

A nurse, a paramedic, a gymnast, and her coach run a unique business: they stand in for deceased people. Relatives, friends, and colleagues hire them to attend events and provide comfort to those grieving the loss.

A group of explorers find evidence of humanity's beginnings on Earth, setting them on a quest to the farthest reaches of space. There, they face a frightening conflict to protect the survival of humankind.

A private security company arrives in a middle-class neighborhood in Recife, Brazil.

Night reveals truths. This film is a visual poem about a continent at night, a culture as the sun sets, yet remaining intensely watchful. It’s an “Abendland” that often views itself as the pinnacle of civilization, while its practical service…

Five broken cameras hold powerful stories. These cameras, found among the damaged remains of digital technology, reveal the experiences of Emad Burnat, a Palestinian farmer from the village of Bil’in. Bil’in became known for its peaceful resistance against the Israeli…

Michael appears to be an ordinary insurance broker, but he harbors a dark secret: for the past decade, he has kept a ten-year-old boy confined to a soundproof room in his basement.

Hushpuppy, a spirited six-year-old, lives with her father, Wink, in a remote Delta community called 'the Bathtub'. Wink's strict upbringing prepares her for a future without his protection. When Wink falls ill with a strange disease, the natural world begins…

In the depths of a brutal Montreal winter, an elementary school class is devastated by the suicide of their teacher. Bachir Lazhar, a compelling Algerian immigrant, becomes their substitute, tasked with guiding the traumatized children. He carefully hides his own…

While backpacking in the Caucasus Mountains, an engaged couple and their guide spend hours hiking, sharing stories and playing games. A brief mistake, lasting only a few seconds, dramatically alters their journey.

In the summer of 1965, on an island off New England, two twelve-year-olds fall in love and decide to elope into the wilderness. Their secret is discovered, and authorities pursue them as a violent storm approaches, disrupting the island community.

A retired film director travels to Seoul to reconnect with a friend. When his friend fails to meet him, the director spends three days adrift in the city. He drifts from bar to bar, encountering different women each day, with…

Patience (After Sebald) is a visually rich essay film exploring landscape, art, history, life, and loss. It follows a journey through East Anglia, tracing the themes of W.G. Sebald's influential book, *The Rings of Saturn*. This new film from the…

Left alone by his father, a young boy is cared for by someone who isn't really equipped to handle the job.

An aging New Yorker, uninterested in his father's inheritance, drifts through life with his friends, engaging in playful but often cruel games of sarcasm and mockery.

A group of men search for the victim in a murder case – a location confessed to by the suspect, Kenan, and his mentally challenged brother. But finding the body proves harder than anticipated, as Kenan can't clearly remember where…

The film follows 24 hours in the life of someone who repeatedly inhabits different bodies, moving from one life to the next like a detached assassin. Each life is completely different – sometimes male, sometimes female, young, sometimes old. They…

Following a six-year prison sentence and a twenty-year ban from filmmaking and foreign interviews for his support of the 2009 Iranian election opposition, acclaimed director Jafar Panahi secretly filmed this movie. His close friend Mojtaba Mirtahmasb captured Panahi's daily life…

A recovering drug addict gets a day off from rehab and returns to Oslo. He reunites with old friends, confronts his history, and grapples with an uncertain future. Throughout the day, a series of interactions reveal his desire for belonging…

In early 1990s Maine, brothers Zachary and Gator spent their time making home movies imitating their favorite films: *Kickboxer* starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and the controversial *Faces of Death*. Years later, in 2009, Zachary returns to his family's home to…

Three attractive young women aim to change things at a rough-around-the-edges American college: the driven Violet Wister, the thoughtful Rose, and the alluring Heather. They invite new student Lily to join their circle, which focuses on assisting deeply depressed students…

The creators of Everything Is Terrible! Return with their third film, a unique project never before attempted. The movie explores the question: what if a film is made entirely from found footage of dogs? And what if this film, assembled…

Mike, a seasoned stripper, mentors a younger performer known as The Kid, teaching him how to party, attract clients, and earn money quickly.

In a small Texas town, Bernie Tiede, a friendly and well-liked mortician, befriends Marjorie Nugent, a wealthy widow known for her unpleasant personality. As Marjorie becomes increasingly demanding and abusive, Bernie takes significant steps to distance himself from her.

From a planet of deaf and blind people who live peaceful, slow lives, Young-Chan arrives on Earth and feels utterly lost. Unable to communicate, he's desperate until he meets Soon-Ho, who understands his loneliness and becomes his constant companion. Learning…

Haunted by PTSD and battling alcoholism, Freddie, a troubled veteran, finds a sense of belonging aboard the ship of Lancaster Dodd. Dodd is the charismatic leader of a new movement, a kind of religion, that he develops in the aftermath…

JR, a news-anchor hopeful, persuades her brother Colin to join her on a road trip to retrieve her things from her professor and former romantic partner's home. As they travel through New England, they have awkward encounters with old classmates…

Georges and Anne, an elderly couple in their eighties and retired music teachers, find their strong relationship challenged when Anne suffers a stroke. Their daughter, a musician living overseas with her own family, is distant. The event deeply tests the…

While riding through a chaotic, riot-filled Manhattan in a limousine on his way to a haircut, a 28-year-old billionaire asset manager's carefully constructed world starts to fall apart.

A severe storm and a sick horse foreshadow disaster for a struggling farmer and his daughter.

In 2044, time travel is still a distant dream, but it will arrive in three decades. When organized crime wants someone eliminated, they send their target into the past, where a hired gun named Joe awaits to finish the job.…