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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 Nelson Half Nelson
Drama 2006 107 mins Director: 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 Exiles The Exiles
Drama 1961 73 mins Director: 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 York King of New York
Crime 1990 103 mins Director: 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 Influence A Woman Under the Influence
Drama 1974 146 mins Director: 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.
Heathers Heathers
Comedy 1989 103 mins Director: Michael Lehmann
Winona Ryder and Christian Slater star in the endlessly quotable cult black comedy that subverted expectations of teen movies forever.
Listen Up Philip Listen Up Philip
Drama 2014 109 mins Director: Alex Ross Perry
Jason Schwartzman is a hotshot writer with pathological intimacy problems in this caustic comedy of over-achievement.
Night Moves Night Moves
Thriller 2013 113 mins Director: Kelly Reichardt
Jesse Eisenberg and Dakota Fanning star in a taut political thriller about radical environmentalists planning to commit an act of eco-terrorism.
Viva Viva
Sex comedy 2008 116 mins Director: Anna Biller
Anna Biller's outrageous sexploitation satire follows bored housewife Barbi as she searches for adventure in predatory 1970s Los Angeles.
Short Term 12 Short Term 12
Drama 2013 97 mins Director: 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 Wake The Living Wake
Comedy 2007 92 mins Director: 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 Sun Who Loves the Sun
Comedy 2006 94 mins Director: Matt Bissonnette
Lukas Haas and Adam Scott play two old friends with a tempestuous history in this delightfully witty character comedy.
Dark Horse Dark Horse
Comedy 2011 86 mins Director: 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 Divine I Am Divine
Documentary 2013 90 mins Director: 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.
2013 60 mins Director: 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 Monkey Spanking the Monkey
Comedy 1994 95 mins Director: 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 River Frozen River
Crime 2008 93 mins Director: 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 What Heaven Knows What
Drama 2014 97 mins Director: 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 Me Anger Me
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2006 71 mins Director: 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 Bookie The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
Gangster 1976 109 mins Director: 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 Night Opening Night
Drama 1977 144 mins Director: John Cassavetes
John Cassavetes’s emotionally charged film stands as one of the great American movies about theatre and the art of performance.
Shadows Shadows
Drama 1959 82 mins Director: John Cassavetes
John Cassavetes' directorial debut follows the relationship between a mixed-race woman and a white man.
Pink Narcissus Pink Narcissus
Fantasy 1971 65 mins Director: James Bidgood
With its highly charged hallucinogenic quality, its atmosphere of lush decadence, Pink Narcissus is a landmark of gay cinema.
Vapors Vapors
Drama 1965 32 mins Director: 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 Up Totally F***Ed Up
Drama 1993 76 mins Director: 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 Gates Within Our Gates
Drama 1919 74 mins Silent Director: Oscar Micheaux
Oscar Micheaux’s startling silent classic – the earliest surviving feature from an African-American director.
Birthright Birthright
Drama 1938 74 mins Silent Director: 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 Jesus Blood of Jesus
Drama 1941 56 mins Director: 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.
Honeydripper Honeydripper
Drama 2007 124 mins Director: 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 Chess Computer Chess
Comedy 2013 91 mins Director: 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 Fight Why We Fight
Documentary 2004 99 mins Director: Eugene Jarecki
An unflinching and award-winning look at the anatomy of American war-making.
Faces Faces
Drama 1968 130 mins Director: 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.
Suture Suture
Thriller 1994 96 mins Director: 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.
Ballast Ballast
Drama 2007 96 mins Director: 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.