Independent - Movies

Kandahar (2023)

Independent

Tom Harris (Gerard Butler) an undercover CIA operative, is stuck deep in hostile territory in Afghanistan. After his mission is exposed, he must fight his way out, alongside his Afghan translator, to an extraction point in Kandahar, all whilst avoiding elite enemy forces and foreign spies tasked with hunting them down.

The Holdovers

Independent

From acclaimed director Alexander Payne, The Holdovers follows a curmudgeonly instructor (Paul Giamatti) at a New England prep school who is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker (newcomer Dominic Sessa) — and with the school's head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam (Da'Vine Joy Randolph).

Mistress America

Independent

From writer-director Noah Baumbach comes this witty comedy starring Greta Gerwig and Lola Kirke. Tracy (Kirke) is a lonely college freshman who longs for confidence, a guy and membership in a snobby writers’ group. But when she meets her free-spirited future stepsister Brooke (Gerwig), the two have a wild New York adventure that gives Tracy a new outlook on dreams, friendship and cat ownership.

The Daytrippers

Independent

With its droll humor and bittersweet emotional heft, the feature debut of writer-director Greg Mottola announced the arrival of an unassumingly sharp-witted new talent on the 1990s indie film scene. When she discovers a love letter written to her husband (Stanley Tucci) by an unknown paramour, the distraught Eliza (Hope Davis) turns to her tight-knit Long Island family for advice. Soon the entire clan—strong-willed mom (Anne Meara), taciturn dad (Pat McNamara), and jaded sister (Parker Posey) with pretentious boyfriend (Liev Schreiber) in tow—has squeezed into a station wagon and headed into Manhattan to find out the truth, kicking off a one-crazy-day odyssey full of unexpected detours and life-changing revelations. Performed with deadpan virtuosity by a top-flight ensemble cast, THE DAYTRIPPERS is a wry and piercing look at family bonds stretched to the breaking point.

Misery Loves Comedy

Independent

Are all comedians miserable? Kevin Pollak sits down with some of the most successful comics working today, including Tom Hanks, Jimmy Fallon, Amy Schumer and Judd Apatow, to learn about what drives comedians to be funny.

Better Half

Independent

Tony Parra (Grant Landry, Bride & Prejudice Australia) is a sensitive social worker stationed in Saint Agnes, a rundown, neighborhood hospital where he tirelessly works to “save” every hard luck case that comes through the door. Leo Kessler (Jaimie Fauth, Rubdown), his partner of three years, is a financial planner who wants nothing more than to have his “overly-diverse” small business narrow to a few key wealthy clients, have Tony quit his job and have both of them permanently relocate to the DC suburbs where they only associate with a high caliber of clientele. Tony lands one final case before Christmas: an abandoned premature infant, whom he names Dylan. Despite Saint Agnes’ limited resources and the dire condition in which the baby arrives, Dylan survives. After three months, Dylan is released from the hospital, only to be returned by the adoptive parents that Tony finds for him, because they come to believe (thanks to Tony’s hard-nosed boss Heidi), that Dylan is a crack baby. Knowing the stigma the baby now faces, Tony turns to Leo; he wants them to adopt Dylan. “He’s our baby, Leo.” Damaged by his own turbulent childhood, but motivated by his love for Tony, Leo reluctantly says “Yes”. Caring for Dylan, a high maintenance infant, is second nature to Tony. However, tending to Dylan’s needs is alien to Leo and he is endlessly frustrated. His inability to “manage” Dylan becomes an embarrassment for Leo. His complete lack of nurturing instincts soon drives a wedge between the couple. Exactly what Leo feared seems to be happening: Tony seems to have chosen Dylan over him. Just when Leo seems to muster the courage to confess that he believes he has made a terrible mistake adopting Dylan, tragedy strikes; Leo never gets to make that confession to Tony. Ultimately, Leo has to decide on his own whether he can learn to be a father to Dylan, or if returning Dylan to the custody of social services is the best choice for all.

Darkon

Independent

DARKON covers an epic war raging through the realm of Darkon (an American LARP based outside of Baltimore). Skip Lipman, a suburban stay-at-home dad, leads his rebel army in a monumental quest to topple a mighty empire and lead the Realm to new era of liberty and glory. The documentary investigates the LARPers’ lives in the game and out of the game offering insight into the players complex relationship with fantasy and reality. The film is set to the backdrop of the real war then taking place in Iraq, highlighting the American cultural disconnect prevalent during the Bush era wars. DARKON, beloved for its light-hearted romp in the quirky imaginations of suburban Americans, has also been a point of reference as an ethnographic study of our relationship with escapism, war and fantasy.

Joe Frank - Somewhere Out There

Independent

JOE FRANK - SOMEWHERE OUT THERE is a documentary feature that explores the life of award-winning audio artist Joe Frank whose career on NPR and on-line has spanned four decades. Frank's highly produced radio shows and monologues can be described as innovative, abstract, underground, autobiographical, surreal, funny, disturbing and thought provoking meditations on the human condition. The film stars Joe Frank, Harry Shearer, Ira Glass, David Cross, Grace Zabriskie, Alexander Payne, Larry Block, Debi Mae West, Ryan Cutrona, Laura Esterman, Tim Jerome, Larry Josephson, Terry Kinney, Arthur Miller, David Rapkin, and Lester Nafzger among others. The doc weaves their stories together with a wide variety of Joe's radio shows to reveal his art, creative process and intriguing personal life.

Forever Strong

Independent

Sean Faris (Never Back Down), Sean Astin (Rudy) and Gary Cole (Talladega Nights) star in the inspriational story of a rugby player whose fast life lands him in jail and on the road to redemption.

In the Summers

Independent

Siblings Violeta and Eva live in California with their mother, but every summer they travel to Las Cruces, New Mexico, to spend time with their loving but unpredictable father, Vicente (René “Residente” Pérez Joglar). Over the course of four formative summers that span adolescence to early adulthood, Violeta and Eva learn to appreciate their father as a person, his flaws and limitations inseparable from his passion and tenderness. Lovers come and go, the backyard goes to seed, but the idea of home remains knotty and elusive. This powerful and deeply personal directorial debut from Alessandra Lacorazza offers a nuanced study of young people questioning their place within their families, their communities, and their identities. Winner of the US Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, In The Summers proves both an emotional capsule of growing up within a fragmented family and a love letter to the resilience needed to survive.

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

Independent

Mere seconds before the earth is to be demolished by an alien construction crew, journeyman Arthur Dent is swept off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher penning a new edition of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."

Digging for Fire

Independent

Tim (Jake Johnson) and Lee (Rosemarie Dewitt) are married with a young child. The chance to stay at a fancy home in the Hollywood Hills is complicated by Tim’s discovery of a bone and a rusty old gun in the yard. Tim is excited by the idea of a mystery, but Lee doesn’t want him to dig any further, preferring that he focus on the family taxes, which he promised to do weeks ago. This disagreement sends them on separate and unexpected adventures over the course of a weekend, as Tim and his friends seek clues to the mystery while Lee searches for answers to the bigger questions of marriage and parenthood.

Rad

Independent

The story of one young man, Cru Jones, who has the intensity and desire to win a BMX race called Helltrack.

Amish Grace

Independent

When a gunman killed five Amish children and injured five others in a Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania schoolhouse shooting in October of 2006, the world media attention rapidly turned from the tragic events to the extraordinary forgiveness demonstrated by the Amish community. Through the eyes of a grieving mother, Ida Graber, and other devastated families, this movie explores the Amish's astonishing reaction to the horrific shootings - of forgiveness and compassion.

Monterey Pop

Independent

On a beautiful June weekend in 1967, at the height of the Summer of Love, the first and only Monterey International Pop Festival roared forward, capturing a decade’s spirit and ushering in a new era of rock and roll. Monterey would launch the careers of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Otis Redding, but they were just a few among a wildly diverse cast that included Simon and Garfunkel, the Mamas and the Papas, the Who, the Byrds, Hugh Masekela, and the extraordinary Ravi Shankar. With his characteristic vérité style, D. A. Pennebaker captured it all, immortalizing moments that have become legend: Pete Townshend destroying his guitar, Jimi Hendrix burning his. The Criterion Collection is proud to present this timeless document of a landmark event.

Bel Canto

Independent

Based on the best-selling novel. A famous opera singer is held hostage in South America by a guerrilla rebel group after performing at a Japanese businessman’s lavish birthday party. Unexpected bonds are forged in the standoff that ensues.

Parkland

Independent

A recounting of the chaotic events that occurred at Dallas' Parkland Hospital on the day U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

Marlowe

Independent

Marlowe, a gripping thriller set in 1939 LA. Hard-boiled private eye, Philip Marlowe (Liam Neeson), is hired to find the lover of a glamorous heiress (Diane Kruger). Unexpectedly, Marlowe finds himself embroiled in a deadly mystery that he's determined to either solve or die trying.

The Color Wheel

Independent

JR (Carlen Altman), an increasingly transient aspiring news anchor, forces her disappointing younger brother Colin (Alex Ross Perry) to embark on a road trip to move her belongings out of her professor-turned-lover’s apartment (Bob Byington). Traveling through fog-shrouded highways of New England, chaos and calamity are not far behind in his comedic symphony of disappointment and forgiveness.

First Girl I Loved

Independent

Winner of the Best of NEXT Audience Award at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, First Girl I Loved is a poignant coming-of-age tale that captures all the anxiety, bravery, and heartbreak of first love. On assignment for her high-school yearbook, social-misfit Anne (Dylan Gelula) charmingly hits it off with the beautiful star of the softball team, Sasha (Brianna Hildebrand). But when Anne tells her best friend Clifton (Mateo Arias) about her new crush, he reveals a hidden jealousy that threatens more than just the girls’ budding romance. Writer/director Kerem Sanga tells this remarkably touching story with a multifaceted style that is as fresh as it is daring. Brimming with authenticity and humor, First Girl I Loved offers a delightful, contemporary perspective on the jitters of new romance and the age-old heartbreak of love.

Independent Movies