You have probably heard the term “indie movies” quite a lot. But what are indies and how are they different from regular films? “Indie” is short for “independent,” and the idea behind it is that there is no big studio backing the film financially or logistically. Which, in turn, means that the author – usually the director, who sometimes also writes their own project – has to work independently on securing the funds.
Now why would any filmmaker want to do this? Making a movie is a pretty complicated process, so why add another huge task to your list when a studio can take care of the financial side? There are a number of reasons, but some of the most common ones are as follows. Sometimes, major studios don’t believe in the potential of the story and are reluctant to invest in it. But if the filmmaker is confident they have great material, instead of putting it off they decide to go indie. They might also opt to shoot independently because they want to retain their artistic say, as studios can often interfere with the script, casting, and other details.
You might think that with such a start, indie films are doomed to sink into oblivion even if they manage to get made, but in fact, the best indie films do get a lot of publicity. While it is quite common for them to premiere at film festivals, many of them go to the theaters and perform quite well at the box office. Back in the 90s, for example, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles made over $100 million in the US, becoming the highest grossing independent film to that point.
Indie movies have proven to be a great starting point for new filmmakers who rose to fame after their first or second independent film was acclaimed by the audiences and critics.
#1 God’s Own Country
God’s Own Country
2017 | Director: Francis Lee
In his directorial debut God’s Own Country, Francis Lee tackles some of the more unconventional topics. Johnny lives on a sheep farm with his father and grandmother and is the only one to take care of the family business. Frustrated and lonely, he finds solace in drinking and engaging in fleeting encounters with other men. One day, a Romanian temporary worker Gheorghe is hired to assist Johnny during the lambing season. After the first few clashes, Gheorghe teaches Johnny how to express his feelings with various emotions, not only anger.
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#2 Sightseers
Sightseers
2012 | Director: Ben Wheatley
Chris decided to treat his girlfriend Tina to a road trip holiday in northern England. Traveling around the area, they visit every big museum or sight there is to see. They both immensely enjoy spending time together and also killing everyone who crosses their path in one way or another. Sightseers is dark, but it is also incredibly funny. However, critics were not unanimous in their assessment, some of them claiming that the film runs out of ideas before it reaches the end.
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#3 Get Out
Get Out
2017 | Director: Jordan Peele
There is no chance you missed Get Out in 2017 or at least didn’t watch it in the subsequent years. Right from its release, it became one of the most celebrated and broadly discussed indie films. Filled with tension and a sense of foreboding you would expect from a horror movie, it also explores the topic of racism and the way black people are treated in American society. When protagonist Chris gets to meet his girlfriend Rose’s white family for the first time, they seem to be quite welcoming, despite him being of a different race. And yet, subtle, often unconscious racism, paired with bizarre occurances, trigger Chris’ sense of danger. What he eventually finds in the house is far more disturbing than he expected.
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#4 Bait
Bait
2019 | Director: Mark Jenkin
Gentrification is a modern-day problem that has affected many communities. It caused Martin Ward, a fisherman from a Cornish village, to lose his father’s cottage and his boat. The cottage now belongs to an upper middle class family from London who use it as their summer house. Martin’s brother uses the boat to give cruises to tourists, while Martin struggles to make ends meet as he is forced to fish without his own boat. To amplify the atmosphere of tension and bereavement, Director Mark Jenkin chose a vintage black and white aesthetic for Bait.
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#5 Local Hero
Local Hero
1983 | Director: Bill Forsyth
MacIntyre is a typical corporate executive from Texas, who thinks in deals and profit. With the hope that his Scottish-sounding surname will help him connect with the local population, he is sent to the remote village of Ferness in the Highlands. Mac, who in reality has no connection to Scotland whatsoever, is initially very annoyed to find himself far from the conveniences of urban life but begins his mission to convince the residents to sell the village to his company. The plan is to erect an oil refinery in the area. Villagers seem to be very indifferent to Mac’s offer at first, but little does he know that they are thrilled at his offer because for them it means the possibility to start a better life. Apart from breathtaking locations in the Scottish Highlands, of which Local Hero has plenty, it can also boast of great writing and directing that earned the film critical acclaim.
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#6 Winter’s Bone
Winter’s Bone
2010 | Director: Debra Granik
Ree Dolly became an adult much earlier than most of her peers. At 17, she has to take care of her mentally ill mother and two younger siblings. In order to not lose their family home, Ree has to find her father, who was previously involved in meth manufacturing. Now neither the authorities nor the local drug gang are happy that Ree is trying to get to the bottom of her father’s disappearance. Winter’s Bone turned Jennifer Lawrence who played Ree into a star and received universally positive independent film reviews.
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#7 Rocks
Rocks
2020 | Director: Sarah Gavron
We often assume that our childhood and teenage years are the most carefree times of our lives. Rocks is here to remind you that we all, young and adult alike, have our struggles and try to do our best to create a brighter future for ourselves. The titular character is a teenage girl whose mother leaves her and her younger brother one day without much of an explanation or money. It is now up to Rocks to not only take care of her brother but also to make sure social services don’t learn about their situation and don’t separate her from her brother to put them in foster care.
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#8 The Squid And The Whale
The Squid and the Whale
2005 | Director: Noah Baumbach
Divorce is never easy, even less so if the spouses are deliberately trying to make each other’s lives difficult. When Bernard and Joan finally separate, their two teenage sons are left on their own to decide which parent they support and find to be right in the entire mess of a situation. This inevitably leads to trouble for both of them, until finally Walt, the older one, manages to break free from under their influence with the help of the school psychologist and face his real fears. The Squid and the Whale was largely praised for the way it handled the topic and managed to intertwine comedy with drama.
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#9 Parasite
Parasite
2019 | Director: Bong Joon-ho
It took the Academy Awards 77 editions to give the Best Picture award to a foreign film. But Parasite, made by South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho, stole the thunder from other nominees, and deservingly so. The film revolves around a poor family of four who unexpectedly find their way into an upper class household. From day one, they scheme and plot to secure their position and benefit from their employers as much as possible. But things take a dark turn when they discover that the house holds a disturbing secret. Combining comedy with very dramatic moments, Bong Joon-ho addresses the class differences in Korea that are very relatable to people all over the world.
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#10 Whiplash
Whiplash
2014 | Director: Damien Chazelle
When Andrew joined the Shaffer Conservatory studio band, he expected long practice hours and a lot of work. What he didn’t expect though was the teaching methods of the band conductor Fletcher, who resorts to physical and emotional abuse every time a student makes the slightest mistake. Ambitious and goal-driven Andrew is not ready to give up playing the drums, no matter how hard it gets. His involvement with the band influences all his relationships outside the conservatory, and not in a good way. Continuous abuse from Fletcher results in an open confrontation between him and Andrew that changes a lot of things for both of them. Made with a minimal budget, Whiplash is a great example of indie cinema at its finest.
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#11 Little Miss Sunshine
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#12 Donnie Darko
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#13 Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)
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#14 Boyhood
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#15 Run Lola Run
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#16 The Rocky Horror Picture Show
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#17 Trainspotting
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#18 Monty Python And The Holy Grail
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#19 The Blair Witch Project
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#20 Reservoir Dogs
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#21 Clerks
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#22 Being John Malkovich
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#23 Before Sunset
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#24 Chasing Amy
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#25 Broken Flowers
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#26 Night Of The Living Dead
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#27 This Is Spinal Tap
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#28 My Own Private Idaho
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#29 Juno
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#30 Blue Velvet
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#31 Nebraska
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#32 Thank You For Smoking
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#33 Philomena
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#34 We Need To Talk About Kevin
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#35 Short Term 12
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#36 Lost In Translation
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#37 Beasts Of The Southern Wild
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#38 Safety Not Guaranteed
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#39 Swingers
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#40 Buffalo 66
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#41 Drive
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#42 Blue Valentine
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#43 In The Bedroom
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#44 Adaptation
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#45 Rushmore
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#46 Sideways
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#47 Easy Rider
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#48 Happiness
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#49 Slacker
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#50 El Mariachi
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