Best Independent Films
by angelinacus | created - 13 Sep 2013 | updated - 20 Mar 2019 | PublicNot currently in any order.
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1. An Education (2009)
PG-13 | 100 min | Drama
A coming-of-age story about a teenage girl in 1960s suburban London, and how her life changes with the arrival of a playboy nearly twice her age.
Director: Lone Scherfig | Stars: Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard, Alfred Molina, Olivia Williams
Votes: 138,175 | Gross: $12.57M
2. Tanner Hall (2009)
R | 96 min | Drama, Romance
Tanner Hall is a vivid peek into the private world of an all-girls boarding school. In a cozy, but run-down New England, the knot of adolescent complexity is unraveled through the coming-of-age stories of four teenage girls.
Directors: Francesca Gregorini, Tatiana von Fürstenberg | Stars: Rooney Mara, Georgia King, Brie Larson, Amy Ferguson
Votes: 4,013 | Gross: $0.01M
3. The Virgin Suicides (1999)
R | 97 min | Drama, Romance
A group of male friends become obsessed with five mysterious sisters who are sheltered by their strict, religious parents in suburban Detroit in the mid 1970s.
Director: Sofia Coppola | Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Josh Hartnett, James Woods, Kathleen Turner
Votes: 169,358 | Gross: $4.86M
4. Like Crazy (2011)
PG-13 | 86 min | Drama, Romance
A British college student falls for an American student, only to be separated from him when she's banned from the U.S. after overstaying her visa.
Director: Drake Doremus | Stars: Felicity Jones, Anton Yelchin, Jennifer Lawrence, Charlie Bewley
Votes: 63,310 | Gross: $3.41M
5. Chalet Girl (2011)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Romance, Sport
Former skateboard champion Kim wants to make more money after her mother's tragic death. She joins the elite posh servicing company, which sends her off to Austria.
Director: Phil Traill | Stars: Felicity Jones, Ed Westwick, Bill Nighy, Brooke Shields
Votes: 26,964 | Gross: $0.00M
6. Albatross (2011)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama
Beth, a bookish teenager, befriends Emilia, an aspiring novelist who has just arrived in town. Emilia soon begins an affair with Beth's father that threatens to have devastating consequences.
Director: Niall MacCormick | Stars: Felicity Jones, Jessica Brown Findlay, Sebastian Koch, Julia Ormond
Votes: 5,621
7. Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
PG-13 | 117 min | Drama
A free-thinking art professor teaches conservative 1950s Wellesley girls to question their traditional social roles.
Director: Mike Newell | Stars: Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal
Votes: 91,008 | Gross: $63.86M
8. Chéri (2009)
R | 86 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
The son of a courtesan retreats into a fantasy world after being forced to end his relationship with the older woman who educated him in the ways of love.
Director: Stephen Frears | Stars: Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Friend, Kathy Bates, Frances Tomelty
Votes: 11,683 | Gross: $2.71M
9. Lola Versus (2012)
R | 87 min | Comedy
Dumped by her boyfriend just three weeks before their wedding, Lola enlists her close friends for a series of adventures she hopes will help her come to terms with approaching 30 as a single woman.
Director: Daryl Wein | Stars: Greta Gerwig, Zoe Lister-Jones, Hamish Linklater, Joel Kinnaman
Votes: 8,991 | Gross: $0.25M
10. Cracks (I) (2009)
R | 104 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A look at the lives and relationships among girls at an elite boarding school.
Director: Jordan Scott | Stars: Eva Green, Juno Temple, María Valverde, Imogen Poots
Votes: 21,108 | Gross: $0.02M
11. Ginger & Rosa (2012)
PG-13 | 90 min | Drama
A look at the lives of two teenage girls - inseparable friends Ginger and Rosa -- growing up in 1960s London as the Cuban Missile Crisis looms, and the pivotal event that comes to redefine their relationship.
Director: Sally Potter | Stars: Elle Fanning, Alice Englert, Annette Bening, Oliver Platt
Votes: 11,779 | Gross: $1.01M
12. Tiny Furniture (2010)
Not Rated | 98 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
About a recent college grad who returns home while she tries to figure out what to do with her life.
Director: Lena Dunham | Stars: Lena Dunham, Laurie Simmons, Grace Dunham, Rachel Howe
Votes: 14,855 | Gross: $0.39M
13. Adoration (2013)
R | 112 min | Drama, Romance
A pair of childhood friends and neighbors fall for each other's sons.
Director: Anne Fontaine | Stars: Naomi Watts, Robin Wright, Xavier Samuel, James Frecheville
Votes: 36,717 | Gross: $0.32M
14. Now Is Good (2012)
PG-13 | 103 min | Drama, Romance
A teenage girl dying of leukemia compiles a list of things she would like to do before passing away. Topping the list is her desire to lose her virginity.
Director: Ol Parker | Stars: Dakota Fanning, Josef Altin, Jeremy Irvine, Paddy Considine
Votes: 35,044
15. Sassy Pants (2012)
R | 88 min | Comedy, Drama
Desperate to get out from under her overprotective mother, a home-schooled teen runs off to live with her dad, and forms a bond with his much-younger boyfriend.
Director: Coley Sohn | Stars: Anna Gunn, Ashley Rickards, Martin Spanjers, Drew Droege
Votes: 1,804
16. Coming Home (1998)
199 min | Drama, Romance, War
Drama miniseries about the friendship between Judith Dunbar and Loveday Carey-Lewis, before, during and after WW2.
Stars: Joanna Lumley, Peter O'Toole, Grace Simon, Paul Bettany
Votes: 823
17. Girl in Progress (2012)
PG-13 | 93 min | Comedy, Drama
As single mom Grace juggles work, bills, and her affair with a married doctor, her daughter, Ansiedad, plots a shortcut to adulthood after finding inspiration in the coming-of-age stories she's reading for school.
Director: Patricia Riggen | Stars: Eva Mendes, Cierra Ramirez, Patricia Arquette, Matthew Modine
Votes: 7,026 | Gross: $2.59M
18. The Brass Teapot (2012)
R | 101 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Thriller
When a couple discovers that a brass teapot makes them money whenever they hurt themselves, they must come to terms with how far they are willing to go.
Director: Ramaa Mosley | Stars: Juno Temple, Michael Angarano, Alexis Bledel, Billy Magnussen
Votes: 17,046 | Gross: $0.01M
19. Dirty Girl (2010)
R | 90 min | Comedy, Drama
It's 1987 and Danielle, the high-school 'Dirty Girl', is running away. With her is chubby, gay Clarke, a bag of flour called Joa and a Walkman full of glorious '80s tunes.
Director: Abe Sylvia | Stars: Juno Temple, Jeremy Dozier, Milla Jovovich, Zach Lasry
Votes: 11,347 | Gross: $0.05M
20. Little Birds (2011)
R | 94 min | Drama
Lily and Alison face a life-changing event after they leave their Salton Sea home and follow the boys they meet back to Los Angeles.
Director: Elgin James | Stars: Juno Temple, Kay Panabaker, Leslie Mann, Kate Bosworth
Votes: 5,241 | Gross: $0.02M
21. Swimming Pool (2003)
R | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A British mystery author visits her publisher's home in the South of France, where her interaction with his unusual daughter sets off some touchy dynamics.
Director: François Ozon | Stars: Charlotte Rampling, Charles Dance, Ludivine Sagnier, Jean-Marie Lamour
Votes: 48,361 | Gross: $10.11M
22. Guinevere (1999)
R | 104 min | Drama, Romance
A young girl from an affluent family rebels and becomes involved with a much older photographer.
Director: Audrey Wells | Stars: Sarah Polley, Stephen Rea, Jean Smart, Gina Gershon
Votes: 2,742 | Gross: $0.61M
23. The Giant Mechanical Man (2012)
PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
An offbeat romantic comedy about a silver-painted street performer and the soft spoken zoo worker who falls for him.
Director: Lee Kirk | Stars: Jenna Fischer, Chris Messina, Topher Grace, Malin Akerman
Votes: 10,684 | Gross: $0.01M
24. Daydream Nation (2010)
R | 98 min | Drama, Romance
A city girl who moves to a small town and becomes entangled in a love triangle between her high school teacher and a stoner classmate.
Director: Michael Goldbach | Stars: Kat Dennings, Reece Thompson, Andie MacDowell, Josh Lucas
Votes: 13,056
25. Ruby Sparks (2012)
R | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A novelist struggling with writer's block finds romance in a most unusual way: by creating a female character he thinks will love him, then willing her into existence.
Directors: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris | Stars: Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Annette Bening, Antonio Banderas
Votes: 105,461 | Gross: $2.54M
26. Scoop (2006)
PG-13 | 96 min | Comedy, Crime, Fantasy
An American journalism student in London scoops a big story, and begins an affair with an aristocrat as the incident unfurls.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Scarlett Johansson, Hugh Jackman, Jim Dunk, Robert Bathurst
Votes: 87,639 | Gross: $10.53M
27. Adventureland (2009)
R | 107 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
In the summer of 1987, a college graduate takes a 'nowhere' job at his local amusement park, only to find it's the perfect course to get him prepared for the real world.
Director: Greg Mottola | Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds, Martin Starr
Votes: 169,277 | Gross: $16.03M
28. The Babysitters (2007)
R | 88 min | Drama
After fooling around with one of her customers, a teenager turns her babysitting service into a call-girl service for married guys.
Director: David Ross | Stars: Lauren Birkell, Paul Borghese, Chira Cassel, Anthony Cirillo
Votes: 12,758 | Gross: $0.04M
29. Family Weekend (2013)
R | 105 min | Comedy, Drama
When her family misses her jump roping competition, a 16-year-old girl and her siblings hold their parents hostage, hoping to correct their unsatisfying behavior.
Director: Benjamin Epps | Stars: Kristin Chenoweth, Matthew Modine, Olesya Rulin, Joey King
Votes: 7,153
30. Charlie Bartlett (2007)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A rich kid becomes the self-appointed psychiatrist to the student body of his new high school.
Director: Jon Poll | Stars: Anton Yelchin, Robert Downey Jr., Hope Davis, Kat Dennings
Votes: 66,718 | Gross: $3.95M
31. Dakota Skye (2008)
R | 89 min | Drama, Romance
A girl with the supernatural ability to see through other peoples' lies, falls in love with a mysterious boy who always tells the truth.
Director: John Humber | Stars: Scott F. Anderson, Matt Baker, Eileen Boylan, Laci Couts
Votes: 3,314
32. 16 to Life (2009)
Not Rated | 89 min | Comedy, Romance
Romantic comedy. A small town teenager's angst about sexual inexperience drives a comic quest for love and understanding on a birthday to end all birthdays.
Director: Becky Smith | Stars: Hallee Hirsh, Theresa Russell, Shiloh Fernandez, Mandy Musgrave
Votes: 507
33. Tara Road (2005)
PG | 97 min | Drama
Two women -- one American, one Irish -- swap houses and alter the course of their lives.
Director: Gillies MacKinnon | Stars: Jean-Marc Barr, Sarah Bolger, Jennifer Buckley, Virginia Cole
Votes: 1,963
34. Saved! (2004)
PG-13 | 92 min | Comedy, Drama
When a girl attending a Christian high school becomes pregnant, all of her former friends turn on her and she is ostracized and demonized.
Director: Brian Dannelly | Stars: Jena Malone, Mandy Moore, Macaulay Culkin, Patrick Fugit
Votes: 49,007 | Gross: $8.94M
35. Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You (2011)
Not Rated | 95 min | Drama
A vulnerable teenager with a deep perception of the world and no idea how to live in it.
Director: Roberto Faenza | Stars: Toby Regbo, Marcia Gay Harden, Peter Gallagher, Lucy Liu
Votes: 2,780
36. Play the Game (2009)
PG-13 | 105 min | Comedy, Romance
A young ladies' man teaches his dating tricks to his lonely, widowed grandfather, and plays his best mind games to meet the woman of his dreams.
Director: Marc Fienberg | Stars: Paul Campbell, Andy Griffith, Doris Roberts, Marla Sokoloff
Votes: 2,900 | Gross: $0.66M
37. Hick (2011)
R | 99 min | Comedy, Drama
A Nebraska teen gets more than she bargained for when she sets out for the bright lights of Las Vegas.
Director: Derick Martini | Stars: Chloë Grace Moretz, Blake Lively, Rory Culkin, Eddie Redmayne
Votes: 20,839
38. Stealing Beauty (1996)
R | 118 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
After her mother commits suicide, a young woman travels to Italy in search of love, truth and a deeper connection with herself.
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci | Stars: Jeremy Irons, Liv Tyler, Carlo Cecchi, Sinéad Cusack
Votes: 30,444 | Gross: $4.57M
39. Midnight in Paris (2011)
PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
While on a trip to Paris with his fiancée's family, a nostalgic screenwriter finds himself mysteriously going back to the 1920s every day at midnight.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates, Kurt Fuller
Votes: 450,074 | Gross: $56.82M
40. Before Sunrise (1995)
R | 101 min | Drama, Romance
A young man and woman meet on a train in Europe, and wind up spending one evening together in Vienna. Unfortunately, both know that this will probably be their only night together.
Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Andrea Eckert, Hanno Pöschl
Votes: 339,648 | Gross: $5.54M
41. Before Sunset (2004)
R | 80 min | Drama, Romance
Nine years after Jesse and Celine first met, they encounter each other again on the French leg of Jesse's book tour.
Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Vernon Dobtcheff, Louise Lemoine Torrès
Votes: 288,073 | Gross: $5.82M
42. Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
PG-13 | 96 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Two friends on a summer holiday in Spain become enamored with the same painter, unaware that his ex-wife, with whom he has a tempestuous relationship, is about to re-enter the picture.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem, Christopher Evan Welch
Votes: 268,986 | Gross: $23.22M
43. Match Point (2005)
R | 124 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
At a turning point in his life, a former tennis pro falls for an actress who happens to be dating his friend and soon-to-be brother-in-law.
Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Emily Mortimer, Matthew Goode
Votes: 228,180 | Gross: $23.09M
44. Mr. Nobody (2009)
R | 141 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
A boy stands on a station platform as a train is about to leave. Should he go with his mother or stay with his father? Infinite possibilities arise from this decision. As long as he doesn't choose, anything is possible.
Director: Jaco Van Dormael | Stars: Jared Leto, Sarah Polley, Diane Kruger, Linh-Dan Pham
Votes: 245,952 | Gross: $0.00M
45. I Origins (2014)
R | 106 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A molecular biologist and his laboratory partner uncover evidence that may fundamentally change society as we know it.
Director: Mike Cahill | Stars: Michael Pitt, Steven Yeun, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Brit Marling
Votes: 133,680 | Gross: $0.33M
46. Amélie (2001)
R | 122 min | Comedy, Romance
Despite being caught in her imaginative world, Amelie, a young waitress, decides to help people find happiness. Her quest to spread joy leads her on a journey where she finds true love.
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Stars: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, Lorella Cravotta
Votes: 794,638 | Gross: $33.23M
47. Lost in Translation (2003)
R | 102 min | Comedy, Drama
A faded movie star and a neglected young woman form an unlikely bond after crossing paths in Tokyo.
Director: Sofia Coppola | Stars: Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Giovanni Ribisi, Anna Faris
Votes: 489,607 | Gross: $44.59M
48. The Shape of Water (2017)
R | 123 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
At a top secret research facility in the 1960s, a lonely janitor forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity.
Director: Guillermo del Toro | Stars: Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon, Doug Jones
Votes: 447,886 | Gross: $63.86M
49. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
R | 99 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
A writer encounters the owner of an aging high-class hotel, who tells him of his early years serving as a lobby boy in the hotel's glorious years under an exceptional concierge.
Director: Wes Anderson | Stars: Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Mathieu Amalric, Adrien Brody
Votes: 887,498 | Gross: $59.10M
50. Skins (2007– )
TV-MA | 46 min | Drama
The story of a group of British teens who are trying to grow up and find love and happiness despite questionable parenting and teachers who would rather be friends (and lovers) than authority figures.
Stars: Kaya Scodelario, Nicholas Hoult, Joe Dempsie, Hannah Murray
Votes: 93,144
51. Patti Cake$ (2017)
R | 109 min | Drama, Music
PATTI CAKE$ is centered on aspiring rapper Patricia Dombrowski, a.k.a. Killa P, a.k.a. Patti Cake$, who is fighting an unlikely quest for glory in her downtrodden hometown in New Jersey.
Director: Geremy Jasper | Stars: Danielle Macdonald, Sahr Ngaujah, Bridget Everett, Mamoudou Athie
Votes: 10,529 | Gross: $0.80M
52. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
R | 118 min | Drama, Fantasy, War
In the Falangist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.
Director: Guillermo del Toro | Stars: Ivana Baquero, Ariadna Gil, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú
Votes: 703,361 | Gross: $37.63M
53. Marie Antoinette (2006)
PG-13 | 123 min | Biography, Drama, History
The retelling of France's iconic but ill-fated queen, Marie Antoinette. From her betrothal and marriage to Louis XVI at 14 to her reign as queen at 19 and to the end of her reign as queen, and ultimately the fall of Versailles.
Director: Sofia Coppola | Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman, Rip Torn, Steve Coogan
Votes: 121,997 | Gross: $15.96M
54. Swiss Army Man (2016)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A hopeless man stranded on a deserted island befriends a dead body, and together they go on a surreal journey to get home.
Directors: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert | Stars: Paul Dano, Daniel Radcliffe, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Antonia Ribero
Votes: 133,677 | Gross: $4.21M
55. Garden State (2004)
R | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A quietly troubled young man returns home for his mother's funeral after being estranged from his family for a decade.
Director: Zach Braff | Stars: Zach Braff, Peter Sarsgaard, Natalie Portman, Ian Holm
Votes: 223,249 | Gross: $26.78M
56. Léon: The Professional (1994)
R | 110 min | Action, Crime, Drama
12-year-old Mathilda is reluctantly taken in by Léon, a professional assassin, after her family is murdered. An unusual relationship forms as she becomes his protégée and learns the assassin's trade.
Director: Luc Besson | Stars: Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, Natalie Portman, Danny Aiello
Votes: 1,246,844 | Gross: $19.50M
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