#20. Napoleon Dynamite
This 2004 American independent comedy was Jared Hess’s debut feature. Jon Heder, who starred in the film as the main character, was paid just $1,000, but after the film’s success, he ended up re-negotiating and managed to get a cut of the profits.
Remembered as the movie that made part of the new generation develop a liking to independent movies, Napoleon Dynamite is also a divisive film. This film could not be ignored back in 2004, you probably saw some fanboy wearing a Vote For Pedro t-shirt.
#19. Kids
Directed by Larry Clark and written by Harmony Korine, Kids is a 1995 American coming-of-age drama film. The movie stars Leo Fitzpatrick, Justin Pierce, Chloë Sevigny, and Rosario Dawson. Before this one, teen movies usually were soft high school comedies like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off or The Breakfast Club.
But Kids put a darker turn on the typical high school story, rather than the type of comedy that comprised the genre, it opted for a depraved look of the teenage counterculture. Kids became a critically acclaimed work of art regardless of being denounced and criticized as pornography.
#18. The Wrestler
From the year 2008, The Wrestler is an American sports drama film. It was directed by Darren Aronofsky and written by Robert Siegel. It stars Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, and Evan Rachel Wood. Mickey Rourke is Randy “The Ram” Robinson.
Randy’s life has been shattered because of his obsession with professional achievement. This film is a true masterpiece it was a film a lot less aggressive than any other Darren Aronofsky had made, and he has not yet been quite able to top it.
#17. Dazed and Confused
If you’ve ever wondered what your parents were like back when they went to high school, 1993 teen coming-of-age comedy film Dazed and Confused from director Richard Linklater, is centered around the 70’s high school life.
The film features a lot of actors who would later become stars, some of them are Jason London, Ben Affleck, Milla Jovovich, Cole Hauser, Parker Posey, Adam Goldberg, Joey Lauren Adams, Matthew McConaughey, Nicky Katt, and Rory Cochrane. Besides capturing a bygone time period with such authenticity, this movie just follows some interesting kids doing normal things and that is how it gets the audience to laugh.
#16. Juno
2007 American coming-of-age comedy-drama Juno was directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody. It stars Ellen Page and Michael Cera, and it made $231 million even though it is about difficult topic and it stars some relatively unknown people.
Even though it was shot in a month(from early February to March 2007) and it cost only $7 million, this film is a beautiful indie which, in a natural and harmonious way, manages to discuss abortion. It received a standing ovation when it was premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival.
#15. Nightcrawler
This American neo-noir thriller film was written and directed by Dan Gilroy and it was his feature directional debut. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Louis Bloom, it really attracted attention when it came out in 2014.
Based on the ideas of unemployment and capitalism, Gilroy wrote the main character as an anti-hero. Louis Bloom is a man who is obsessed with selling breaking news footage to news stations. He is so obsessed that he doesn’t care to go to some dangerous lengths to get the footage.
#14. Eighth Grade
2018 American coming-of-age comedy-drama Eighth Grade was written and directed by Bo Burnham, and this was his feature directorial debut. It is about the story of a teenager called Kayla, played by Elsie Fisher, and her final weeks of eighth grade.
Kayla’s world is basically just the internet and texting. It’s impossible not to love Fisher since she brings a lot of sensitivity and rawness to the part. From simple embarrassment to serious trauma of sexual coercion, this movie examines adolescence and the mess that it is.
#13. Clerks
Written, directed and co-produced by Kevin Smith, 1994 Clerks is an American independent black-and-white buddy comedy film. It stars Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson, and it shows the lives of two best friends from New Jersey.
One of these friends is a video-store worker and the other is a convenience store clerk. Smith filmed this at the convenience store where he used to work, and on a budget of $230,000 this movie revolutionized independent comedy.
#12. Beasts of the Southern Wild
2012 American drama film directed, co-written, and co-scored by Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild is about the story of Hushpuppy, a six-year-old whose Bayou community was flooded bi melting ice-caps.
It was adapted by Zeitlin and Lucy Alibar from Alibar's one-act play Juicy and Delicious, and it was shot in the heart of New Orleans, and even though it has some newbie actors, Zeitlin’s movie is just genuine and captivating.
#11. Blue Valentine
Written and directed by Derek Cianfrace, Blue Valentine is a 2010 American romantic drama film. Besides playing the lead roles, Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling were also co-executive producers for the film.
This movie makes its audience see from very near proximity what a dying relationship looks like, and it tries to show the fear and solitude which pushes so many people to marriage, just to end up feeling more lonely and afraid than before.
#10. The Evil Dead
The Evil Dead was is a horror movie from 1981, the idea came in 1979 from the producer Rob Tapert, actor Bruce Campbell, and director Sam Raimi. They later went to a Tennessee cabin and shot this horror movie about five college students vacationing in the said cabin, and then fight demons.
Even though it was shot on a $400,000 budget, this movie is the very example that imagination (sometimes) beats money, and every horror filmmaker since two decades ago learned something from Raimi’s camera tricks.
#9. The Blair Witch Project
When this 1999 American supernatural horror film written, edited and directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez was released in that same year’s Sundance Film Festival, it was a sensation.
That was because of the viral campaign that presented the movie as a real documentary, they wanted it to be seen as non-fiction. The film consists of three students who pursue a local legend in Maryland. It cost less than a million dollars, but it grossed out about 250 million.
#8. Moonlight
This 2016 American film written and directed by Barry Jenkins tells a great coming-of-age story in three chapters. These chapters are three different periods in the life of a young, gay black man from Miami called Chiron.
It stars Trevante Rhodes, André Holland, Janelle Monáe, Ashton Sanders, Jharrel Jerome, Naomie Harris, and Mahershala Ali, and in it, we get to see a blend of the old and the new, and it also shows us stuff that we’ve seen before, but in a boundaries-pushing way.
#7. Little Miss Sunshine
From the year 2006, Little Miss Sunshine is a 2006 American road comedy-drama film. It was the directional debut of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. The movie is about a dysfunctional family that tries to help the youngest member Olive, played by Abigail Breslin to achieve her dream of competing in a regional beauty contest
This chaotic road-trip forces the family members to confront their issues in an interesting and entertaining way. It stars Paul Dano, Steve Carell as the uncle and Alan Arkin, whose performance as the grandfather won him an Oscar.
#6. She’s Gotta Have It
African-American cinema was brought into the mainstream by Spike Lee with his romantic comedy She’s Gotta Have It in the year 1986. It was this film that, despite being Lee’s first feature-length film and being filmed on a small budget, launched his career.
The film shows how a go-getting woman, played by Tracy Camilla Johns, and how she tries to please three boyfriends. It managed to lead the American independent film movement of the 1980s even though it had a budget of just $175,000 and it was shot in fifteen days.
#5. Being John Malkovich
This 1999 American fantasy comedy film written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Spike Jonze proved, that to be fantastic, a film doesn’t have to make any sense. The movie is about a puppeteer who finds a portal that leads into Malkovich’s mind.
It includes marionettes, low ceilings, and a sinister conspiracy. Spike Jonze’s crazy direction and Charlie Kaufman’s also crazy script, managed to get nominated in three categories in the 72nd Academy Awards.
#4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
From the year 2004, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is an American romantic science-fiction tragicomedy written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Michel Gondry, it is about a couple who have erased each other from their memories.
It stars Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet as the couple, and thanks to Kaufman’s narrative and director Michel Gondry’s visuals, we get to see this emotional, tender but raw love story. This movie is regarded by a lot of critics as one of the best films of the 21st century.
#3. Donnie Darko
This 2001 American science fiction psychological thriller film written and directed by Richard Kelly found its appreciation and audience over time, like all cult classics. The movie revolves around Donnie Darko, a smart high school loner played by Jake Gyllenhaal.
Donnie hallucinates that someone in a bunny suit warns him about the world’s end. After this, Donnie starts to see time travel as a possibility. The movie was filmed in 28 days and it was screened at the 2001’s Sundance Film Festival.
#2. Reservoir Dogs
Modern classic Reservoir Dogs was Quentin Tarantino’s feature-length debut, and it was the film that introduced him to the world. The movie stars Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Michael Madsen, Tarantino, and Edward Bunker.
These characters planned a heist to a jewelry store and it goes terribly wrong. In the film, we can see events that happened after and before the heist.Reservoir Dogs changed pretty much everything known about independent cinema by the film community.
#1. Lost in Translation
Written and directed by Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation is a 2003 comedy-drama film that stars Bill Murray as an actor called Bob Harris who makes a living working in Japanese commercials.
He then meets Charlotte, a college graduate played by Scarlett Johansson, in a Tokyo hotel. Some themes that the movie explore are loneliness, insomnia, and existential ennui. The movie was nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Director for Coppola.