Essential American Indies on the Kino Film Collection
The United States might be home to Hollywood, but to say it has a rich history of independent film might be an understatement.
From Little Fugitive, widely regarded as one of the most influential and enjoyable films of American independent cinema, to Eliza Hittman’s dreamy beach coming-of-age drama It Felt Like Love, we’ve handpicked this collection of scrappy films that best celebrates the breadth of creativity and innovation this country has and continues to offer. Explore our curation below, or see the full list of American indies on the Kino FIlm Collection here.
Aaron Schimberg • Arthouse • 2019
In Aaron Schimberg’s brilliantly oddball tragicomedy, Jess Weixler plays a movie star “slumming it” in an outré art-horror film being shot in a semi-abandoned hospital. Cast opposite her is a gentle-natured man with a severe facial deformity (Adam Pearson, “A Different Man”). As their relationship evolves, questions arise around cinematic notions of beauty, representation, and exploitation.
Morris Engel, Ruth Orkin & Ray Ashley • Drama • 1953
Widely regarded as one of the most influential films of American independent cinema and nominated for an Academy Award, “The Little Fugitive” is a charming fable that poetically captures the joys and wonders of childhood in New York City.
Arthur Dong • Documentary • 1994 • United States
Academy Award winner Chloé Zhao's debut feature captures the subtleties of a marginalized existence. Johnny, a restless Lakota teen, and his little sister Jashaun live with their mother on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. While Johnny looks for ways to escape by moving to LA, Jashaun holds onto her faith in the community and the simple pleasures she finds there.
Eliza Hittman • Drama • 2013
In this unflinchingly honest and refreshingly unsentimental coming-of-age story from Eliza Hittman ("Never Rarely Sometimes Always"), 14-year-old Lila spends a languid Brooklyn summer with her promiscuous friend. Eager for her own sexual awakening, Lila decides to pursue the older, thuggish Sammy. But as Lila's advances unmask her inexperience and quiet desperation, she is pushed into unwelcome new territory.
Philip Kaufman • Drama • 1979
Featuring a golden oldies soundtrack and a talented cast of young up-and-comers, this cult classic from Phillip Kaufman follows the exploits of an Italian-American gang in the Bronx in 1963, turning back the clock to a more innocent time before the country underwent profound change.
Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project
Matt Wolf • Documentary • 2019
Matt Wolf’s documentary delves into the strange life of Marion Stokes, who obsessively and privately recorded American television news twenty-four hours a day. A civil rights-era radical who became fabulously wealthy and reclusive, her extraordinary legacy is as priceless as her story is remarkable.
Matthew Harrison • Independent, Drama • 1995
Director Matthew Harrison, one of the most exciting American independent filmmaking talents to emerge in the 1990's, was awarded a Special Jury Recognition for Directing at the Sundance Film Festival for this independent film about a New York City bootlegger who sells stolen music on the streets of Manhattan's Lower East Side.
Shatara Michelle Ford • Drama • 2020
Part psychological horror, part realist drama, this exhilarating debut feature from Shatara Michelle Ford follows an interracial couple whose relationship is put to the test after a Black woman is sexually assaulted and her white boyfriend must drive her from hospital to hospital in search of a rape kit.
Todd Haynes • Arthouse • 1991
Winner of the Grand Jury Prizes at both the Sundance and Berlin Film Festivals, "Poison", directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Todd Haynes ("Carol"), is a groundbreaking American indie film and a trailblazing landmark of queer cinema that made national headlines when it was attacked by right-wing figures.
Bill Gunn • Horror • 1973
Flirting with the conventions of blaxploitation and horror, Bill Gunn’s revolutionary independent film is a highly stylized and utterly original treatise on sex, religion, and African American identity. Duane Jones stars as anthropologist Hess Green, who is stabbed with an ancient ceremonial dagger, bestowing upon him the blessing of immortality...and the curse of an unquenchable thirst for blood.