The Best New Independent Movies From CinéArts
(Updated 03/18/2020)
For movie lovers, it's too simple to say that independent films are just a break from the sensibility of big studio movies. There's no question that independent movies can take different risks than studio movies can. They cost a lot less, which means that ideas that seem too daring in a tentpole can be explored to their fullest in an indie. Independent films give actors and filmmakers alike room to play, and their freedom shows on screen.
The beginning of the year is a bonanza for new indie movies thanks to the Sundance Film Festival, which in 2020 ran from January 23 to February 2. As we await release plans for movies that played at that big event, let's check out the other independent films already scheduled for release in the next couple months. Here are some of the new indie movies coming to theatres thanks to CinéArts, our independent movie initiative.
Wendy
[Image Credit: Fox Searchlight]
The classic story of Peter Pan is wildly reimagined in this wide-eyed epic from BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD filmmaker Benh Zeitlin. Lost on a mysterious island where aging and time seem to have no power, Wendy must fight to save her family, her freedom, and the joyous spirit of youth from the deadly peril of growing up.
Saint Maud
[Image Credit: A24]
The debut film from writer-director Rose Glass, SAINT MAUD is a chilling and original vision of faith, madness, and salvation in a fallen world. Maud, played by the incredible new talent Morfydd Clark, is a devout hospice nurse who becomes obsessed with saving the soul of her dying patient, whether or not the woman wants to be saved. All the while, sinister forces, and her own shadowy past, threaten the integrity of Maud's seemingly altruistic efforts.
Charm City Kings
[Image Credit: Sony Pictures Classics]
Mouse (Jahi Di'Allo Winston) desperately wants to join Baltimore's infamous Midnight Clique, a fearless group of dirt bike riders who rule the streets. When Midnight's leader, Blax (Meek Mill), takes the just-barely-teen Mouse under his wing, Mouse soon finds himself torn between the straight-and-narrow and a road filled with fast money and violence.
The French Dispatch
[Image Credit: Searchlight Pictures]
Wes Anderson's new movie, THE FRENCH DISPATCH, explores the stories and staff of a European magazine. The anthology movie features three tales, with characters like an artist who is sentenced to life imprisonment, radical student revolutionaries, and a chef who resolves a kidnapping. Many of the filmmaker's regular collaborators return to star, including Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Willem Dafoe and Saoirse Ronan, and Benicio del Toro, Timothee Chalamet, Jeffrey Wright, Mathieu Amalric, and Stephen Park also have roles.
Kajillionaire
From acclaimed writer/director Miranda July comes a profoundly moving and wildly original comedy. Con-artists Theresa (Debra Winger) and Robert (Richard Jenkins) have spent 26 years training their only daughter, Old Dolio (Evan Rachel Wood), to swindle, scam, and steal at every opportunity. During a desperate, hastily conceived heist, they charm a stranger (Gina Rodriguez) into joining their next scam, only to have their entire world turned upside down.
Let Him Go
Following the loss of their son, retired sheriff George Blackledge (Kevin Costner) and his wife Margaret (Diane Lane) leave their Montana ranch to rescue their young grandson from the clutches of a dangerous family living off the grid in the Dakotas, headed by matriarch Blanche Weboy. When they discover the Weboys have no intention of letting the child go, George and Margaret are left with no choice but to fight for their family.