It isn’t news that a veritable fount of films becomes newly available to consumers each and every month. Between original movies on Netflix, the latest blockbusters fresh out of theaters, and other buzzy titles arriving across platforms, it can be overwhelming to sort through the myriad streamers to find the hidden gems you wouldn’t see otherwise.
But one of the best things about streaming is just that: It gives independent cinema a chance — no matter how small that chance may be! — to reach a wider audience long after a title’s release. Movies that had limited runs in theaters, or departed quickly after bombing at the box office, are now available at the tips of anyone’s fingers with the right subscription. From foreign features to obscure older classics, the Criterion Channel helps provide access to rare titles that prove difficult to chase down on DVD. While specialty sites like Shudder, the destination platform for horror, proudly round up the highs and lows of a given genre.
In order to help viewers sort through the endless libraries of content, we’ve started a monthly guide to the old indie favorites new to streaming. Every month, IndieWire will be combing through new releases on various streamers to find the best independent titles from yesteryear newly available. In addition to looking at the big platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, Paramount+, and Peacock, we’ll also spotlight interesting selections from specialty streamers. The movies selected won’t include anything premiered in the past year. But this running guide will spotlight older independent films that might go under the radar in a streaming space that prioritizes the new and the flashy but are must-watches for any film buff.
This September, some of the best movies new to streaming include two Kirsten Dunst classics, the 1999 teen drama “The Virgin Suicides” and 2011’s art-house apocalypse “Melancholia.” There’s also the underseen horror film “Relic,” Sean Baker’s 2015 comedy “Tangerine,” the 1989 dramedy “The Unbelievable Truth” from Hal Hartley, and Andrew Bujalski’s 2018 gem “Support the Girls,” featuring a never better Regina Hall.
Read on for our selections of the best independent films on streaming this month. Entries are listed in alphabetical order.
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On Hulu: “Melancholia” (dir. Lars von Trier, 2011)
Image Credit: ©Magnolia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection One of controversial director Lars von Trier’s most universally acclaimed films, “Melancholia” is a story of family and depression rendered on an apocalyptic scale. Kirsten Dunst, in one of her best performances, stars as a woman who blows up her own wedding after her intense depression resurfaces. As her sister (Charlotte Gainsbourg) struggles to support her, a cosmic event begins to rapidly approach the Earth. The movie won Dunst the Best Actress award at Cannes and has since been regarded as one of the best films of its decade.
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On Peacock: “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” (dir. Joel Zwick, 2002)
Image Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection With the third film in the trilogy opening in theaters to dismal reviews, why not revisit the original “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” to remember what made it such a sensation? The charming 2002 rom-com stars Nia Vardalos, who wrote the script, as a shy Greek-American woman who finds love with a Waspy charmer (John Corbett), and balances her new relationship with the demands of her large family. Made on a modest $5 million budget, the movie was the surprise hit of 2002, grossing $368.7 million worldwide and becoming one of the highest-grossing indies of all time.
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On Shudder: “Relic” (dir. Natalie Erika James, 2020)
Image Credit: ©IFC Films/Courtesy Everett Collection A terrifying film about the horrors of aging, “Relic” came and went in 2020 thanks to COVID. It’s disappointing because Natalie Erika James’ film is a sharp feature debut, disturbing and well-made. Emily Mortimer stars as Kay, a woman whose mother Edna (Robyn Nevin) suffers from dementia. When Kay and her daughter Sam (Bella Heathcote) pay a visit to the ailing matriarch, the elderly women’s physical and mental degregation begins to haunt the three generations of women through some nasty, finely done body horror.
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On Criterion Channel: “Support the Girls” (dir. Andrew Bujalski, 2018)
Image Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection Criterion has added three films from director Andrew Bujalski to their library this September. A prominent figure in the 2000s indie scene, Bujalski’s latest work has veered slightly more conventional but still retains his rough-edged and naturalistic style. The three films added — “Computer Chess,” “Results,” and “Support the Girls” — are all worth seeing. But if you have to choose one, go with “Support the Girls,” his latest and best. Starring a fantastic Regina Hall, the comedy focuses on one day in the lives of the staff at a Hooters-esque sports bar, and is equal parts funny and poignant.
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On Prime Video: “Tangerine” (dir. Sean Baker, 2015)
Image Credit: ©Magnolia Pictures / Everett Collection Before “The Florida Project” and “Red Rocket,” Sean Baker gained attention with “Tangerine,” the story of a trans sex worker who attempts revenge after learning her boyfriend has been cheating on her. The movie’s rough production — it was shot on a few phones — gained it some publicity, but its sharp writing and wonderful performances by leads Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor help it hold up as a funny, poignant gem.
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On Paramount+: “The Virgin Suicides” (dir. Sofia Coppola, 1999)
Image Credit: ©Paramount Classics/courtesy Everett Col / Everett Collection Sofia Coppola made a huge splash with her directorial debut “The Virgin Suicides” in 1999, gaining critical acclaim and establishing herself as a unique voice separate from the shadow of her father, Francis Ford Coppola. Based on the book by Jeffrey Eugenides, the dreamy psychological drama focuses on the lives of five sisters who share a sheltered existence thanks to their overbearing parents. A young Kirsten Dunst stars as one of the sisters. Her brilliant performance would establish Dunst as one of Coppola’s favorite and most frequent collaborators.
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On Criterion Channel: “The Unbelievable Truth” (dir. Hal Hartley, 1989)
Image Credit: ©Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection This September, Criterion is hosting a collection of the greatest films from Hal Hartley, one of the most prominent indie filmmakers of the ’90s. Known for making romantic films with deadpan humor and oddball characters, Hartley has directed 13 features, all of which are available on the streamer along with several short films. For an intro into Hartley’s style, try his debut feature “The Unbelievable Truth,” a Long Island-set dramedy starring the late Adrienne Shelly and Robert Burke as a model and a former convict in a whirlwind relationship.
