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Curated category

English-language independent films

  • Psycho (1960 film)Alfred Hitchcock acquired the rights to Robert Bloch's 1959 novel for $9,500 in 1960. He faced a studio system that refused his usual budget and rejected his…
  • The TerminatorIn Rome, Italy, during the release of Piranha II: The Spawning in 1982, director James Cameron fell ill and experienced a vivid dream.
  • Mad Max 2Director George Miller abandoned a project called Roxanne in Los Angeles. He had been working on that script with Terry Hayes for months.
  • Waking LifeAn unnamed young man lives an ethereal existence that lacks transitions between everyday events. He observes quietly but later participates actively in…
  • Synecdoche, New YorkCharlie Kaufman entered the director's chair in 2008 with a $20 million budget for his first feature film. Sony Pictures Classics had initially approached…
  • Annie HallPrincipal photography for the film began on the 19th of May 1976, on the South Fork of Long Island. The project started as a murder mystery draft before…
  • Ex Machina (film)Alex Garland held a computer in his hands when he was eleven years old. That machine felt like it had its own mind to the young boy.
  • The Hunt for GollumChris Bouchard wrote the screenplay for The Hunt for Gollum alongside Stuart Price and Lewis Albrow. Rickety Shack Films and Independent Online Cinema…
  • Everything Everywhere All at OnceEvelyn Quan Wang stands in a laundromat in Simi Valley, California, staring at an IRS audit notice that threatens to destroy her family's life.
  • Easy RiderPeter Fonda held a still photograph of himself and Bruce Dern from the 1966 film The Wild Angels. He saw two bikers traveling across America after selling…
  • Melancholia (2011 film)Lars von Trier developed the story of Melancholia during a therapy session in 2010. A therapist told him that people suffering from depression often act more…
  • Hardware WarsA household steam iron flies through space, fleeing a toaster that fires toast at it. The metal projectile disables the flying appliance instantly.
  • Session 9Brad Anderson stood at a crossroads in the early 2000s. He had directed two romantic comedies, Next Stop Wonderland and Happy Accidents, before making…
  • Cultural impact of Star WarsIn 1977, a film titled Star Wars opened in theaters and changed how people spoke. Phrases like May the Force be with you entered everyday conversation across…