Indie Film Release Guide: March 6th [An ONTD Original]

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This weekend only brings two wide release films to the box office, both from big studios: Pixar's Onward, and the Ben Affleck-starring The Way Back from Warner Brothers. But it also brings a lot of indie films, listed below, and gives you time to catch up on films from past weeks.
The films listed are from studios other than the “Big Six” - Paramount, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, Universal, Columbia/Sony and Disney. Note that some of the movies listed are in their first week or two of limited release in the USA, so it may take them a few more weeks (or months) to show up in your local arthouse theater or on VOD. Check out the posts from the past few weeks for more movies that may have just opened near you: February 28th, February 21st, and February 14th.

Bacurau

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Stars: Bárbara Colen, Silvero Pereira, Wilson Rabelo, Luciana Souza
Writer/Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho, Juliano Dornelles
Genre: Action, Adventure, Mystery
Plot: After the death of her grandmother, Teresa comes home to her matriarchal village in a near-future Brazil to find a succession of sinister events that mobilizes all of its residents.
What you should know: It’s in Portuguese and English.
Opens in: Select cities



First Cow

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Stars: John Magaro, Orion Lee, Toby Jones, Alia Shawkat
Writer/Director: Kelly Reichardt
Genre: Drama
Plot: A skilled cook has traveled west and joined a group of fur trappers in Oregon, though he only finds true connection with a Chinese immigrant also seeking his fortune. Soon the two collaborate on a successful business.
What you should know: Based on the novel by Jonathan Raymond.
Opens in: Select cities

The Burnt Orange Heresy

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Stars: Elizabeth Debicki, Claes Bang, Donald Sutherland, Mick Jagger
Writer: Scott B. Smith
Director: Giuseppe Capotondi
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Plot: Hired to steal a rare painting from one of the most enigmatic painters of all time, an ambitious art dealer becomes consumed by his own greed and insecurity as the operation spins out of control.
What you should know: Based on the novel by Charles Willeford.
Opens in: Select cities

Hope Gap

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Stars: Josh O’Connor, Annette Bening, Bill Nighy, Alysha Hart
Writer/Director: William Nicholson
Genre: Drama, Romance
Plot: A couple's visit with their son takes a dramatic turn when the father tells him he plans on leaving his mother.
What you should know: Based on the writer-director’s own play.
Opens in: Select cities

Extra Ordinary

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Stars: Maeve Higgins, Will Forte, Barry Ward, Claudia O’Doherty
Writer: Mike Ahern, Demian Fox, Maeve Higgins, Enda Loughman
Director: Mike Ahern, Enda Loughman
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
Plot: Rose, a mostly sweet and lonely Irish driving instructor, must use her supernatural talents to save the daughter of Martin (also mostly sweet and lonely) from a washed-up rock star who is using her in a Satanic pact to reignite his fame.
What you should know: The actress who plays the driving instructor can’t drive irl.
Opens in: Select cities

The Banker

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Stars: Anthony Mackie, Samuel L. Jackson, Nicholas Hoult, Nia Long
Writer: Brad Kane, Niceole R. Levy, George Nolfi, David Lewis Smith, Stan Younger
Director: George Nolfi
Genre: Drama
Plot: In the 1960s, two African-American entrepreneurs hire a working-class white man to pretend to be the head of their business empire while they pose as a janitor and chauffeur.
What you should know: This was supposed to premiere at AFI Fest in November, but Apple pulled out at the last minute after concerns surrounding the film arose. Not clear if they've been resolved?
Opens in: Select cities, then on Apple+ on March 20th

Sorry We Missed You

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Stars: Kris Hitchen, Debbie Honeywood, Rhys Stone, Katie Proctor
Writer: Paul Laverty
Director: Ken Loach
Genre: Drama
Plot: Hoping that self-employment through gig economy can solve their financial woes, a hard-up UK delivery driver and his wife struggling to raise a family end up trapped in the vicious circle of this modern-day form of labour exploitation.
What you should know: This is Ken Loach’s first narrative feature since 2016’s I, Daniel Blake.
Opens in: Select cities

Go Back to China

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Stars: Anna Akana, Richard Ng, Lynn Chen, Kelly Hu
Writer/Director: Emily Ting
Genre: Drama
Plot: When spoiled rich girl Sasha Li blows through most of her trust fund, she is cut off by her father and forced to go back to China and work for the family toy business.
What you should know: This is writer-director Emily Ting’s first feature since 2015’s Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong.
Opens in: Select cities

Only

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Stars: Frieda Pinto, Leslie Odom, Jr., Chandler Riggs, Jayson Warner Smith
Writer/Director: Takashi Doscher
Genre:
Plot: After a comet releases a mysterious virus that begins to kill all the women in the world, a young couple hides out in their over-sterilized apartment trying to fight for their lives.
What you should know: The number of films written by men about viruses/afflictions/aliens that only kill women is too damn high.
Opens in: Select cities

[TW: Self harm]

Seven Stages to Achieve Eternal Bliss

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Stars: Taika Watiti, Rhea Seehorn, Sam Huntington, Kate Micucci
Writer: Christopher Hewitson, Clayton Hewitson, Justin Jones
Director: Vivieno Caldinelli
Genre: Comedy, Horror, Thriller
Plot: A small-town couple finds the perfect apartment in the big city, except there's one catch: the apartment is home to the ritualistic suicides of a deranged cult.
What you should know: Premiered at Tribeca in 2018.
Opens in: Select cities, then available VOD March 17th



Also opening: Swallow (Trailer), The Dark Red (Trailer), The Wild Goose Lake (Trailer), Escape from Pretoria (Trailer), Run This Town (Trailer), The Booksellers (Trailer)

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What have you been watching lately, ONTD? Seeing anything this weekend?