Indie Film Release Guide: August 13th [An ONTD Original]

[scriptedending]

This weekend’s biggest new releases - Free Guy, Respect, and Don’t Breathe 2 - all hail from the major studios, and are all in search of wildly different audiences. But if none of those is calling your name, read on for some more options.

The films listed are from studios other than the “Big Six” - Paramount, Warner Brothers, 20th Century, 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: August 6th, July 30th, and July 23rd.

CODA

Click to view

Stars: Emilia Jones, Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur, Daniel Durant
Writer/Director: Sian Heder
Genre: Drama, Music
Plot: As a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) Ruby is the only hearing person in her deaf family. When the family's fishing business is threatened, Ruby finds herself torn between pursuing her love of music and her fear of abandoning her parents.
What you should know: Won four awards at Sundance 2021, including the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize, and was bought by Apple for $25 million at the festival.
Where to watch: In select theaters, and streaming on Apple+



Ema

Click to view

Stars: Mariana Di Girólamo, Gael García Bernal, Santiago Cabrera, Paola Giannini
Writer: Guillermo Calderón, Pablo Larraín, Alejandro Moreno
Director: Pablo Larraín
Genre: Drama, Music, Romance
Plot: After a shocking incident upends her family life and marriage to a tempestuous choreographer, Ema, a reggaeton dancer, sets out on an odyssey of personal liberation, in this incendiary drama about art, desire, and the modern family.
What you should know: This is Pablo Larraín's first film set in present-day Chile.
Where to watch: In select theaters

Beckett

Click to view

Stars: John David Washington, Alicia Vikander, Boyd Holbrook, Vicky Krieps
Writer: Ferdinando Cito Filomarino, Kevin A. Rice
Director: Ferdinando Cito Filomarino
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Plot: Following a tragic car accident in Greece, Beckett, an American tourist, finds himself at the center of a dangerous political conspiracy - and on the run for his life.
What you should know: Originally titled Born to Be Murdered and set for a traditional theatrical release before Netflix acquired it.
Where to watch: Netflix

The Lost Leonardo

Click to view

Writer: Andreas Dalsgaard, Christian Kirk Muff, Andreas Koefoed, Mark Monroe, Duska Zagorac
Director: Andreas Koefoed
Genre: Documentary
Storyline: The mystery surrounding the Salvator Mundi, the first painting by Leonardo da Vinci to be discovered for more than a century, which has now seemingly gone missing.
What you should know: The most expensive painting ever sold at $450 million.
Where to watch: In select theaters

Rising Wolf

Click to view

Stars: Charlotte Best, Jonny Pasvolsky, Susan Prior, Andrew Jack
Writer: Antaine Furlong, Kieron Holland
Director: Antaine Furlong
Genre: Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Plot: A young environmentalist wakes, trapped, kidnapped in the elevator of a super high-rise building at the mercy of her tormentors.
What you should know: This is Antaine Furlong’s first feature film as a director.
Where to watch: Available VOD

Homeroom

Click to view

Director: Peter Nicks
Genre: Documentary
Storyline: Oakland as a tantalizing case study. In a city that struggles with rising crime and health care woes, its public school systems aren't exactly equipped to prepare youth for the travails of young adulthood.
What you should know: Based on the story by Sean Havey, Kristina Motwani and Peter Nicks.
Where to watch: In select theaters and on Hulu

Dramarama

Click to view

Stars: Megan Suri, Nico Greetham, Anna Grace Barlow, Zak Henri
Writer/Director: Jonathan Wysocki
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Plot: In 1994, a closeted teen struggles to part ways with his 4 high school drama friends at their final slumber party before they leave for college.
What you should know: Picked up eleven nominations and seven wins on the film festival circuit.
Where to watch: In select theaters

Not Going Quietly

Click to view

Writer: Nicholas Bruckman, Amanda Roddy, Martha Shane
Director: Nicholas Bruckman
Genre: Documentary
Storyline: An intimate, inspiring look at activist and loving father Ady Barkan, diagnosed with ALS at age 32 and who, in spite of declining physical abilities, embarks on a nationwide campaign for healthcare reform.
What you should know: Won the Audience Award and Special Jury Award for Documentary Feature at SXSW 2021.
Where to watch: In select theaters

Misha and the Wolves

Click to view

Writer/Director: Sam Hobkinson
Genre: Documentary
Storyline: The dramatic tale of a woman whose holocaust memoir took the world by storm, but a fallout with her publisher - who turned detective - revealed an audacious deception created to hide a darker truth.
What you should know: Nominee at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.
Where to watch: In select theaters

Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time

Click to view

Stars: Megumi Hayashibari, Megumi Ogata, Yûko Miyamura, Akira Ishida
Writer: Hideaki Anno
Director: Hideaki Anno, Mahiro Maeda, Katsuichi Nakayama, Kazuya Tsurumaki
Genre: Anime
Plot: The fourth and final installment of the Rebuild of Evangelion. Misato and her anti-Nerv group Wille arrive in Paris, a city now red from core-ization. Crew from the flagship Wunder land on a containment tower.
What you should know: It’s in Japanese.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime

Also Opening

Free Guy (Trailer) from 20th Century
Respect (Trailer) from MGM
Don’t Breathe 2 (Trailer) from Sony
Crime Story (Trailer)
The Macaluso Sisters (Trailer)
The East (Trailer)

New to Streaming

The Kissing Booth 3 (Trailer) on Netflix

Source 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

What have you been watching lately, ONTD?