Summer is the movie season of big budgets, big explosions, big heroes and big villains. After Labor Day, the box office greets smaller budgets, fewer explosions and more subtle characters. If you heard about some of these Sundance, SXSW and other festival favorites, soon you will be able to see them for yourself.
Kicks (Focus World) – September 9
Directed by Justin Tipping
Written by Justin Tipping and Joshua Beirne-Golden
Starring: Jahking Guillory, Christopher Jordan Wallace, Christopher Meyer, Kofi Siriboe, Mahershala Ali
When his hard-earned kicks get snatched by a local hood, fifteen-year old Brandon and his two best friends go on an ill-advised mission across the Bay Area to retrieve the stolen sneakers.
Miss Stevens (The Orchard) – September 16
Directed by Julia Hart
Written by Julia Hart and Jordan Horowitz
Starring: Lily Rabe, Timotheé Chalamet, Lili Reinhart, Anthony Quintal, Rob Huebel, Oscar Nuñez
Stuck at a crossroads in her personal life, it falls on Miss Stevens to chaperone three of her students — Billy, Margot, and Sam — on a weekend trip to a drama competition.
Goat (Paramount Pictures) – September 23
Directed by Andrew Neel
Written by David Gordon Green, Mike Roberts and Andrew Neel
Starring: Ben Schnetzer, Nick Jonas, Gus Halper, Danny Flaherty, Virginia Gardner, Jake Picking, James Franco
Reeling from a terrifying assault, a 19-year-old boy pledges his brother’s fraternity in an attempt to prove his manhood. What happens there in the name of ‘brotherhood’ tests both boys and their relationship in brutal ways.
The Greasy Strangler (FilmRise) – October 7
Directed by Jim Hosking
Written by Jim Hosking and Toby Harvard
Starring: Michael St. Michaels, Sky Elobar, Elizabeth De Razzo, Gil Gex, Jesse Keen, Joe David Walters
When Big Ronnie and his son Brayden meet lone female tourist Janet on Big Ronnie’s Disco Walking Tour—the best and only disco walking tour in the city—a fight for Janet’s heart erupts between father and son, and the infamous Greasy Strangler is unleashed.
Tower (Kino Lorber) – October 12
Directed by Keith Maitland
Executive Produced by Luke Wilson and Meredith Vieira
An animated and action-packed look at America’s first mass school shooting, when the worst in one man brought out the best in so many others.
Christine (The Orchard) – October 14
Directed by Antonio Campos
Written by Craig Shilowich
Starring: Rebecca Hall, Michael C. Hall, Tracy Letts, Maria Dizzia, J. Smith-Cameron, John Cullum
In 1974, a female TV news reporter aims for high standards in life and love in Sarasota, Florida. Missing her mark is not an option. Based on true events.
Little Sister (Forager Films) – October 14
Written and Directed by Zach Clark
Starring: Addison Timlin, Ally Sheedy, Keith Poulson, Peter Hedges, Kristin Slaysman
Tensions rise and fall as a formerly-goth young nun ventures home to visit her estranged family in the wake of her brother’s return from the Iraq War.
Jacqueline (Argentine) (FilmBuff) – October 18
Written and Directed by Bernardo Britto
Starring: Camille Rutherford, Wyatt Cenac, James Benson, Martin Anderson, Sarah Willis, Enrique Dura
A young French woman hires a man to document her self-imposed political asylum in Argentina after supposedly leaking highly confidential government secrets.
In a Valley of Violence (Focus World) – October 21
Written and Directed by Ti West
Produced by Blumhouse
Starring: Ethan Hawke, John Travolta, James Ransone, Taissa Farmiga, Karen Gillan
A mysterious loner makes his way through the barren desert, his loyal dog at his side. After an unspeakable act occurs, he ventures into town — dubbed “The Valley of Violence” — to exact his revenge upon the perpetrators.
Blue Jay – October TBD
Written and Directed by Alex Lehmann
Executive Produced by the Duplass Brothers
Starring: Mark Duplass and Sarah Paulson
Meeting by chance when they return to their tiny California hometown, two former high-school sweethearts reflect on their shared past through the lens of their differently dissatisfied presents.
Asperger’s Are Us (Duplass Brothers/Netflix) – October TBD
Directed by Alex Lehmann
Produced by the Duplass Brothers
In this coming of age documentary, four friends on the autism spectrum who have bonded through humor and performed as the comedy troupe Asperger’s Are Us will prepare for one final, ambitious show before going their separate ways.
Rainbow Time (The Orchard/Netflix) – November 4
Written and Directed by Linas Phillips
Executive Produced by the Duplass Brothers
Starring: Melanie Lynskey, Linas Phillips, Timm Sharp, Jay Duplass, Tobin Bell, Lauren Weedman, Artemis Pebdani, Reagan Yates, Austin Fryberger
A developmentally delayed 40-year-old man named Shonzi is sent to live with his brother Todd. But when Shonzi develops a crush on Todd’s new girlfriend Lindsay, he threatens to reveal past secrets that could ultimately tear the couple apart.
Always Shine (Oscilloscope) – December 2
Directed by Sophia Takal
Written by Lawrence Michael Levine
Starring: Mackenzie Davis, Caitlin FitzGerald, Lawrence Michael Levine, Alexander Koch, Jane Adams
Two friends, both actresses living in Los Angeles, go on a weekend trip to reconnect and begin to lose their grasp on reality when they come face-to-face with their suppressed jealousies and deep-seated resentments toward one another.
The Eyes of My Mother (Magnet Releasing) – December 2
Written and Directed by Nicolas Pesce
Starring: Kika Magalhaes, Will Brill, Clara Wong, Flora Diaz and Joey Curtis-Green
When tragedy shatters her family’s idyllic life in the countryside, her deep trauma gradually awakens some unique curiosities. As she grows up, her desire to connect with the world around her takes a distinctly dark form.
*Keep in mind that release dates are subject to change.