Higher Ground

2011

Vera Farmiga stars in and directs this sensitive and searching chronicle describing one woman's lifetime journey of faith -- one that initially leads her to join a fundamentalist sect and then leave it again years later.

3.0 Average Rating

The Loveless

1982

A group of leather-clad bikers (led by Willem Dafoe in his feature-film debut) en route to some blistering racing action in Daytona, Fla., makes a pit stop in a backwater Georgia town. While waiting for one of their hogs to get fixed, the gang decides to raise hell. But they get more than they bargained for when the townsfolk battle back in this moody homage to Marlon Brando's classic biker movie, The Wild One.

3.0 Average Rating

Who's Afraid of Kathy Acker?

2008

Trace the extreme life of outlaw writer, performance artist and punk icon Kathy Acker through this vibrant documentary portrait, which chronicles her controversial career challenging society's assumptions about gender and sexuality. Through animation, archival footage, interviews and dramatic reenactments, director Barbara Caspar explores Acker's colorful history, from her well-heeled upbringing to her role as the scribe of society's fringe.

3.0 Average Rating

Open Window

2006

Engaged professionals Peter (Joel Edgerton) and Izzy (Robin Tunney) have always been there for each other. But when Izzy is brutally raped in the couple's home, she begins to fall apart emotionally, leaving a helpless Peter to watch her spin out of control. As time passes, Izzy struggles to piece her life back together with the help of her parents (Elliott Gould and Cybill Shepherd) and therapist (Shirley Knight).

3.0 Average Rating

Greener Mountains

2004

J.P. Barton (Chris Heuisler) knows little about life away from the Vermont resort his adopted family owns and operates. So when beautiful, free-spirited New York artist Alice (Kimberly McCullough) arrives, J.P. experiences life -- and love -- like never before. When the family resort is threatened with closure, J.P. must find a way to save it. But on the road to self-discovery, can J.P.also find his way into Alice's heart?

3.0 Average Rating

Cold Souls

2008

Paul Giamatti stars as himself, an actor in the throes of anxiety over an upcoming performance -- until he gives his soul to a mysterious company that promises to freeze and store it until he wants it again, along with his anxieties. But when his soul goes missing, Giamatti embarks on a journey to track it down. Along the way he learns a thing or two about engaging every human emotion, however difficult. Sophie Barthes directs.

3.0 Average Rating

Eve & the Fire Horse

2006

When Eve (Phoebe Kut) and Karena's (Hollie Lo) mother (Vivian Wu) chops down an apple tree -- a Chinese taboo -- it sets off a chain of bad luck that sends the two sisters on a frantic search for salvation in Julia Kwan's acclaimed religious drama. As Karena embraces Catholicism and introduces Eve to Christian doctrine, a puzzling blend of crucifixes and Buddhas takes over the household landscape. The film won the Sundance Special Jury Prize.

3.0 Average Rating

Treasures IV: American Avant Garde Film: 1947-1986

1947

Jam-packed with more than two dozen experimental films from 1947 through 1986, this compilation of shorts includes the work of Andy Warhol, Shirley Clarke, Bruce Baillie and other avant-garde filmmakers. The diverse pieces range from live action to animation and from documentary to drama. Other directors include Wallace Berman, Stan Brakhage, Marie Menken, Ron Rice, Pat O'Neill, Larry Gottheim and many more.

3.0 Average Rating

Onegin

1999

Jaded Russian nobleman Evgeny Onegin (Ralph Fiennes) leaves his sophisticated social circle in St. Petersburg after unexpectedly inheriting a country estate from his uncle. Onegin's rural neighbor introduces him to the lovely Tatyana Larin (Liv Tyler), and their mutual attraction is instant. The impulsive young woman declares her love, and Onegin -- affronted by her frankness -- rejects her, setting off a chain of events that results in tragedy.

3.0 Average Rating

Fiona's Script

2008

On the heels of her breakup with her long-term boyfriend, Sebastian (Allan Lazo), struggling screenwriter Fiona (Sonia Montejano) finds herself overwhelmed by a case of writer's block and an unexpected crush on an enigmatic young woman. Written and directed by first-time filmmaker Florencia Manovil, this refreshingly frank dramedy explores the complexity of discovering one's individuality in a world of conformity.

3.0 Average Rating

Holy Smoke

2000

Returning to Australia from India after living in a cult, Ruth is enraged to learn she was tricked into coming back by PJ Waters, a hotshot deprogramming guru. Waters believes he can return Ruth to normalcy, but Ruth quickly turns the tables on him.

3.0 Average Rating

Yeast

2008

Resentment, frustration and aggression mar the relationships between three longtime chums -- needy Rachel (Mary Bronstein), extroverted Gen (Greta Gerwig) and passive-aggressive Alice (Amy Judd) -- in this unflinching indie tale about friendships that have run their course. Knowing which buttons to push, the women repeatedly clash until rising tensions come to an explosive head. Sean Price Williams also stars.

3.0 Average Rating

Head On

1999

This edgy indie drama follows 19-year-old Ari (Alex Dimitriades), a gay Greek-Australian whose roiling ethnic- and sexual-identity struggles lead to a wild, 24-hour odyssey. When he's not dealing drugs or bedding nameless partners, Ari joins his younger sister (Andrea Mandalis) in a battle of wills against their reactionary parents. Though he ultimately runs afoul of the law, Ari remains impenitent about his self-destructive hedonism.

3.0 Average Rating

The Guitar

2007

In one fateful day, Mel Wilder (Saffron Burrows) is fired from her job, abandoned by her boyfriend and diagnosed with a terminal disease. With nothing left to lose, Mel's determined to make the most of her final days by living the life she always dreamed of. Directed by Amy Redford, this touching story celebrates the emotional and spiritual liberation of a woman who thumbs her nose at death and refuses to go gently into that good night.

3.0 Average Rating

Kissed

1996

Ever since she was a young girl, Sandra Larson (Molly Parker) has been fascinated with the darkness of death, but when she takes a part-time job as an embalmer at a funeral parlor, her obsession consumes her every desire. As her boyfriend (Peter Outerbridge) struggles to relate to her new lifestyle and her love of the afterlife and the study of necrophilia, he jumps through hoops to prove he'll do anything for love.

3.0 Average Rating

The Lather Effect

2007

On the eve of selling her childhood home, Valinda (Connie Britton) hosts a liquor-drenched high school reunion party, after which she and a handful of her now 30-something friends clean up the wreckage and wax nostalgic about the long-gone 1980s. Eric Stoltz, Peter Facinelli, Ione Skye, Sarah Clarke and Tate Donovan fill out the cast of this intriguing ensemble dramedy from co-writer-director Sarah Kelly.

3.0 Average Rating