Don’t Miss Indies: What to Watch in September
It’s a month for some truly compelling films, many of which you can see right here at a Film Independent Presents member screening. But even if your selection happens to be fully booked, you can catch any of these in theaters or on streaming – documentaries on lesser-known victims of the Third Reich, immigration or concrete, narrative films on dancing, war, and getting back at your ex by producing a musical. The gamut of human experience.
BARBARA FOREVER
When You Can Watch: September 4
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Director: Brydie O’Connor
Cast: Florrie Burke, Barbara Hammer
Why We’re Excited: “I’m creating a lesbian history in a world in which we are invisible,” says Barbara Hammer in Brydie O’Connor’s documentary of her life – most of which is seen through clips from Hammer’s 92 films. In an experimental film about an experimental filmmaker, O’Connor weaves together archival clips according to theme and content to let Hammer’s story and vision unfold without concern for chronological order. The feminist LGBTQ filmmaker died of cancer in 2019, but her life, body, identity and love affairs have been the subject of her films since 1968. Those love affairs culminated in a 30-year partnership with human rights activist Florrie Burke, who O’Connor interviews to lend insight to Hammer’s legacy as a trailblazer for future queer storytellers.
VALENTINA
When You Can Watch: September 10
Where You Can Watch: Film Independent Presents: Programmer’s Picks
Director: Tatti Ribeiro
Cast: Keyla Monterroso Mejia
Why We’re Excited: Filmmaker Tatti Ribeiro won the 2026 Someone to Watch Award as an exceptional emerging director and Valentina proves to be a first feature that’s not to be missed. This Mexican-American border dramedy is all about the ordinary challenges of living on the edge of two countries. When Valentina (Keyla Monterroso Mejia, The Studio) sets out to pay her parking tickets, the simple task escalates as she travels between El Paso, Texas and Juárez, Mexico. Pinged back and forth by disruptions and limited funds, Valentina winds up on a 48-hour odyssey to deal with her responsibilities, personal realities and family impositions. Blending narrative and documentary styles, most of the film is unscripted, with real El Paso residents and even Mejia’s father and brother contributing lively roles to the screen. Film Independent member Jack Pearkes is a Producer.
DESERT ANGEL
When You Can Watch: September 14
Where You Can Watch: Film Independent Presents
Director: Vincent DeLuca
Cast: Mónica Larraenza, Rafael Larraenza, Indira Renderos
Why We’re Excited: Vincent DeLuca documents some of the search and rescue missions Rafael Larraenza and his team of volunteers have undertaken, going after people lost in the desert while attempting to cross the Mexico/US border. As a teenager, Larraenza successfully made the dangerous 3-day trek before managing to gain legal status and a good job to support his new family. But in 1997 he couldn’t ignore the pleas of a woman on TV whose husband was lost in the desert. What began as a one-time rescue mission became a life-long obsession that compelled Larraenza to search for lost and languishing travelers, helping them attain the better life that he himself has put on the line for their sake. Film Independent members Jillian Corsie is a Producer/Editor and Sandrine Cassidy is Consulting Producer.
HA-CHAN, SHAKE YOUR BOOTY!
When You Can Watch: September 16
Where You Can Watch: Film Independent Presents
Director: Josef Kubota Wladyka
Cast: Rinko Kikuchi, Alberto Guerra, Alejandro Edda
Why We’re Excited: Spirit Award nominee Josef Kubota Wladyka (Manos sucias) explores grief, dance and sex appeal with plenty of pizzazz. Haru (Spirit nominee Rinko Kikuchi from Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter) and her Mexican hubby Luis (Alejandro Edda, American Made) are a middle aged couple living a beautiful Tokyo life. They love ballroom dancing, which Haru records to watch back and critique for improvement. But when tragedy strikes, the ensuing grief strips Haru down to bare essentials – her dog now lives with her sister, her birthday goes unnoticed. Then her cousin visiting from America (played by You, Nobody Knows) immediately announces the remedy: she needs to shake her booty. Getting back into dance classes sends Haru on an adventure of infatuation and romance, with plenty of awkward moves but persistent steps.
THE SCREENER
When You Can Watch: September 21
Where You Can Watch: Film Independent Presents
Creator: Jim Cummings
Cast: Shereen Lani Younes, Jon Rudnitsky, Boni Mata
Why We’re Excited: This 5-episode TV series from Spirit Award nominee Jim Cummings (Thunder Road) tackles every independent filmmaker’s nightmare – what if your film gets stolen? This is what happens to Minnie (Shereen Lani Younes, Fall), a gay Iranian filmmaker living in her van when her screener is leaked on the internet. In a satirical look at LA screener culture (the professional practice of sharing prerelease copies with film festival programmers and other promotion opportunities), Minnie navigates attitudes and platitudes from her agents while lawyering up to fend for her $5 million investment that is now reduced to a spicy collection of images of her online. Initially daunted by the risks of ruffling feathers in Hollywood institutions, the legal team rallies around Minnie’s story and the effect it’s having on her professional and personal life. Casting by Film Independent member Amey René.
ATONEMENT
When You Can Watch: September 22
Where You Can Watch: Film Independent Presents
Director: Reed Van Dyk
Cast: Boyd Holbrook, Kenneth Branagh, Hiam Abbass
Why We’re Excited: Reed Van Dyk cried all the way through Dexter Filkins’ New Yorker 2012 article, “Atonement After Iraq,” then adapted it for the screen in his first feature. Putting us in the middle of an Iraqi family, we get close with Mariam Khachaturian (Hiam Abbass, Blade Runner 2049) and her husband, two sons, two daughters, and two grandchildren. Their comfy but wary wartime familial life hits tragic disruption when they intersect with a unit of U.S Marines. Among them is Lou (Boyd Holbrook, Narcos), sent to the border to fight an invisible enemy and firing on civilians by mistake. Ten years later, Lou is a haunted veteran in California who comes across an article written by Michael Reid (Kenneth Branagh from Spirit Award nominated Much Ado About Nothing). Now Lou’s wartime regrets have a point of connection with the Khachaturian family.
THE HISTORY OF CONCRETE
When You Can Watch: September 23
Where You Can Watch: Film Independent Presents: Programmers’ Picks
Director: John Wilson
Cast: John Wilson
Why We’re Excited: It’s the tale as old as time – creator pitches HBO series, creator is greenlit for HBO series, series ends. And now John Wilson (How To with John Wilson) has a new documentary idea with no crew, no budget, and apparently no caché from his recent success. Inspiration comes in the form of a workshop on writing Hallmark movies, spinning visions of aspirational escapism into Wilson’s development process. Can a documentary on ordinary structural material find an emotional point of connection? The cement itself is a jumping-off point for many related factoids and ephemera, taking us to Rome, New York and Ohio in search of the first paved road, distinct specifications about sidewalks, a cleaning lesson, and a notable piece of architecture. Wrapped up in the story of people and progress is a story about documentary filmmaking itself. Film Independent member Conor Hannon is an Executive Producer.
PEPI FANDANGO
When You Can Watch: September 24-28
Where You Can Watch: Film Independent Presents: Always Remember Virtual
Director: Lucija Stojevic
Cast: Peter Perez, Alfred
Why We’re Excited: Lucija Stojevic (La Chana) took ten years to unravel the story of Pepi, a Viennese Jew who was isolated in the Rivesaltes concentration camp at the age of 5. Pepi and his guitar-playing friend Alfred hit the road to listen to Spanish people sing fandangos, a bluesy minor style of flamenco that seems to both comfort Pepi and cause him pain. Now 85, the traumatized Holocaust survivor is taunted by the elusive sound; he keeps trying to write his own fandango and can’t. But on arriving in Spain, now it’s happier times and the singing no longer reflects the mournful style he remembers. “It is a film about living with pain,” says Stojevic in a Doxumentale interview, “living with trauma, living with something you can’t resolve. But it’s also a film about friendship.”
DISPOSABLE HUMANITY
When You Can Watch: September 24-28
Where You Can Watch: Film Independent Presents: Always Remember Virtual
Director: Cameron S. Mitchell
Cast: Cameron S. Mitchell, David T. Mitchell, Sharon L. Snyder
Why We’re Excited: A fresh take on Nazi Germany and its far-reaching influences, Cameron S. Mitchell looks beyond the Holocaust to explore its predecessor: Hitler’s euthenasia program for people with disabilities or in psychiatric care. While the Mitchell crew navigates institutions with limited accessibility, what starts as a family outing in wheelchairs becomes an investigation of the Nazi Aktion T4, which led to “mercy killings” for 300,000 people – the beginning of gas chamber technology. Mitchell’s family of Disabilities Studies scholars and filmmakers share detailed research on a hidden history of systemic bias toward anyone who doesn’t fit into conventional ideas of health. The film advocates for the T4 victims and their families, but also confronts the attitude that any human life could be classified as disposable. Film Independent member Nic Novicki is an Executive Producer.
PROGRAMMER’S PICK: THE MUSICAL
When You Can Watch: September 15
Where You Can Watch: Film Independent Presents
Director: Giselle Bonilla
Cast: Will Brill, Gillian Jacobs, Rob Lowe
Why We’re Excited: By Film Independent Blog Editor John Squire– “Everybody talks about the power of love,” says junior high drama teacher Doug tells his class, “but nobody talks about the power of spite.” In this dark comedy, Doug, played by a brilliantly unhinged Will Brill, finds out that his coworker and ex-girlfriend is now dating the high-achieving principal, and decides to create an original play based on 9/11 to destroy his boss’s career, and pulls his class in as co-conspirators.
Executive Producers Tyler Boehm and Chris Quintos-Cathcart – as well as Writer/Producer Alexander Heller – are Film Independent members.
KEY
Film Independent Fellow or Member
Film Independent Presents Screening, Q&A
Microbudget
Filmmaker or Lead Characters of Color
Film Independent Spirit Award Winner or Nominee
Female Filmmaker
LGBT Filmmaker or Lead LGBT Characters
First-time Filmmaker
LA Film Festival Winner or Nominee
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