Don’t Miss Indies: What to Watch in July
The summer is heating up, and this month’s invitation to cool off at the movie theater comes with a complete menu of indie films – truly something for anyone (though maybe not for everyone). Dance with the hobbyhorses, match wits with 16-century samurai, or have your world rocked by a sexually adventurous boss lady, but don’t stay home and complain there’s nothing to watch.
NIGHT NURSE
When You Can Watch: June 30
Where You Can Watch: Film Independent Presents
Writer/Director: Georgia Bernstein
Cast: Cemre Paksoy, Bruce McKenzie, Eleonore Hendricks
Why We’re Excited: A dark psychological thriller set in a luxury retirement community, where a young nurse named Eleni (Cemre Paksoy, The Affair) is hired for in-home care. Her enigmatic patient, Douglas (Bruce McKenzie, House) is a life-long con artist, running a racket on his elderly neighbors. Eleni is drawn into the scheme, taken with Douglas and his magnetic confidence. As another nurse (Eleonore Hendricks, Uncut Gems) joins the game of deluding senior citizens into believing she’s their granddaughter in distress, they form a cultish throuple around Douglas’s mysteriously failing health and suburban crime spree. “I wanted the film to explore that emotional space where being needed can feel like purpose,” filmmaker Georgia Bernstein told The Film Stage, “and how that devotion can gradually become destructive.”
YOUNG WASHINGTON
When You Can Watch: July 3
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Director: Jon Erwin
Stars: Mary-Louise Parker, William Franklyn-Miller, Ben Kingsley
Why We’re Excited: The latest blockbuster biopic takes on an intimidating figure in world history: George Washington, but not as the future president of the as-yet-unformed United States. Starring British actor William Franklyn-Miller (Dongji Rescue), we meet George as a preteen mourning the death of his father, then follow his coming of age as a wannabe Brit. Shunned by the society to which he aspires, the ambitious young colonist resolutely seeks out opportunities to distinguish himself, courting the hand of a lady (hint: not Martha) and volunteering for a dodgy mission with the Virginia militia led by Robert Dinwiddie (Spirit Award nominee Ben Kingsley, House of Sand and Fog). In contrast to the laudatory writings of Washington in his time, filmmaker Jon Erwin (I Can Only Imagine) attempts to showcase the making of a resilient leader by depicting a Washington who wavers, who lies, and who even fails – but tries again.
THEY FIGHT
When You Can Watch: July 7
Where You Can Watch: Film Independent Presents
Director: Sheldon Candis
Stars: Wendell Pierce, André Holland, Samira Wiley
Why We’re Excited: The setting for this boxing drama is Southeast Washington, DC, where Slim (Spirit Award nominee Wendell Pierce, Burning Cane) runs a youth recreation center. Fresh out of prison and eager to prove himself to the mother of his child, Walt (André Holland, Moonlight) returns to his old mentor and is given a chance to coach boxing, a sport he used to love. There he encounters neighborhood teens fighting their own trials in life: one parent’s terminal illness and another’s absenteeism. Through the medium of boxing, the underdog bunch rises to their collective challenges while Walt seeks a job and a place to live, struggling to maintain his 3-year sobriety when back pain tests his resolve. Based on a true story and a 2018 documentary with the same name.
READING LOLITA IN TEHRAN
When You Can Watch: July 10
Where You Can Watch:
Director: Eran Riklis
Stars: Golshifteh Farahani, Zar Amir Ebrahimi, Mina Kavani
Why We’re Excited: Israeli filmmaker Eran Riklis (Lemon Tree) brings to the screen 24 years of work, academic debate and resistance from Azar Nafisi’s 2003 memoir. The Iranian-American began teaching in Tehran after the 1979 revolution promised a whole new world for Iranians in the diaspora who came back home. Azar (played by Golshifteh Farahani, Paterson) teaches literature in a prestigious university, encouraging spirited discussion among her students. As strong religious views begin to take effect, the class is first segregated to women-only, then mandated to embrace conservative clothing, until Azar’s curriculum itself is protested in the street. Navigating these changes in her private life as well as her classroom, Azar fights for the freedom to embrace the uncomfortable conversations that come after reading books like Lolita.
FORBIDDEN FRUITS
When You Can Watch: July 15
Where You Can Watch: Film Independent Presents
Director: Meredith Alloway
Stars: Lili Reinhart, Jordan Duarte, Victoria Pedretti
Why We’re Excited: The girls working at this mall fashion store are more than just a clique – they’re a coven. Of witches? Perhaps. This witty dark comedy pairs a unique twist on feminist ideals with frolicsome mall set pieces: inducting a new member from the pretzel stand, sleeping with guys from the food court, and using the dressing room as a confessional (unburdening themselves to the spirit of Marilyn Monroe, of course). But more than a pop teenage girl world, this cult of femininity meets its match when they put a hex on someone – and it works. Shaken by the potential of what they’ve done, the group turns a questioning eye on its leader, Apple (Lili Reinhart, Riverdale). Is she the real toxic influence, or are they all under a spell? Executive produced by Film Independent member Randy Manis.
HORSEGIRLS
When You Can Watch: July 17
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Director: Lauren Meyering
Stars: Gretchen Mol, Lillian Carrier, Jerod Haynes
Why We’re Excited: Maybe some of us just learned today that hobbyhorsing is a gymnastic sport. Like, the toy horse on a stick. For Margarita (Lillian Carrier, Everything’s Gonna Be Okay) it’s the thing she loves to do, showcasing traditional equestrian moves without the benefit of a live horse. Margarita is 22 and autistic, pushed into an escalated path to self-sufficiency in the wake of a cancer diagnosis for her mom, Sandy (Gretchen Mol, Boardwalk Empire). Margarita lands a job at the Halloween store, but would rather break into her neighbor’s house to get her hands on the coveted hobbyhorse. That’s how she meets her coach (Jerod Haynes, The Greatest) and joins his competitive hobbyhorse dance team. Film Independent member Alix Madigan is a Producer.
HADESTOWN: THE MUSICAL
When You Can Watch: July 24
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Director: Brett Sullivan
Stars: Reeve Carney, Eva Noblezada, Patrick Page
Why We’re Excited: Anaïs Mitchell’s concept album turned Grammy- and Tony-winning stage production is captured on screen and showing in theaters, exploring the Greek myths of Orpheus and Eurydice in a New Orleans jazz club. Under the direction of veteran Brett Sullivan, who has notably captured prominent musicals like Newsies and Billy Elliot for the screen, audiences get a front row seat to the doomed love stories that intertwine through music, schemes and smoke. Orpheus (Reeve Carney, House of Gucci) is young and poor, writing songs to incite the return of spring. When he falls hard for Eurydice (Eva Noblezada, Yellow Rose), she seems to return his affection. But the world is cold, and when the offer of protection and warmth comes from Hades (Patrick Page, In the Heights), Eurydice follows him underground – prompting Orpheus to go after her. Executive Produced by Film Independent member Tyler DiNapoli.
I WANT YOUR SEX
When You Can Watch: July 31
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Director: Gregg Araki
Stars: Olivia Wilde, Cooper Hoffman, Daveed Diggs
Why We’re Excited: Spirit Award winner Gregg Araki (Mysterious Skin) offers a love letter to Gen Z in the form of this dark comedy sexploration of power on multiple levels. “Gen Z doesn’t have sex anymore,” Araki reflected in an i-D interview. “In the times we live in, people are kind of afraid to make mistakes.” The adventures commence when Elliot (Cooper Hoffman from the Spirit Award-winning The Long Walk) lands a coveted job working for Erika Tracy (Spirit Award winner Olivia Wilde, Don’t Worry Darling). Working for the provocative, demanding artist and iconic cultural figure is less than thrilling, but when she singles him out for a wild physical experience without strings, it seems like a dream come true – at first. But the consequences of Elliot’s youthful fantasy rapidly kick him into a grownup nightmare that forces him to make some decisions.
THE SAMURAI AND THE PRISONER
When You Can Watch: July 31
Where You Can Watch: Theaters
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Stars: Masaki Suda, Masahiro Motoki, Munetaka Aoki
Why We’re Excited: We love a good murder mystery, and this looks like a great one – set in a Japanese castle 500 years ago (the Warring States period). It’s a game of cat and mouse with the titular samurai – Lord Murashige Araki (Masahiro Motoki, Departures) – keeping his prisoner alive for consultations about a series of unexplained deaths in the castle while under siege by a warlord named Oda. As a war strategist, Kanbei Kuroda (Masaki Suda, Cloud) offers insight while he is kept chained in the castle dungeon. Based on Honobu Yonezawa’s 2021 novel, the two match wits to uncover the truth while attempting to pursue their own distinct ambitions, and Lord Araki’s departure from samurai culture (keeping Kuroda alive rather than immediately beheading him) sets the stage for an unpredictable relationship.
PROGRAMMER’S PICK: SELEGNA SOL
When You Can Watch: July 1
Where You Can Watch: Film Independent Presents
Director: Anouk Moyaux
Why We’re Excited: From Film Independent Lead Programmer Jenn Wilson–
Selegna Sol is the debut feature of French director, Anouk Moyaux. It premiered at Cinéma du Réel in 2025 and had its US Premiere in the 2026 Los Angeles Festival of Movies. The film centers on a Mexican immigrant named Gibran who has lived and worked in the US long enough to finally be invited to become a US citizen. Even though he loves hanging out with his friends, he hates that he has to spend most of his life working to cover just basic living expenses in the US. Ultimately, he feels like returning to Tecate, Mexico, where he was born, might be a better lifestyle for him. The contemplation of work/life balance and how, for the most part, no one really has an appropriate amount of time for themselves is a concern that’s felt heavily here, but the film also does spend a lot of time with Gibran and his friends and emphasizes that it’s still possible to find joy in the shared moments we have with others and the small things in life. The film is beautifully shot in 16mm and has a terrific observational style, a loving ode to locales in Boyle Heights and Los Angeles’ East side.
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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