Discovering and Watching Movies

• Indie Cinema: Traditionally defined as films made outside the major Hollywood studios. Today, some films produced by major studios or their subsidiaries can still be considered “indie” if they maintain a focus on unique stories, lower budgets, and creative freedom for the director. Distribution through independent channels and a focus on character-driven narratives can further solidify an indie identity, even with some studio backing. As the film industry landscape changes, the definition of “indie” becomes more nuanced, but the core spirit of independent filmmaking – artistic exploration and distinct storytelling – remains.
• Screenplay: The script of a film, including dialogue, character descriptions, and action scenes.
• Director: The person responsible for overseeing the creative aspects of a film.
• Producer: The person who oversees the production of a film, from financing to post-production.
• Cinematographer: Also known as a Director of Photography, they oversee the camera and light crews.
• Editor: The person who cuts and pieces together the film to create the final product.
• Cast: All the actors and actresses appearing in a film.
• Crew: The technical staff working behind the scenes to create the film.
• Box Office: The total revenue a movie generates from ticket sales.

Partial list of film movements

• French Impressionism: An avant-garde silent film movement that emerged in France after World War I and focused on enhancing the aesthetic qualities of each frame and portraying the psychological states of the characters.
• German Expressionism: A dark and stylized film movement that developed in Germany after World War I and used distorted sets, lighting, and shadows to create a sense of horror and alienation.
• Soviet Montage: A revolutionary film movement that originated in Soviet Russia in the 1910s and introduced the technique of montage, which is the editing of shots to create meaning and emotion.
• Italian Neorealism: A gritty and realistic film movement that emerged in Italy after World War II and depicted the harsh realities of poverty, oppression, and injustice in post-war society.
• French New Wave: A radical and innovative film movement that flourished in France in the late 1950s and early 1960s and challenged the conventions of Hollywood cinema with unconventional narratives, editing, cinematography, and sound.
• New Hollywood: A creative and experimental film movement that dominated American cinema in the late 1960s and early 1970s and reflected the social and cultural changes of the era with more complex, ambiguous, and controversial themes and characters.
• Hong Kong New Wave: A vibrant and diverse film movement that emerged in Hong Kong in the late 1970s and early 1980s and showcased the talents of directors such as John Woo, Tsui Hark, Wong Kar-wai, and Ann Hui.
• Cinema Novo: A political and artistic film movement that originated in Brazil in the 1960s and aimed to portray the realities of the Brazilian people, especially the poor and oppressed, with a critical and aesthetic perspective.
• Iranian New Wave: A cinematic renaissance that began in Iran in the late 1980s and early 1990s and produced some of the most acclaimed films of world cinema, such as those by Abbas Kiarostami, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Jafar Panahi, and Asghar Farhadi.
• Dogme 95: A manifesto-based film movement that was initiated by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg in 1995 and advocated for a return to a more pure and authentic form of filmmaking, free from artificiality, technical gimmicks, and genre conventions.

• Watch these videos for inspiration.
• Choose a movie recommendation website and rate movies you already watched.
• Try one of the recommendations.
• Rewind and repeat.

💡TIP: If the movie you want to watch isn’t available on your streaming service, search streaming guides for alternatives, including possibly free options

History of Film

• 13 Film Movements That Shaped Cinema – MasterClass

Movie Lists

• Public Domain Greats – Movies List on MUBI
• Free Public Domain Films from the National Film Registry  |  Library of Congress
• IMDb Top 250 Movies
• The 25 Best Indie Movies of All Time – IMDb
• CC40 | The Criterion Collection

Collecting Movies

• From Criterion to Arrow: the cult of movie collecting | Far Out Magazine
• HMV boss claims more people buying DVDs and Blu-ray – BBC News
• I own 500 DVDs – I’ll never give in to streaming | i

Movie News

• Notebook – Daily International Film Publication | MUBI
• Movie News | Hollywood Reporter
• Movie News | ScreenRant

Streaming Guides

• JustWatch – The Streaming Guide
• Streaming Service Search Engine
• Yidio – Streaming Guide for TV Shows & Movies

Curated Streaming Services

• MUBI | Hand-picked Films
• The Criterion Channel | A Movie Lover’s Dream
• Criterion Closet Picks | The Criterion Collection

Movie Discovery and Recommendations

• Gnovies – Discover new Movies
• Movie-Map – Find Similar Movies
• TasteDive | Movie recommendations
• Letterboxd • Social film discovery.

DVD and Blu-ray

• Blu-ray.com
• The Digital Bits
• The Criterion Collection – Shop
• New and Upcoming DVD/Blu-ray Releases – Metacritic

• Cinemas Near You
• Film Events Near You
• Free Film Screenings Events Near You
• Movies & Films groups | Meetup
• Blu-ray and Home Theater Community

• Notebook | MUBI
• Movies Update Newsletter – The New York Times

• Keep track of the movies you’ve seen, preferably using a streaming guide or movie recommendation engine. This makes it easy to return later to research similar films, explore works by the same creators, or revisit old favorites when you lack the motivation to find new ones.
• Go beyond Netflix with curated streaming services, such as MUBI and The Criterion Channel
• Research thoroughly. Go wide and deep, and use different tools and resources.
• Search for local initiatives and film clubs, such as The CineSkinny Film Club.
• Explore classics and the history of cinema for free by discovering Public Domain movies.
• Search for local independent cinemas, and visit them.
• Get out of your comfort zone – explore different genres from different times and different places.
• Follow a cinema podcast.
• When you don’t find a new movie inspiration, re-watching an old favorite is always rewarding.
• JustWatch displays streaming options in your area. It shows free options as well, so you are not confined only to your streaming subscription. If no free options are currently available for a movie you want to watch, you can request notifications for when one becomes available.
• Subscribe to cinema newsletters or YouTube channels for automated inspiration.
• “Video Killed the Radio Star,” the song goes, but a few radio stars survived. Similarly, streaming almost killed video stores. Almost, but not quite. There is still one last Blockbuster, and a few more video stores out there, along with media stores that have video sections. They can provide a unique way to explore new movies. Who knows, maybe you will support a video store revival. It kind of makes sense—there are still music stores, so why not video stores? In fact, sales of DVDs and Blu-rays are on the rise.
• There are still companies making special edition boutique Blu-rays for you to collect. There is even a website dedicated to Blu-rays, with an active community.