coming of age indie gems
Items in this hypelist
Movies
The Florida Project
Sean Baker · 2017
The story of a precocious six year-old and her ragtag group of friends whose summer break is filled with childhood wonder, possibility and a sense of adventure while the adults around them struggle with hard times.
Project X
Nima Nourizadeh · 2012
Three high school seniors throw a party to make a name for themselves. As the night progresses, things spiral out of control as word of the party spreads.
Easy A
Will Gluck · 2010
Olive, an average high school student, sees her below-the-radar existence turn around overnight once she decides to use the school's gossip grapevine to advance her social standing. Now her classmates are turning against her and the school board is becoming concerned, including her favorite teacher and the distracted guidance counselor. With the support of her hilariously idiosyncratic parents and a little help from a long-time crush, Olive attempts to take on her notorious new identity and crush the rumor mill once and for all.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Stephen Chbosky · 2012
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1991. High school freshman Charlie is a wallflower, always watching life from the sidelines, until two senior students, Sam and her stepbrother Patrick, become his mentors, helping him discover the joys of friendship, music and love.
Submarine
Richard Ayoade · 2011
15-year-old deep-thinking Welsh schoolboy Oliver Tate struggles to initiate and maintain a relationship with Jordana, his devilish, dark-haired classmate at their Swansea high school. As his parents' marriage begins to fall apart, similar problems arise in his relationship with Jordana.
The Breakfast Club
John Hughes · 1985
Five high school students from different walks of life endure a Saturday detention under a power-hungry principal. The disparate group includes rebel John, princess Claire, outcast Allison, brainy Brian and Andrew, the jock. Each has a chance to tell his or her story, making the others see them a little differently -- and when the day ends, they question whether school will ever be the same.
It's Kind of a Funny Story
Anna Boden · 2010
A clinically depressed teenager gets a new start after he checks himself into an adult psychiatric ward.
Thirteen
Catherine Hardwicke · 2003
When average 13-year-old Tracy befriends Evie, the most popular girl in school, Tracy's world is turned upside down as Evie introduces her to a world of sex, drugs and cash. But it isn't long before Tracy's new world and attitude finally takes a toll on her, her family, and old friends.
The Fault in Our Stars
Josh Boone · 2014
Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a patient named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Alfonso Gomez-Rejon · 2015
Greg is coasting through senior year of high school as anonymously as possible, avoiding social interactions like the plague while secretly making spirited, bizarre films with Earl, his only friend. But both his anonymity and friendship threaten to unravel when his mother forces him to befriend a classmate with leukemia.
mid90s
Jonah Hill · 2018
Stevie, un chico de 13 años que vive en el Los Ángeles de los años 90, pasa el verano lidiando con los problemas de su vida doméstica y divirtiéndose con su nuevo grupo de amigos, que ha conocido en una tienda de skate.
Waves
Trey Edward Shults · 2019
A controlling father’s attempts to ensure that his two children succeed in high school backfire after his son experiences a career-ending sports injury. Their familial bonds are eventually placed under severe strain by an unexpected tragedy.
Girl, Interrupted
James Mangold · 1999
Set in the changing world of the late 1960s, Susanna Kaysen's prescribed "short rest" from a psychiatrist she had met only once becomes a strange, unknown journey into Alice's Wonderland, where she struggles with the thin line between normal and crazy. Susanna soon realizes how hard it is to get out once she has been committed, and she ultimately has to choose between the world of people who belong inside or the difficult world of reality outside.
The Virgin Suicides
Sofia Coppola · 2000
A group of male friends become obsessed with five mysterious sisters who are sheltered by their strict, religious parents.
Boyhood
Richard Linklater · 2014
The film tells a story of a divorced couple trying to raise their young son. The story follows the boy for twelve years, from first grade at age 6 through 12th grade at age 17-18, and examines his relationship with his parents as he grows.
The Art of Getting By
Gavin Wiesen · 2011
George, a lonely and fatalistic teen who's made it all the way to his senior year without ever having done a real day of work, is befriended by Sally, a popular but complicated girl who recognizes in him a kindred spirit.
The First Time
Jon Kasdan · 2012
A spark of attraction smolders, then ignites, between two teens from different high schools who meet by chance at a party.
Stuck in Love
Josh Boone · 2013
An acclaimed writer, his ex-wife, and their teenaged children come to terms with the complexities of love in all its forms over the course of one tumultuous year.
The Edge of Seventeen
Kelly Fremon Craig · 2016
Dos estudiantes de instituto que son las mejores amigas ven cómo su amistad se tambalea cuando una comienza a salir con el hermano mayor de la otra.
Eighth Grade
Bo Burnham · 2018
Thirteen-year-old Kayla endures the tidal wave of contemporary suburban adolescence as she makes her way through the last week of middle school — the end of her thus far disastrous eighth grade year — before she begins high school.
Lady Bird
Greta Gerwig · 2017
Lady Bird McPherson, a strong willed, deeply opinionated, artistic 17 year old comes of age in Sacramento. Her relationship with her mother and her upbringing are questioned and tested as she plans to head off to college.
Juno
Jason Reitman · 2007
Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, sixteen year old high-schooler, Juno MacGuff, makes an unusual decision regarding her unborn child.
Palo Alto
Gia Coppola · 2014
In der kalifornischen Kleinstadt Palo Alto kreuzen sich die Wege mehrerer Schüler eine Highschool: Die schüchterne April verliebt sich zum Missfallen der Mitspielerinnen in ihren Fußballtrainer Mr. B, dessen Kind die Schülerin auch öfters als Babysitter betreut. Gleichzeitig ist der introvertierte Kiffer Teddy in April verliebt, schafft es aber nicht, ihr seine Zuneigung zu gestehen. Teddys bester Freund Fred versucht derweil, der gutbürgerlichen Routine seines Elternhauses zu entkommen, indem er sich immer wieder mit dem Gesetz anlegt und seine nymphomanische Mitschülerin Emily sexuell befriedigt. Als es zwischen April und Mr. B tatsächlich zu einer Affäre kommt, hat das zerstörerische Auswirkungen auf das lose Beziehungsgeflecht im Mikrokosmos der Schule.
