Fall 2016: 15 Indie Movies to Watch For

It’s that time again, when temperatures cool and kids head back to school. For movie fans, it's also the season when superheroes and action stars take a backseat to ordinary people facing extraordinary challenges in smaller films that may find some love come Oscar time. Here are some you shouldn’t miss.

When his prized, newly acquired sneakers are stolen by a local hood, teenage Brandon (Jahking Guillory) is determined to get them back, in large part because they represent everything he doesn't have. He heads off on a dangerous mission that forms the gritty centerpiece of a movie churning with emotion.

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Conceived by three ex-Texas Instruments managers in a diner in Houston, Texas in the early 1980s, upstart Compaq Computer found quick success taking on the mighty IBM. This documentary follows the rise and fall of the company, as well as how things have changed dramatically in the technology world.

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Kate Winslet stars as a successful dressmaker in 1950s Paris who returns home to the Australian outback to reconcile with her mother (Judy Davis). There she finds romance with Liam Hemsworth – and revenge against the townsfolk who wronged her as a child. Based on the successful gothic novel of the same name. 

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A teenage girl runs away from home and joins a group of young door-to-door magazine salespeople. Traveling the country, she discovers a world of new experiences bending the law, partying hard and breaking hearts. Andrea Arnold's highly stylized film stars Sasha Lane, Shia LaBeouf and Riley Keough. 

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In this tense thriller that shows the human side of a highly politicized issue, a deranged gunman (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) believes he is keeping his country safe by protecting its southern border in his own way. Unfortunately, an unarmed group led by Gael Garcia Bernal trying to get into the U.S. gets caught in his crosshairs.  

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The lives of three women (Laura Dern, Michelle Williams and Kristen Stewart) in very different situations intersect in a small Montana town in this slow-burning sixth film from Kelly Reichardt, acclaimed director of 'Wendy and Lucy' and 'Meek's Cutoff.'

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Adapted from Philip Roth's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, the movie follows a family across several decades as their peaceful existence is shattered by turmoil during the counterculture movement of the ‘60s. Ewan McGregor directed and stars with Jennifer Connelly and Dakota Fanning. Expect serious awards talk with this drama. 

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Paul (Ethan Hawke) stumbles across a nearly abandoned town on his way to Mexico and learns quickly (and tragically) why the residents have all gone. John Travolta and Taissa Farmiga also star. It is director Ti West's second nonhorror film, but it's also produced by Blumhouse Productions and rated R, so the title will no doubt be appropriate. 

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Barry Jenkins' film revisits a sexually conflicted young man over three periods in his life, as he deals with the effects of drugs and violence in his Miami neighborhood and taunting at school. It's based on the play ‘In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue’ and stars Mahershala Ali and Janelle Monae.

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An unmatched aural assault led by showman Iggy Pop, the Stooges burst out of Ann Arbor, Michigan to plant the seeds of a musical revolution that blossomed into the punk and alternative rock movements. More than 40 years later, filmmaker Jim Jarmusch has gathered archival material and new interviews to chart their influential legacy.

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Everyone loves a good comeback story, and this is one of the greats: five-time boxing champ Vinny Pazienza returned to the ring barely over a year after breaking his neck in a car accident that nearly left him unable to walk. Miles Teller takes on the role, which could put Oscar gold in his hands.

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The aptly named Richard and Mildred Loving (Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga) just want to spend the rest of their lives together in wedded bliss. There's only one problem: they're an interracial couple in the late 1950s. Directed by Jeff Nichols ('Midnight Special'), it’s a stirring dramatization of the real-life couple’s history-altering nine-year battle against the courts and public opinion. 

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Master of controversy Paul Verhoeven ('Basic Instinct,' 'Showgirls') returns with the darkly comic tale of a businesswoman (French actress Isabelle Huppert, approached when American actresses all turned the role down) who wants revenge on the stranger who raped her. Verhoeven’s first film in a decade was the toast of Cannes, but also drew controversy for its lighthearted tone. You’ve been warned. 

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After his brother unexpectedly dies, handyman Lee (Casey Affleck) finds himself the reluctant guardian of his rowdy teenage nephew. His new responsibilities mean that Lee must also confront memories he'd rather forget. The movie emerged out of Sundance as a critical favorite, so keep an eye out for this one at awards season – particularly where Affleck is concerned. Michelle Williams and Kyle Chandler also star.

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Fashion designer Tom Ford's second movie stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Amy Adams and is based on the novel 'Tony and Susan,' a story within a story revolving around a woman who suspects her ex-husband's novel is a violent, subtle hint at revenge against her.  

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See our complete guide to all fall movies