The Salesman

In theaters now, The Salesman is the Iranian film many speculate will get a trophy from the Academy to protest Trump. Regardless of its origins, this piece is a stunning work of art. It’s about a young couple living in Tehran in the midst of an apartment move, until violence erupts. It’s an emotional, complex thriller that will stay with you for days after viewing.

Extremis

Everyone can relate to this short film, available now on Netflix. Viewers are taken inside a hospital intensive care unit to witness the painstaking decisions that come hand-in-hand with end-of-life doctors, patients, and families. Extremis is only 24 minutes, but that’s all it needs to make you cry. We assure you it will be one of the most heartbreaking, real visual stories you have ever and will ever see.

My Life as a Zuchinni

Stop-motion animation done right is always a treat. Besides being a technical, colorful feast for the eyes, this Swedish tale tells quite a story. The main character, playfully named Zucchini, is left an orphan struggling to find his way until his new friends become his new family. This is one of those movies that is for all ages and it’s in theaters now.

I Am Not Your Negro

I Am Not Your Negro should be required for everyone during this controversial time. It’s an honest depiction of the struggle for racial equality throughout American history, and the documentary, now in theaters, is late writer James Baldwin’s unfinished work. As told by a close friend to Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr., it raises the question of how far we’ve gotten in the fight to end racism.

Timecode

It doesn’t sound like much—a Spanish short about two parking garage guards, but it’s pretty amazing. Luna is bored with the job’s routine until she gets a complaint from a customer about her nighttime counterpart’s strange habits. Subsequently the pair get to know each other by watching security footage. Director Juanjo Gimenez takes the seemingly mundane and makes it entrancing, now available to stream online.