2016 has already been a great year so far if you are an indie film fan... and there are a whole host of movies that are not to be missed this May. It is hard to believe that we are discussing May movies already, it doesn't seem five minutes since we were discussing the January films we were excited about.
Evolution
May is set to be another strong month if you are an indie film fan and we take a look at some of the movies that we are looking forward to checking out.
- Evolution - released 6th May
Evolution is a movie that premiered at the BFI London Film Festival last year and now it is coming to cinema screens in the UK this month.
Evolution marks the return of Lucile Hadzihalilovic to the director's chair for what is the third feature film of her career; it comes after La bouche de Jean-Pierre and Innocence in 1996 and 2004.
As well as being in the director's chair, Hadzihalilovic is also showing off her writing skills by penning the screenplay.
The movie will introduce us to the acting talent of Max Brebant, who is making his feature film debut in the central role of Nicolas. He is joined on the cast list by Roxane Duran, Julie-Marie Parmentier, Mathieu Goldfeld, and Nissim Renard.
10-year-old Nicolas lives with his mother on a remote island, in a village inhabited solely by women and young boys. In a hospital overlooking the ocean, all the boys are subjected to a mysterious medical treatment.
Only Nicolas questions what is happening around him. He senses that his mother is lying to him, and is determined to find out what she does with the other women at night, on the beach... What he discovers is the beginning of a nightmare into which he is helplessly drawn. But in Stella, a young nurse at the hospital, Nicolas finds an unexpected ally.
Evolution is a movie that has been winning over critics and audiences on the festival circuit and is set to be unlike any other movie that hits the big screen this month.
- Everybody Wants Some - released 12th May
Richard Linklater is one of the most exciting filmmakers around and he is set to return to the director's chair this May with his latest film Everybody Wants Some.
This is the first film for Linklater since he enjoyed critical, commercial, and award success with Boyhood... and it is really great to see him back. He has also penned the film's screenplay.
Linklater has also brought together an exciting cast of up and coming acting talent as Blake Jenner, Zoey Deutch, Glen Powell, and Tyler Hoechlin take on the central roles of Jake, Beverly, Finnegan, and McReynold.
Juston Street, Ryan Guzman, Wyatt Russell, Temple Baker, J. Quinton Johnson, and Will Brittain complete the line-up.
Set in the world of 1980s college life, Everybody Wants Some!! follows a freshman's first weekend of college, experiencing a fraternity-like lifestyle with his hard-partying teammates as they navigate their way through the freedoms and responsibilities of unsupervised adulthood. Get ready for the best weekend ever.
Linklater is a director who is fantastic when it comes to crafting interesting stories that are packed with great characters and I can't wait to see what he delivers with Everybody Wants Some.
- Departure - released 20th May
Andrew Steggall is one of the filmmakers who is making their feature film directorial debut this month with indie film Departure.
Steggall is best known for his work on short films The Door, The Red Bike, Sparrow, and To the Marriage of True Minds and is now making the leap into feature film for the first time. As well as being in the director's chair for the film, Steggall has also penned the film's screenplay.
We are big fans of Juliet Stevenson here at FemaleFirst and she takes on the central role of Beatrice. She is joined on the cast list by Alex Lawther, Phénix Brossard, Finbar Lynch, and Niamh Cusack.
In the foothills of the Montagne Noire in the South of France, a mother and her son pass a week packing up the contents of their holiday home. As Autumn turns to winter and the trees that surround the isolated house give up their leaves, a figure appears and disappears in the forest.
The reservoir in the hills drops into a river that descends through the forest and glides past the house. Touched by opera, myth, and landscape, Departure narrates the story of the end of a marriage, the end of childhood and the end of an otherwise nuclear middle-class family.
We have already been treated to some great directorial debuts so far this year and Departure is one that you cannot afford to miss this May.
- Sing Street - released 20th May
We have been talking about Sing Street ever since it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival at the beginning of the year. There are only a couple of weeks to go now until the film is finally released.
One of the reasons that I am looking forward to this movie so much is because John Carney is back in the director's chair. Carney is a filmmaker with a knack of bringing together great drama and music with the likes of Begin Again and the fantastic Once already on his resume.
Sing Street sees him mix drama and music once more and it is set to be one of the home-grown movies not to miss in the coming weeks. It is one of the May movies that I am looking forward to the most.
Ferdia Walsh-Peelo is another actor making his acting debut this month as he takes on the central role of Conor "Cosmo" Lalor. He is joined on the cast list by Lucy Boynton, Jack Reynor, Aidan Gillen, and Maria Doyle Kennedy.
Sing Street takes us back to 1980s Dublin where an economic recession forces Conor out of his comfortable private school and into survival mode at the inner-city public school where the kids are rough and the teachers are rougher. He finds a glimmer of hope in the mysterious and über-cool Raphina, and with the aim of winning her heart, he invites her to star in his band's music videos.
She agrees, and now Conor must deliver what he's promised - calling himself 'Cosmo' and immersing himself in the vibrant rock music trends of the '80s, he forms a band with a few lads, and the group pours their hearts into writing lyrics and shooting videos.
- The Daughter - released 20th May
When it comes to indie films that are boasting a really great cast list this May, look no further than The Daughter. Sam Neill, Geoffrey Rush, Miranda Otto, and Paul Schneider are just a few of the names that are on board.
Simon Stone is another director making his directorial debut as he takes up the director's chair. Stone did direct a segment of The Turning but this is his first full-length feature film project.
As well as being in the director's chair, Stone has also penned the film's screenplay; which is based on the play by Henrik Ibsen.
In the last days of a dying logging town, Christian (Schneider) returns to his family home for his father Henry's (Rush) wedding to the much younger Anna (Anna Torv). While home, Christian reconnects with his childhood friend Oliver (Ewen Leslie), who has stayed in town working at Henry's timber mill and is now out of a job.
As Christian gets to know Oliver's wife Charlotte (Otto), daughter Hedvig (Odessa Young) and father Walter (Neill), he discovers a secret that could tear Oliver's family apart. As he tries to right the wrongs of the past, his actions threaten to shatter the lives of those he left behind years before.
Other indie films to watch out for include Green Room, Knight Of Cups, The Darkness, and Troublemakers: The Story Of Land Art.