Filmhub Staff Picks — June 2019

Filmhub is the market network for filmmakers and streaming channels worldwide. There are thousands of indie films, shows and documentaries from all over the world on the platform. Here are some of the most exciting and unique titles available now, handpicked by our cinephile staff.

Stories of Musicians

We at Filmhub are kicking off summertime with this selection of films about musicians. Not the glossy rock star biopics that are making bank these days, but genuine and quirky stories of indie musicians dealing with life’s complications. Each has its own charm while all feature top-notch soundtracks.

After the intervention of an estranged friend goes belly up, a disenchanted music exec discovers his only hope for reaching his wayward pal is through the music they once made together as Lewis & Klarq — the ill-fated synthpop duo they formed as teenagers (2017 Dir. Neil Howard Butler & Jason Chimonides)

On the hunt for her late father’s first love, Haru meets Jun and Tokio, and they discover an unfinished recording of a song sung by the lovers. With the powers of friendship and inspiration to guide them, the trio set out to finish the song (2017 Dir. Natsuki Seta)

After getting kicked out of the band just before a tour, stubborn guitarist Aaron steals the tour van to play the shows solo (2016 Dir. Aviv Rubinstien) / An upcoming national tour could be the big break for small-town rock sensations “The Living Daylights.” However, the disappearance of the lead singer’s girlfriend could mean the end to it all (2014 Dir. Jack Lewars)

A community of artists struggles with the complexities of love and art. Set in an artistic Los Angeles neighborhood (2013 Dir. John Bevilacqua) / Shot over ten days in France, Julien & Claire is a lush, music-driven mood piece that examines the romance between a young American dancer and a struggling French musician after their chance encounter on the streets of Paris (2011 Dir. Adam Neustadter)

A blunt and charmingly naive Korean-American is determined to be a singer. But her dreams collide with the strict social conventions operating just beneath the surface of small-town America (2010 Dir. Dave Bonawits) / The Crumbles is an indie rock slice-of-life tragicomedy about Darla and Elisa, two best friends struggling to catapult their talented but directionless garage band to stardom (2012 Dir. Akira Boch)

The Search

Here’s one of our favorite types of documentaries — the audience is taken on a journey in search of something (or someone) along with the protagonist (sometimes the filmmakers themselves), and get to experience every bit of excitement and frustration and joy and despair along the way. Besides being powerful, engaging, and irresistibly fun to watch, they also reveal a lot about the filmmaking process itself.

Spurred on by his zealous publisher, a wide-eyed American photographer roams the globe in search of the last remaining Lenin statues. But what he finds isn’t exactly what his publisher had in mind. An ironic take on post-Cold War Eastern Europe (1996 Dir. Rick Minnich)

A bomb victim, a small-town mayor, and an intrepid bomb squad race against time to liberate their city from over 300 undetonated World War II bombs before they go off (2015 Dir. Rick Minnich)

Primavera asks forbidden questions about her childhood over the course of four years, encouraging her adoptive sisters to travel with her to Equatorial Guinea in a search for understanding (2013 Dir. Primavera Ruiz) / A filmmaker stumbles across 2,000 feet of Super 8 film at a flea market. The footage consists of home movies shot during the 1970s. At its heart is a lovely blond girl, Larisa. This is the story of the filmmaker’s mission to track down Larisa (2012 Dir. Andrés Pardo)

This multi-award winning documentary shows film director, Rob McCallum and his brother, Chris, search for their Mom who’s been missing for almost 25 years. The pair interview reluctant family members and discover distorted truths about their past (2016 Dir. Rob McCallum) / The moving story of an Asian-American as he journeys to his homeland in search of his late mother’s soul and a connection with his fleeting heritage (2010 Dir. Aaron Hose)

Black and White

Black and white films made a glorious comeback in recent years. Filmmakers today opt for black and white to make aesthetic statements. From elegant and nostalgic to raw and unsettling, here are a few examples of modern black and white cinematography done right.

A female photographer from Western Europe drives through Poland and stops in a village. By chance, her eye is caught by the arrival of a wedding party. This marks the point of departure for several stories which unfold during the course of the wedding (1990 Dir. Niko von Glasow)

A lesbian photographer meets a sexy model in an upscale hotel suite. The two women may have a past that is more present than we think (2013 Dir. Ryan Balas) / A desperate young woman must choose between a life of loneliness and a curse of hollow love (2013 Dir. Justin Hannah)

A woman is forced to watch her hanged brother rot in the middle of a burnt forest (2013 Dir. Stathis Athanasiou) / Two couples are desperate to get out of the financial hole they’re in. When one suggests a burglary, it turns out to not be as easy as planned (2018 Dir. Michael McCallum)

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