Independent cinema has always been a breeding ground for innovation and unexpected additions to movie history, with The Perks of Being a Wallflower being a great recent example. Within the niche of independent film there's no shortage of teen-oriented movies, as filmmakers often use these projects to chronicle semi-autobiographical stories. However, this doesn't mean that indie films are pet projects or won't connect with audiences of all kinds. It's through their unique experiences that these writers and directors craft universal worlds.

During 2025 Oscars telecast, the writer-director continuously called for renewed efforts to center and uplift independent film. Each of these movies makes an excellent case for independent filmmaking, as they might have small budgets and stylized visual elements, but they still appeal to a wide array of audiences and teach us something new about humanity. Many of the best independent production houses have become successful by taking a chance on emerging filmmakers, kickstarting the careers of fantastic directors and screenwriters.

10 The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (2012)

Directed by Stephen Chbosky

Over a decade after his novel of the same name became a coming-of-age classic, Stephen Chbosky wrote and directed the screen adaptation of The Perks of Being a Wallflower​​​​​​. Following Charlie (Logan Lerman), a shy and socially awkward teenager, as he makes the transition to high school, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is just as interested in Charlie's darkest secrets as his mundane dramas. The movie intimately understands that during these years of adolescence, every moment is important.

With an unforgettable soundtrack that explores how magical and fleeting these years can be, The Perks of Being a Wallflower unapologetically appeals to the young audiences it's in conversation with. However, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is also easy to watch well into adulthood, when Charlie's story can be understood through a layer of nostalgia and perspective. With Emma Watson giving one of her best performances alongside Lerman, the movie has everything a heartfelt indie film should.

9 Eighth Grade (2018)

Directed by Bo Burnham

A24 is still an independent production company, even if its growing slate of films has received some wide releases and plenty of accolades. However, this hasn't stopped the company from uplifting new voices and smaller films, which is what it did with Eighth Grade. When the adult standup comedian Bo Burnham decided to make a movie that explores the life of a 13-year-old girl, it seemed like a bit of a reach, but Eighth Grade remains one of the best coming-of-age films of the 21st century.

As Kayla, Elsie Fisher gives one of the best performances in A24 movies, painting a raw and deeply painful portrait of the awkwardness of this period of life. Eighth Grade is a rare film that isn't hurt by its topical references and writing that roots it in its time period. Kayla's relationship with her phone and social media demonstrates just how much technology has worsened this already tumultuous time. With a budget of only $2 million, Eighth Grade uses its small scale to its advantage, putting the audience directly in the story.

8 Submarine (2010)

Directed by Richard Ayoade

The director of Submarine, Richard Ayoade, is best known for his performance in the hit sitcom The IT Crowd, but his directorial debut, Submarine, demonstrates his considerable abilities as a filmmaker. Also penned by Ayoade, Submarine is based on the novel by Joe Dunthorne and isn't afraid to show how the intensity of adolescence pulls people in difficult directions. Starring Craig Roberts and Yasmin Paige as Oliver and Jordana, Submarine follows the course of their relationship and Oliver's coming of age.

Everything he does makes sense in the context of the film and furthers our understanding and empathy for Oliver.

While watching his parents' marriage suffer and realizing that people and life can change in an instant, Oliver struggles to commit himself to his relationship with Jordana. Oliver's fear clouds his judgment and makes him do things he never thought possible, but we never hate Oliver or feel alienated by his actions. Everything he does makes sense in the context of the film and furthers our understanding and empathy for Oliver.

7 Juno (2007)

Directed by Jason Reitman

A young Elliot Page stars in Juno, the teen dramedy written by Diablo Cody that puts a major twist on the traditional coming-of-age formula. Before Juno, the subject of teen pregnancy probably wouldn't have been considered something that would make for a poignant comedy. However, Cody's expert script and the anchoring performance from Page made Juno something relevant and unexpected. Full of nostalgic stylization and made-up slang, Juno has managed to avoid becoming dated.

Outside of the visual and pop culture elements that have ensured Juno remains relevant, the narrative itself is timeless and, first and foremost, treats Juno as a person going through a big change like anyone else. Though Juno is still considered a beloved cult classic, it's stirred controversy over the film's portrayal of issues like abortion and adoption. However, what's most enduring about Juno is the fact that it's unapologetically heartfelt, even when it's cracking jokes.

6 Rushmore (1998)

Directed by Wes Anderson

Though Wes Anderson's style and sensibilities are apparent in his 1998 movie Rushmore, the filmmaker was still a little more rooted in realism than in his later works. Following the story of the offbeat and misunderstood teen Max Fischer, played by Jason Schwartzman, Rushmore is one of Anderson's most emotionally poignant projects. Also starring Bill Murray and Olivia Williams as the adults Herman and Rosemary, who are just as lost as Max, Rushmore leaves an impact even as it holds the audience at arm's length.

Max is one of Anderson and Owen Wilson's best-written characters, as the somewhat off-putting teen is looking for acceptance like everyone else.

Anderson's love for plays and the artifice of stage productions is at the forefront of Rushmore, as the characters find it easy to explore their hurt feelings through the filter of the theater. However, similarly to Anderson's heavily stylized work, it becomes clear that this filter and separation between art and life is paper thin. Max is one of Anderson and Owen Wilson's best-written characters, as the somewhat off-putting teen is looking for acceptance like everyone else.

5 Lady Bird (2017)

Directed by Greta Gerwig

The long and fruitful collaborative relationship between Greta Gerwig and Saoirse Ronan began with Lady Bird, Gerwig's directorial debut. Though each of Gerwig's films has grown in size and scope since Lady Bird, the film holds a special place in the hearts of every young person who encounters it. Lady Bird (Ronan) is imperfect, stubborn, and painfully relatable as she comes to with the fact that she loves her past and wants to escape it in equal measure.

Few movies perfectly capture the tenuous and painful nature of the mother-daughter relationship during the teenage years, but Lady Bird doesn't shy away from the best and worst parts of this dynamic. Laurie Metcalf is unforgettable as Marion, Lady Bird's mother, and she and Ronan have seen an easy chemistry; it's hard to believe they're not related. As funny as it is emotional, Lady Bird tracks one of the most important and fleeting periods of our lives.

4 Boyhood (2014)

Directed by Richard Linklater

One of Richard Linklater's best movies and most ambitious, Boyhood took twelve years to film and is ed for the time and effort it took to create such a truthful portrait of growing up. Frequent collaborators with Linklater, like Ethan Hawke, star alongside Ellar Coltrane, the young actor who plays Mason. Watching the character Mason grow and change throughout the story, as the actor did himself, is part of why Boyhood was so well received by audiences and critics.

It's not just Mason who changes, but also the people and world around him in ways that Linklater could never have planned.

Linklater has played with time as a facet of his filmmaking for many years, as seen in his work on The Before Trilogy. However, the scope of Boyhood and dedication to creating an honest piece of media is what sets it apart. It's not just Mason who changes, but also the people and world around him in ways that Linklater could never have planned. The willingness on Linklater's part to adapt and evolve based on the actor's experience of the world allows Boyhood to feel so realistic and vivid.

3 20th Century Women (2016)

Directed by Mike Mills

Told through the lens of Jamie (Lucas Jade Zumann), the teenage son of Dorothea (Annette Bening), 20th Century Women isn't just an adolescent coming-of-age story but an exploration of how we mature during different periods of life. Since Dorothea feels estranged from Jamie because of their differences, she invites different women into his life to try to help raise him and show him the parts of the world she can't. Though 20th Century Women could be described as a movie about nothing, its character-driven script relishes the mundane.

Each character grapples with a different struggle and attempts to prevent Jamie from making the same mistakes they did. However, both 20th Century Women and Dorothea eventually realize that there's no stopping life's big moments. Told using non-linear narrative elements and the sparse use of voice-over, 20th Century Women strikes a vivid and specific tone. Set in the late 1970s, 20th Century Women might be a period piece, but it tells a fresh story that is relevant today.​​​​​​​

2 But I’m A Cheerleader (1999)

Directed by Jamie Babbit

This campy cult classic has come to be ed as one of the great LGBTQ+ coming-of-age movies, as it takes the heavy subject of conversion therapy and makes it into something satirical, touching, and fun. The undercurrent of But I'm A Cheerleader is well aware of how damaging and terrifying conversion therapy is. However, the movie satirizes the ridiculous attempts made by the story's antagonists to try and change Megan (Natasha Lyonne) and shines a light on the comical nature of gender stereotypes.

Lyonne is a standout in But I'm A Cheerleader, thanks to her equally hilarious and heartfelt performance. Her chemistry with Clea DuVall, who plays Graham, displays the film's emotional core. Though contemporaneous reviews felt that the over-the-top stylization and color were too much, these aspects of the movie have aged well and are part of the longevity and charm of the project. As time has ed, audiences and critics have come to realize the merits of But I'm A Cheerleader​​​​​​.

1 My Own Private Idaho (1991)

Directed by Gus Van Sant

River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves are at their best in My Own Private Idaho, one of Gus Van Sant's earlier works. Loosely based on Henry V, the play by William Shakespeare, My Own Private Idaho, follows Mike (Phoenix) and Scott (Reeves) as the pair travel the U.S. and Europe in search of Mike's estranged mother. Heralded as one of the most prominent works of the New Queer Cinema movement, My Own Private Idaho sees these young men grapple with their emerging desires and sexualities in the midst of repressive environments.

My Own Private Idaho grapples with the boys' experience as sex workers and their complex attraction toward each other, which might seem more commonplace now but was boundary-pushing in the early 1990s. It was thanks to the success of Van Sant's Drugstore Cowboy that My Own Private Idaho got made, as well as the combined star power from Reeves and Phoenix. Made on a shoestring budget of $2.5 million, My Own Private Idaho has far outlived its limited resources, becoming an essential movie for film lovers.

Sources: Box Office Mojo & The Numbers.