Top 5: Indie Films To Watch in Manchester This Summer

The upcoming film season has some real treats in store. But while blockbuster summer season is looming, we’ve picked out some fresh, new and exciting flicks you may not have heard of to add something a little different to your seasonal watch list…

The Heartwarmer: Wild Rose
Jessie Buckley stars as Rose-Lynn Harlan in the story of a feisty young mother of two, fresh out of jail, with the talent, aspiration and cheek to make it as a country singer in the U.S. Fiery ambition faces opposition in the form of Rose’s mother played by Julie Walters, who reminds Rose of the biting sting of reality and forces her to take responsibility with a cleaning job in her hometown. However with some unlikely support, sheer talent and a bit of luck, the pull of a wild country scene across the pond soon comes calling. An original soundtrack scores this heart-warming and raw story about finding hope in the most unlikely of places. Wild Rose was released on 12 Apr and can still be found at HOME.

The Must See: TUCKED
This is a raw and impacting drama about Jackie (Derren Nesbitt), an ageing 80 year old drag queen who forms an unlikely friendship with Faith (Rizzle Kick’s Jordan Stephens), a younger queen, both struggling with their own issues of gender identity & mortality. As they discover more about each other, they find out how to be themselves in a dire world which doesn’t always understand. An insightful and powerful telling of friendship, loving and losing, don’t let this one slip under your radar – it’s out Fri 17 May.

The Award Winner: The Last Black Man in San Francisco
You can tell this film is something special almost immediately. A homage to a city as much as it is a tribute to a friendship – told almost lyrically, and quite poetically – it’s a story about one man’s identity alongside place and belonging in an ever-evolving city. Heart poundingly beautiful, The Last Black Man in San Francisco is original story telling that will leave you elevated from a perspective previously untold. Having won Director Joe Talbot the Best Director gong alongside the Special Jury Award at this year’s Sundance, you don’t want to miss this one on the big screen this summer. An exact release date is yet to be confirmed – so watch this space.

The Music Doc: Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story
Martin Scorsese directs this ‘part documentary, part concert film, part fever dream’ in an ode to the legendary Bob Dylan, focusing on his free spirited Rolling Thunder Revue tour of 1975-76. Elusive rumours of the film’s existence and its direction by Scorsese were only confirmed earlier in the year by Variety, although it’s not overly surprising considering the director’s previous involvement with Dylan on No Direction Home. It seems that this latest entry to the Bob Dylan canon might be playing fast and lose with the term “documentary”, offering a experimental and fluid remembrance of the legacy of a legend at this moment in his career. Dylan rarely sits down for interviews, but Netflix has confirmed he has given some fresh new words for the film. Hit play when it’s released on 2 Jun.

The Brit Flick: Blinded by the Light
From the director of Bend it like Beckham comes a story about the sheer universality of music and of being the underdog. It’s 1987, Luton, deep in the austere days of Thatcher’s Britain, Javid feels like an outsider in his family, but is learning to live life, understand his family and find his own voice through the music of Bruce Springsteen. A film from Gurinder Chadha, about the crossing of cultures, family acceptance and building bridges is inspired by the music of an American legend and will be coming to UK cinemas from 9 Aug.

You can catch these films in select cinemas around Manchester this summer, such as HOME (check out their current listings here), Manchester ODEON Great Northern, and Vue Printworks.