Top 50 of 2016 (#50 – #26): KEVIN RAKESTRAW

Interestingly enough, 52% (13 out of 25) of these titles that comprise the first half of my year-end list came by way of various internet outlets. The most of which (6) were viewed via NoBudge.com; while Mubi, FestivalScope and personal Vimeo pages accounted for the other seven titles. Also, 9 out of the 25 (36%) are short films.

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#50: MIDNIGHT SPECIAL directed by Jeff Nichols

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#49: 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE directed by Dan Trachtenberg

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#48: ARRIVAL directed by Denis Villeneuve

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#47: THERE IS LAND! Directed by Ana Vaz

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#46: JONNY COME LATELY directed by Francesca Coppola

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#45: THUNDER ROAD directed by Jim Cummings

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#44: OUCHIEMONGO directed by Corey Hughes

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#43: THE INVITATION directed by Karyn Kusama

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#42: SHELLY directed by Lauren Rothery

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#41: DONALD CRIED directed by Kris Avidisian

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#40: GOGURT directed by Hilary Bell

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#39: PARTNERS directed by Joey Ally

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#38: ALWAYS SHINE directed by Sophia Takal

#37: THE SPIRITUAL LIFE OF WHOLESALE GOODS directed by John Wilson

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#36: SUNSET SONG directed by Terence Davies

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#35: THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN directed by Kelly Fremon

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#34: BADEN BADEN directed by Rachel Lang

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#33: IF THERE’S A HELL BELOW directed by Nathan Williams

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#32: 88:88 directed by Isiah Medina

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#31: HER WILDERNESS directed by Frank Mosley

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#30: PATERSON directed by Jim Jarmusch

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#29: THE EXQUISITE CORPUS directed by Peter Tscherkassky

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#28: COLLECTIVE: UNCONSCIOUS directed by Josephine Decker, Lily Baldwin, Daniel Patrick Carbone, Frances Bodomo, Lauren Wolkstein

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#27: MICROBE AND GASOLINE directed by Michel Gondry

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#26: HENRY GAMBLE’S BIRTHDAY PARTY directed by Stephen Cone