List of avant-garde films of the 2020s

This is a list of avant-garde and experimental films released in the 2020s.

Title Director Cast Country Notes Ref.
2020
KRABI, 2562 Ben Rivers, Anocha Suwichakornpong UK
Look Then Bellow Ben Rivers UK
Friend of the World Brian Patrick Butler Nick Young, Alexandra Slade, Michael C. Burgess, Kathryn Schott, Kevin Smith, Luke Pensabene, Neil Raymond Ricco US [1]
A Metamorfose dos Pássaros Catarina Vasconcelos Portugal [2]
Movie That Invites Pausing Ken Jacobs US [3]
Red Moon Tide Lois Patiño Spain [4]
The Whole Shebang Ken Jacobs US [5]
The Eyes of Summer Rajee Samarasinghe Shalani Dilasha, Malka Malshani, Lanka Rajapaksa Sri Lanka / USA [6]
2021
2020 Friedl vom Grölle Austria [7]
An Approximation of their Barbarous Manners Christian Serritiello Italy
Citadel John Smith United Kingdom [8]
Devil's Peak Simon Lu Hong Kong
Double Wow Ken Jacobs US [9]
earthearthearth Daïchi Saïto Canada/Japan [10]
Ember Days Nathaniel Dorsky US [11]
Emergence Collapse Rainer Kohlberger Austria
Er is een geest van mij / Hay un fantasma mío Mateo Vega Netherlands/Peru [12]
Fictions Manuela de Laborde Mexico
Flowers blooming in our throats Eva Giolo Italy [13]
Four Roads Alice Rohrwacher Italy
Hold Me Tight Mélanie Robert-Tourneur Belgium/France
Inner Outer Space Laida Lertxundi Spain [14]
Just Beyond the Trees Connor Murphy [15]
Light Cemetery Jonah Mills US
Light Trap Pablo Marín Argentina
Light Years Jonah Mills US
Mad God Phil Tippett US [16]
Manifestarsi Gianmarco Donaggio Italy [17]
Merapi Malena Szlam Chile
Milano di Carta Gianmarco Donaggio Italy [18]
Parenthesis Vasilios Papaioannu Greece/Italy/US
Petrov's Flu Kirill Serebrennikov Ivan Dorn, Chulpan Khamatova Russia [19]
Phosphenes Andre de Nervaux UK
Polycephaly in D Michael Robinson Trisha Paytas US
Quarantine Diana Ringo Anatoly Bely, Aleksandr Obmanov Finland, Russia [20][21]
R and J Carey Williams David Zayas, María Gabriela de Faría US [22]
Rock Bottom Riser Fern Silva US [23]
School Radio to Major Tom Chisaka Takuya Japan
SON CHANT Vivian Ostrovsky Chantal Akerman, Sonia Wieder-Atherton US
Spencer Pablo Larrain Kirsten Stewart, Timothy Spall, Jack Farthing US, UK [24]
Terce Nathaniel Dorsky US
That Was When I Thought I Could Hear You Matt Whitman US
Time Flows in Strange Ways on Sundays Giselle Lin Peter Yu, Wendy Toh, Iris Li Singapore
Titane Julia Ducournau Vincent Lindon, Agathe Rousselle France [25]
Tonalli Los Ingrávidos Mexico
Train Again Peter Tscherkassky Austria
Transparents, I am. Yuri Muraoka Yuri Muraoka, Nonoho Suzuki, Hana Suzuki Japan
Vortex Gaspar Noé Dario Argento, Françoise Lebrun, Alex Lutz France/Belgium/Morocco [26]
Water from The Tremulous Stream Javiera Cisterna Chile
What is it that you said? Shun Ikezoe Eric Saito Japan
When Light is Displaced Zaina Bseiso Alaa Bseiso Palestine
Worlds Isaac Goes Canada/US
Show me Other Places Rajee Samarasinghe Sri Lanka / USA [27]
2022
Agnès Varda - Pier Paolo Pasolini - New York - 1967 Agnès Varda Agnès Varda, Pier Paolo Pasolini France
THE HOUSE WAS QUIET Ben Rivers UK
Attic Windows of the Infinite Sapphire Rachael Goss United Kingdom/Italy [28]
Azul no Azul Gianmarco Donaggio Portugal [29]
Buster Keaton Embossed Ken Jacobs US
After Work Ben Rivers, Céline Condorelli UK
Counterfeit Poasts Jon Rafman Canada
Crimes of the Future David Cronenberg Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Stewart US
The Demands of Ordinary Devotion Eva Giolo Italy/Belgium [30]
Epistolary Kisses Itamar A.C.
Fairytale Alexander Sokurov Russia
Fata Morgana Tacita Dean US [31]
Festina Lente Baya Medhaffar Tunisia/France
Herbaria Leandro Listorti Germany/Argentina
Interval Nathaniel Dorsky US
Lake Forest Park Kersti Jan Werdal US
Light Oneiric Maren Pan, Sy Brand United Kingdom
Lights, Like Angels, Flying Joshua Peinado Rodny Aquino US
Morvan Scott Hammen US [32]
A Moth Orchid Flies at Night Maren Pan, Sy Brand United Kingdom
Naos Nathaniel Dorsky US
Pigment-Dispersion Syndrome Jennifer Reeves US
Sea Series 23 John Price Canada [33]
Softly, the current may bend our bodies Maren Pan, Sy Brand United Kingdom/Italy
The song nobody knows Rainer Kohlberger Austria
The Sparrow Dream Robert Beavers Ute Aurand Germany/USA [34]
Tchaikovsky's Wife Kirill Serebrennikov Alyona Mikhaylova, Odin Biron Russia
The Tomb of Kafka Jean-Claude Rousseau Jean-Claude Rousseau France [35]
ULTRADREAM Guillaume Vallée Canada
Umbra Daniela Muñoz Barroso Cuba [36]
Welcome Jean-Claude Rousseau France [37]
XCXHXEXRXRXIXEXSX Ken Jacobs US
Xilma-xil Itamar A.C.
W Anna Eriksson Anna Eriksson, Parco Lee Finland
Mangosteen Tulapop Saenjaroen Thailand [38]
Visão do Paraíso Leonardo Pirondi David OReilly, Douglas Goodwin, Jackson Fletcher, Dan Dixon Brazil / USA / UK [39]
Strangers Rajee Samarasinghe Sri Lanka / USA [40]
Bold Eagle Whammy Alcazaren Philippines [41]
2023
1984 Diana Ringo Finland, Russia
Lotus-Eyed Girl Rajee Samarasinghe Sri Lanka / United States [42]
Coral Sonia Oleniak USA / Poland [43]
Dildotectonica Tomás Paula Marques Portugal [43]
and so it came about (A Tale of Consequential Dormancy) Charlotte Pryce USA [43]
Nocturne for a Forest Catarina Vasconcelos Portugal [43]
The Rays of a Storm Julio Hernández Cordón Mexico [43]
Borrowing a Family Album Tamer El Said Egypt [44]
Distortion Frederick C.G. Borromeo Philippines [45]
In Visible Light Gianmarco Donaggio Norway/Italy Performative Film [46]
In Praise of Slowness Hicham Gardaf Khalid Mousmi, Abdellah Ben Messaoud, Fatima Benabbou United Kingdom / Italy [47]
Myanmar Anatomy Prapat Jiwarangsan United Arab Emirates / Thailand Installation Film [48]
yours, Eva Giolo, Rebecca Jane Arthur, Katja Mater, Sirah Foighel Brutmann, Eitan Efrat, Maaike Neuville Belgium [49]
Death Mask John Greyson Kong Kie Njo, Spencer Britten, Jera Wolfe Canada [50]
Giant's Kettle Markku Hakala, Mari Käki Finland
Ijen, London Ben Rivers UK
When We Encounter The World Leonardo Pirondi & Zazie Ray-Trapido Portugal / USA [51]
Shrooms Jorge Jácome Portugal [52]
Last Things Deborah Stratman Valérie Massadian, Marcia Bjørnerud France / USA / Portugal [53]
Laika Deborah Stratman USA [54]
The Wool Aliens Julia Parks UK
Holographic Will Mike Stoltz USA
Light, Noise, Smoke, and Light, Noise, Smoke Nishikawa Tomonari Japan
Dau:añcut (Moving Along Image) Adam Piron Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma
Nearest Neighbor Rebecca Baron, Douglas Goodwin USA [55][56]
The Zone of Interest Jonathan Glazer Christian Friedel, Sandra Hüller UK [57][58]
Sermon to the Birds Hilal Baydarov Huseyn Nasirov, Rana Asgarova, Orkhan Iskandarli Azerbaijan [59]
2024
Potenciais à Deriva Leonardo Pirondi Brazil / USA [60]
Pepe Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias Jhon Narváez, Sor María Ríos, Fareed Matjila, Harmony Ahalwa, Jorge Puntillón García Dominican Republic / Namibia / Germany / France [61]
Direct Action Guillaume Cailleau, Ben Russell Germany / France [62]
Materia vibrante Pablo Marín Argentina
Barrunto Emilia Beatriz Shanti Lalita, Harry Josephine Giles, Alicia Matthews, Ángela Ginorio United Kingdom / Puerto Rico [63]
Nanacatepec Elena Pardo, Azucena Losana Mexico / Spain Performative Film [64]
Remote Occlusions Utkarsh India / USA [65]
Quebrante Janaina Wagner Brazil [66]
Sarcophagus of Drunken Loves Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige France / Lebanon [67]
I Would Rather Be a Stone Ana Hušman Croatia
O Seeker Gavati Wad | with Varun Sahni USA / India [68]
Um tropeço em cinco movimentos Valentina Rosset Brazil
Eno Gary Hustwit UK / USA [69]
Being (the Digital Griot) Rashaad Newsome USA AI - Film [70]
Detours while speaking of monsters Deniz Şimşek Germany / Turkey [71]
Grandmamauntsistercat Zuza Banasińska Netherlands / Poland [72]
The Instability of Clouds Zazie Ray-Trapido USA [73]
Terminal Island Sam Drake USA [74]
History Is Written at Night Alejandro Alonso Estrella Teresita Estrella Careaga Cuba / France [75]
Crazy Lotus Naween Noppakun Surat Kaewseekram, Phemsinee Sawangkla, Gorrawiya Aphipobthitikorn, Thongchai Pimapunsri Thailand [76]
Digital Devil Saga Cameron Worden USA [77]
Break no.1 & Break no.2. Lei Lei China [78]
My Want of You Partakes of Me Beny Wagner & Sasha Litvintseva UK/Netherlands [79]
Single File Simon Liu Italy/USA/UK/Hong Kong [79]
Invisible People Alisa Berger France / Germany [80]
Appearances Nicolás Onischuk Argentina [81]

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