If there’s one thing the global crises we’re grappling with have shown, is that the world as we know it needs to change. Instead of restoring the old order, now’s the time to think of radical alternatives, so as to plan a fairer, more beautiful and sustainable future for all. In this spirit, we’ve happy to present five outstanding indie gems that conjure some dreamlike alternatives and utopias for the world we’re heading into – all for you to watch and enjoy on our pages.

These titles are brought to you in partnership with eyelet (read news), a streaming platform designed to give cinephiles around the world access to the very best in independent cinema. In conjunction with eyelet, we are now able to showcase films we’ve been reviewing over the years - titles you can stream and read about on Cineuropa.

For the fourth instalment in our Watch on Cineuropa series, here’s a new selection of films for you to watch on our pages. Enjoy, and stay tuned for the new movies coming your way soon.

Alamar

Writer, editor, and director Pedro González-Rubio conjures a journey of spellbinding beauty and candour with his Alamar, a portrait of a father and young son who reunite for one last memorable adventure on the Mexican sea before life will pull them forever apart. An idyllic ode to a slice of the Earth we must preserve for future generations.

Too Late to Die Young [+leggi anche:
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An elegiac and tender coming of age set in a rural commune nearby Santiago in 1990s Chile, Dominga Sotomayor’s Too Late to Die Young offers a portrait of teenage freedom and one of a country venturing into adulthood, captured in the midst of its post-Pinochet transition. Winner of Locarno’s Best Director award in 2018, here’s a richly autobiographical film that feels universal in scope, and a young director whose name you better keep on your radar.

The Nothing Factory [+leggi anche:
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Another prizewinner - crowned with the FIPRESCI award in Cannes back in 2017 - Pedro Pinho’s The Nothing Factory is an intriguing gem sitting somewhere between musical and social realism: a lyrical hymn to the resilience of factory workers protesting the relocation of their workplace. 

Minotaur

A hypnotic fantasy, Minotaur puts us in close quarters with three Mexico City thirtysomethings as they hang around an apartment, taking turns sleeping and reading. A curious nostalgia permeates it: a longing for the world of quiet, slow-paced pleasures writer-director Nicolás Pereda suggests we may be losing. 

Manta Ray [+leggi anche:
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An unforgettable hymn to empathy and fraternity, Phuttiphong Aroonpheng’s Manta Ray is a tale of love and belonging set on a coastal village in Thailand, chronicling the greater-than-friendship bond between a Rohingya refugee and a local fisherman who comes to his rescue. Fans of Apichatpong Weerasethakul will find plenty to marvel at in the magic and sensual beauty Manta Ray is bathed in.