Social Realism Movies
RIFF-RAFF
Riff-Raff is a British drama film directed by Ken Loach. It tells the story of a group of homeless people living in a derelict building in London,...
PRAYERS FOR THE STOLEN
In a remote mountain valley in Guerrero, three girls navigate adolescence against a brutal reality of poverty and cartel violence. The film follows...
LILYA 4-EVER
Lilya 4-ever tells the story of Lilya, a resilient teenage girl who grows up in a bleak, poverty-stricken setting in the former Soviet Union and longs...
THE PRESENT
On a single day, a Palestinian father and his young daughter navigate a rugged West Bank landscape toward a market, only to be halted by checkpoints...
A HERO
Rahim, a man released on a temporary parole, is celebrated for returning a bag of cash he found. Yet the episode spirals into a tense test of truth as...
POLISSE
Polisse is a French drama film that follows the daily lives of a group of officers in the Child Protection Unit in Paris. The film explores the...
ANGELS WEAR WHITE
Angels Wear White follows two teenage girls in a seaside town whose lives are upended when they become involved in a troubling sexual assault case....
ROCKS
Rocks centers on a teenage girl in East London who must care for her younger brother when her mother disappears, relying on a close circle of friends...
CHICUAROTES
Chicuarotes is a darkly comic Mexican drama that follows two teenage friends in Mexico City as they chase dreams of money, status and escape from...
MONSTERS AND MEN
Monsters and Men follows three intertwined lives in Brooklyn after a controversial police shooting. Through the perspectives of a police officer, a...
R.M.N.
R.M.N. is a quietly devastating drama by Cristian Mungiu that probes how fear, ethnicity, and economic strain ripple through a rural Transylvanian...
HAPPY AS LAZZARO
Happy as Lazzaro is a gently surreal Italian drama centered on Lazzaro, a kind-hearted youth living in a marginalized rural community. As a wealthier...
CAPERNAUM
Capernaum follows Zain, a street-smart boy living in Beirut, who sues his parents for bringing him into a life of poverty. In a lean, urgent drama,...
PARADISE: LOVE
Paradise: Love centers on Teresa, a middle-aged Austrian woman who travels to Kenya in search of romance and sexual connection. The film follows her...
A COPY OF MY MIND
A Copy of My Mind follows Sari, a young woman who works at a cinema and falls for Ale, a man who buys illegal DVDs. Their tense romance unfolds...
IN BETWEEN
In Between centers on three Palestinian-Israeli women who share a Tel Aviv apartment and challenge the limits imposed by family, tradition, and...
MY SON THE FANATIC
Adapted from Hanif Kureishi's short story, My Son the Fanatic follows Parvez, a Karachi-born immigrant working a humble job in a British town, as he...
MASAAN
Masaan (2015) follows two intertwined stories in Varanasi: a shy young man who works at the cremation ghats and yearns for connection, and a...
JUNCTION 48
Junction 48 centers on Khaled, a teenage Palestinian-Israeli from Jaffa who uses hip-hop as a lifeline to express his longing for family, freedom, and...
MINDING THE GAP
Filmmaker Bing Liu returns to his hometown of Rockford, Illinois, to explore the lives of three friends as they grow from teenagers into adults....
BLUE JEAN
Blue Jean is a character-driven British drama directed by Georgia Oakley that follows Jean, a young, openly queer teacher in a late-1980s English...
IXCANUL
Ixcanul is a 2015 Guatemalan drama directed by Jayro Bustamante. Set on the slopes of a volcano, it follows Maria, a young Quekchi Mayan girl on the...
VISARANAI
Visaranai is an unflinching Tamil crime-thriller drawn from real police interrogations. Four workers are detained and subjected to brutal questioning,...
LADYBIRD LADYBIRD
Ladybird Ladybird is a powerful drama film based on a true story of a British woman who fights against the social services to keep her children. The...
LA FILLE INCONNUE
Jenny, a young doctor in Liège, is shaken when a late-night patient dies after she fails to intervene. Haunted by guilt, she becomes consumed with...
THE LAST TREE
The Last Tree follows Femi, a teenager torn between the rough streets of a northern English town and the pull of his West African roots. After a...
DHEEPAN
Dheepan follows a Tamil fighter who flees civil conflict with a wife and daughter, adopting a new life as a caregiver in a rough Paris suburb. The...
ALI & AVA
Ali & Ava centers on Ali, a city bus driver, and Ava, a single mother, who form an unexpected connection in a working‑class Leeds neighborhood. As...
SECRETS & LIES
Secrets & Lies centers on Hortense, a young woman who learns her long-lost mother is working-class Cynthia, and invites a revealing meeting. Tensions...
LA LOI DU MARCHé
Thierry, a middle-aged factory worker in a small French town, is laid off after decades on the assembly line and must navigate a job market that...
CATHY COME HOME
Cathy Come Home is a powerful British television drama directed by Ken Loach. The film explores the harsh realities of homelessness and the welfare...
SORRY WE MISSED YOU
Sorry We Missed You is a 2019 drama film directed by Ken Loach. The movie follows the story of a family struggling to make ends meet in modern-day...
SAND STORM
Sand Storm is a 2016 Israeli drama directed by Elite Zexer that centers on a Bedouin family in the Negev desert as a teenage daughter pushes against...
FISH TANK
Fish Tank is a gritty British drama that explores the turbulent life of Mia, a rebellious 15-year-old girl living in a housing estate in East London....
TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT
Two Days, One Night is a poignant drama that explores the struggles of a woman fighting for her job. Sandra, played by Marion Cotillard, learns that...
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