By Andrew Buckner

*The inclusion of the films in this list is based upon the criteria of an original 2021 release date in the U.S.

50. Benny Loves You

Director: Karl Holt

49. Lucky

Director: Natasha Kermani

48. Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell

Director: Emmett Malloy

47.  Jakob’s Wife

Director: Travis Stevens

46. PG: Psycho Goreman

Director: Steven Kostanski

45. Shadow in the Cloud

Director: Roseanne Liang

44. Saint Maud

Director: Rose Glass

43. The Courier

Director: Dominic Cooke

42. Raya and the Last Dragon

Directors: Carlos Lopez Estrada, Don Hall, Paul Briggs, John Ripa

41. Honeydew

Director: Devereux Milburn

40. Nobody

Director: Ilya Naishuller

39. Wrath of Man

Director: Guy Ritchie

38. Godzilla vs. Kong

Director: Adam Wingard

37. Oxygen

Director: Alexandre Aja

36. Lapsis

Director: Noah Hutton

35. In the Earth

Director: Ben Wheatley

34. Violation

Directors: Dusty Mancinelli, Madeline Sims-Fewer

33. Identifying Features

Director: Fernanda Valadez

32. Tina

Directors: Daniel Lindsay, T.J. Martin

31. Seaspiracy

Director: Ali Tabrizi

30. Malcolm & Marie

Director: Sam Levinson

29. I Blame Society

Director: Gillian Wallace Horvat

28. 17 Blocks

Director: Davy Rothbart

27. Falling

Director: Viggo Mortensen

26. The Dig

Director: Simon Stone

25. One Night in Miami

Director: Regina King

24. Test Pattern

Director: Shatara Michelle Ford

23. Slalom

Director: Charlene Favier

22. Spoor

Directors: Agnieszka Holland, Kasia Adamik

21. M.C. Escher – Journey to Infinity

Director: Robin Lutz

20. About Endlessness

Director: Roy Andersson

19. The Man Who Sold His Skin

Director: Kaouther Ben Hania

18. Sator

Director: Jordan Graham

17. Climate of the Hunter

Director: Mickey Reese

16. Dementer

Director: Chad Crawford Kinkle

15. Jumbo

Director: Zoe Wittock

14. Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street

Director: Marilyn Agrelo

13. In Search of Darkness: Part II

Director: David A. Weiner

12. The Mauritanian

Director: Kevin Macdonald

11. Judas and the Black Messiah

Director: Shaka King

10. MLK/ FBI

Director: Sam Pollard

9. Nomadland

Director: Chloe Zhao

8. Wojnarowicz

Director: Chris McKim

7. A Glitch in the Matrix

Director: Rodney Ascher

6. The Father

Director: Florian Zeller

5. Quo Vadis, Aida?

Director: Jasmila Zbanic

4. Acasa, My Home

Director: Radu Ciorniciuc

3. Minari

Director: Lee Isaac Chung

2. Bring it Home

Director: Carl Kriss

1. This is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection

Director: Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese

Runners-Up:

Earwig and the Witch

Director: Goro Miyazaki

Land

Director: Robin Wright

The Night

Director: Kouroush Ahari

Son

Director: Ivan Kavanagh