Independent filmmaking has a unique way of breathing fresh life into well-trodden genres, and holiday movies are no exception. Over the past few decades, indie filmmakers have reimagined the warmth, chaos, and melancholy of festive celebrations, creating memorable and unconventional takes on seasonal storytelling. Trey Edward Shults’s 2015 drama Krisha is a standout example—a raw and riveting Thanksgiving tale funded through Kickstarter. Starring Shults’s real-life aunt, Krisha Fairchild, the film paints a harrowing portrait of a woman battling substance abuse while navigating fraught family dynamics during a tumultuous holiday gathering.
Joe Swanberg’s 2014 Happy Christmas takes a semi-comedic approach, leveraging his signature improvisational style. Featuring an inventive cast led by Melanie Lynskey and Anna Kendrick, the film explores how a free-spirited sister shakes up a family’s seemingly routine Christmas. Meanwhile, Charles Poekel’s Christmas, Again, also from 2014, offers a bittersweet glimpse into the life of a Brooklyn Christmas-tree salesman, using a docufictional lens to capture quiet moments of loneliness and connection.
Not all holiday gems center on the living, as shown by David Lowery’s 2017 masterpiece A Ghost Story. Through a spectral lens, Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck deliver a poignant reflection on grief and the passage of time, including a hauntingly beautiful depiction of a family’s Christmas celebration. This year, Tyler Taormina’s Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point promises to join the ranks of these indie holiday classics. Set to stream starting December 3, it’s a must-watch for anyone seeking stories that challenge and expand the holiday movie tradition.