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FIRST FEATURES

The first time’s a charm for certain filmmakers, a fact attested to by the films gathered together in this collection of distinctive feature film debuts, the works of audacious young talents who came onto their sets with a lifetime of ideas about cinema stored up and ready to be put to the test. A selection of auspicious beginnings that not only show the promise of mature masterpieces to come, but are great films in their own right.

Stream 2 FRIENDS at homeA tender, sad, and comic debut from Campion about female friendships, and the forces that pull them apart.

2 FRIENDS

Jane Campion | 76 min | 1986

Stream A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT at homeAmirpour’s entirely original thriller about a mysterious, chador-clad female bloodsucker in the dilapidated Iranian ghost town of Bad City.

A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT

Ana Lily Amarpour | 101 min | 2014

Stream FEAR AND DESIRE at homeA group of soldiers embark on a surreal journey to escape from behind enemy lines in Kubrick’s genius debut feature.

FEAR AND DESIRE

Stanley Kubrick | 62 min | 1952

Stream KINETTA at homeThe beguiling solo directorial debut from Greek Weird Wave star Lanthimos, in which three locals make bizarre videos elaborately re-staging local murders.

KINETTA

Yorgos Lanthimos | 95 min | 2005

Stream MABOROSI at homeAn elegantly photographed story of mourning and reawakening from the Japanese master dramatist Kore-eda.

MABOROSI

Hirokazu Kore-eda | 110 min | 1995

Stream NIGHT TIDE at homeYoung Dennis Hopper stars as a sailor who falls in love with a woman who may or may not be a real-life mermaid.

NIGHT TIDE

Curtis Harrington | 86 min | 1961

Stream POISON at homeA landmark of New Queer Cinema, Todd Haynes’s first feature is a trio of intercut stories inspired by the patron saint of all queer outlaw art, Jean Genet.

POISON

Todd Haynes | 85 min | 1991

Stream RED ROAD at homeArnold’s marvelously controlled feature debut is a tense, voyeuristic revenge tale set on a Glasgow housing estate.

RED ROAD

Andrea Arnold | 113 min | 2006

Stream RUSSIAN ARK at homeSokurov’s epic first feature, a single continuous shot that winds through St. Petersburg’s Winter Palace.

RUSSIAN ARK

Alexander Sokurov | 99 min | 2002

Stream SEBASTIANE at homeJarman’s feature debut revels in the male form while recounting the biblical story of the martyrdom by arrows of St. Sebastian, a tale of repressed desire turned to sadism.

SEBASTIANE

Derek Jarman | 86 min | 1976

Stream STORY OF A LOVE AFFAIR at homeItalian master Michael Antonioni’s feature debut sees a pair of lovers become co-conspirators in murder.

STORY OF A LOVE AFFAIR

Michelangelo Antonioni | 98 min | 1950

Stream THE CONNECTION at homeJack Gelber’s controversial off-Broadway play about a group of addicts—many of them jazz musicians—waiting for a fix.

THE CONNECTION

SHIRLEY CLARKE | 110 min | 1961

Stream THE GOODTIMESKID at homeJacob’s debut feature is a droll, scrappy, punk-spirited hang-out comedy about two guys both named Rodolfo Cano and living in LA.

THE GOODTIMESKID

Azazel Jacobs | 77 min | 2005

Stream UNRELATED at homeHogg’s remarkably assured debut feature, and a piercing portrait of a middle-aged crack-up.

UNRELATED

Joanna Hogg | 100 min | 2007

Stream VARIETY at homeOne of the great independent films of the ’80s, in which a woman lands a job at a downtown porno theater and finds herself drawn towards what’s happening onscreen—as well as other troubling fantasies.

VARIETY

Bette Gordon | 100 min | 1983