Anyone with a library card can now stream some of the best modern indie movies

By Parker Hall November 27, 2018

One of the most acclaimed indie production houses has made a whopping 72 of its titles available to stream for free — so long as you have a library card.

A24, the backers behind critically acclaimed films like Lady Bird, Moonlight, and Ex Machina, has partnered with an up-and-coming streaming service called Kanopy to allow viewers to stream a massive number of its releases (including all of the aforementioned titles) for free on the service.

Kanopy is one of a few services vying for the art-house crowd, which been reeling from the death of FilmStruck — a cult-favorite streaming service that offers many critically beloved films and will shutter at the end of November.

The only requirement for gaining free access to Kanopy is a library card. Once in, viewers will have access to hundreds of films, many of which are also available for streaming on the soon-to-shutter FilmStruck.

A24 is easily the best indie film house on the planet right now as far as publicly recognizable releases go. The studio recently made waves with the release of actor Jonah Hill’s directorial debut, Mid90s, which garnered significant critical acclaim. An upcoming film from the studio that has many waiting on pins and needles is David Robert Mitchell’s Under The Silver Lake, a mystery film about a missing woman that stars Andrew Garfield.

Other films from the A24 catalog that are now available on Kanopy include The Florida Project, Good Time, Room, Amy, and First Reformed, some of which have won major awards and recognition at the Academy Awards and beyond. In fact, First Reformed, a 2018 release that stars Ethan Hawke, recently earned the actor the Best Actor award at this year’s Gotham Awards, alongside an award for writer-director Paul Schrader for Best Screenplay.

There’s even more reason to get excited about the Kanopy catalog: Films from the Criterion Collection, including Akira Kurosawa’s Rashoman and John Cassavetes’ A Woman Under The Influence, are also available to stream for free. Those missing the vast array of Criterion Collection titles on FilmStruck will be delighted to note that the Criterion Collection is starting its own streaming service in 2019.

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Parker Hall is a writer and musician from Portland, OR. He is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin…

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