24 British And Irish Indie Films You've Probably Never Seen Before, But You Definitely Should

Julie Walters and Rupert Grint together again — what more could you want?!

If you love Bend It Like Beckham, Trainspotting, St. Trinian's, or Billy Elliot, you might just enjoy these 24 incredible British and Irish indie flicks!

Entertainment Film Distributors

1. Driving Lessons

Palisades Tartan / Tartan Films / Sony Pictures Classics

A shy teen from a repressive Christian family befriends an eccentric older actor who teaches him to stand up for himself.

Starring: Julie Walters, Rupert Grint, Laura Linney

Why it's great: Molly and Ron Weasley are thrown together onscreen once again, and the chemistry is just as magical as the Harry Potter films are!

Where to watch: Amazon

2. Running Naked

NoW Films

Two lifelong friends and cancer survivors decide to throw caution to the wind when one of them receives life-changing news.

Starring: Matthew McNulty, Tamzin Merchant, Andrew Gower

Why it's great: This very real and emotional story will remind you to seize every moment while you still can!

Where to watch: iTunes

3. Summerland

Lionsgate

A curmudgeonly young woman's life is turned upside down when a city boy is evacuated to live with her in her rural seaside cottage.

Starring: Gemma Arterton, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Lucas Bond

Why it's great: This beautifully shot, wonderfully acted film has a huge payoff that will surely leave you feeling all warm and fuzzy inside!

Where to watch: Amazon

4. Kidulthood

Revolver Entertainment

A tragic event results in six London teens getting the day off school. Over the next 24 hours, they try to let loose whilst navigating the violence and crime that consumes their daily lives.

Starring: Aml Ameen, Noel Clarke, Jaime Winstone

Why it's great: Written by Doctor Who star Noel Clarke, this film thoughtfully depicts the reality of growing up in inner-city London.

Where to watch: Amazon

5. Bright Young Things

Film Four

In exuberant post-war London, a band of young and carefree aristocrats and bohemians attend lavish parties under the watchful eye of the unforgiving British press.

Starring: Emily Mortimer, Stephen Campbell Moore, James McAvoy

Why it's great: Written and directed by Stephen Fry and based on Evelyn Waugh's novel Vile Bodies, this film masterfully swings from hilariously absurd to remarkably poignant.

Where to watch: HBO Movies

6. Submarine

Optimum Releasing / The Weinstein Co.

A Welsh teen who struggles to make friends becomes enamoured with a girl at his school; meanwhile, his life is seemingly falling apart around him.

Starring: Craig Roberts, Paddy Considine, Sally Hawkins

Why it's great: This very retro coming-of-age movie, written and directed by The IT Crowd's Richard Ayoade, nails those confusing teenage years like no other.

Where to watch: BFI Player

7. The History Boys

Fox Searchlight Pictures

A group of super-bright grammar school boys in the '80s are prepared for their Oxbridge entrance exams by an eclectic and unorthodox teaching staff.

Starring: Dominic Cooper, James Corden, Richard Griffiths

Why it's great: Adapted from the Alan Bennett play of the same name, this movie reuses most of the play's incredible cast and has one of the most enlightened and imaginative scripts ever.

Where to watch: Amazon

8. Bullet Boy

Verve Pictures

A young man recently released from prison wants to turn his life around but ends up getting sucked back into the crime-ridden world he desperately wants to leave behind.

Starring: Ashley Walters, Leon Black, Clare Perkins

Why it's great: This provocative and emotional movie examines the effects of gun crime on individuals and their families with unflinching candour.

Where to watch: Amazon

9. Tamara Drewe

Momentum Pictures

A beautiful and ambitious woman returns to the idyllic Dorset countryside where she grew up, only to ruffle the feathers of the wistful folk still living there.

Starring: Gemma Arterton, Dominic Cooper, Luke Evans

Why it's great: The entire cast shines in this wacky, sexy, and super-endearing comedy, based on Posy Simmonds' quirky graphic novel.

Where to watch: iTunes

10. God's Own Country

Picturehouse Entertainment

A young, closeted guy struggles to maintain his family farm in Yorkshire, England, until a handsome hired hand from Romania turns up to assist him.

Starring: Josh O'Connor, Alec Secăreanu, Gemma Jones

Why it's great: It's kind of like a British Brokeback Mountain. The chemistry between the leads is off the charts, and their love story is as hot as it is romantic!

Where to watch: BFI Player

11. Sing Street

The Weinstein Co. / Lionsgate

An ambitious Dublin teenager forms a new wave band in order to win the heart of an aspiring model who goes to his school.

Starring: Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Lucy Boynton, Aidan Gillen

Why it's great: Set in inner-city Dublin during the mid-1980s, this feel-good musical movie is packed full of emotional scenes, vivid characters, and catchy songs!

Where to watch: Amazon

12. The Last Tree

Picturehouse Entertainment / British Film Institute

A teen is taken from his foster home in rural England and restored to his biological mother in London. Later, he must decide what he will do with his life and, perhaps more importantly, where he will do it.

Starring: Sam Adewunmi, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Nicholas Pinnock

Why it's great: This incredible coming-of-age film ponders what it really means to be part of a diaspora. There's a definite Moonlight vibe to it, and the entire cast is amazing.

Where to watch: Netflix

13. Song of the Sea

StudioCanal / Cartoon Saloon / Mélusine Productions / Big Farm / Super Productions / Noerlum Studios

Six years after his mother's disappearance, a young Irish boy discovers that his mute sister is a "selkie" — or seal person — who must go on a journey to find her voice.

Starring: David Rawle, Brendan Gleeson, Fionnula Flanagan

Why it's great: Cartoon Saloon's positively stunning homage to Irish folk tales will delight children, enrapture adults, and stay with you long after you've finished it.

Where to watch: BFI Player

14. Belle

Fox Searchlight Pictures

The illegitimate, mixed-race daughter of a British captain is sent to London, where she becomes a wealthy heiress and a key player in England's abolitionist movement.

Starring: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tom Felton, James Norton 

Why it's great: Fans of Bridgerton will adore this amazing period drama, replete with historical insight, romance, and beautiful scenes of Georgian London.

Where to watch: Amazon

15. Weekend

Peccadillo Pictures / Sundance Selects

A super-shy guy hooks up with a confident artist who asks him to participate in an art project. A unique connection then develops between them over the course of one weekend.

Starring: Tom Cullen, Chris New

Why it's great: A modern-day, LGBT Brief Encounter of sorts, this film shines due to its stripped-back storytelling and standout performances.

Where to watch: YouTube

16. Withnail and I

HandMade Films / Cineplex Odeon Films

Two out-of-work London actors with a loose grip on reality "accidentally go on holiday" to the Lake District, where they get into all sorts of trouble.

Starring: Richard E. Grant, Paul McGann, Richard Griffiths

Why it's great: The masterpiece comedy, set during the late 1960s, has become a cult classic for very good reason.

Where to watch: BFI Player

17. Anita and Me

BBC / Icon Film Distribution

Meena struggles with her identity growing up in the West Midlands during the '70s. Is it with her traditional Indian family, or is it beside the beautiful, blonde Anita, who's just moved in down the road?

Starring: Meera Syal, Anna Brewster, Chandeep Uppal

Why it's great: This time-capsule drama, based on Meera Syal's book of the same, is packed full of British talent and is as indelibly witty as it is deeply provocative.

Where to watch: Amazon

18. Pride

Pathé Distribution / 20th Century Fox

A group of LGBT activists join forces with a community of striking miners in Wales to rock the Tory political establishment that opposes them both.

Starring: Imelda Staunton, George MacKay, Ben Schnetzer

Why it's great: Based on true events that took place in Britain during the 1980s, this heartwarming and powerful movie is topped off by an unforgettable cast.

Where to watch: BFI Player

19. Don't Look Now

British Lion Films

Having recently lost their daughter in a freak accident, a married couple travel to Venice for work and begin to experience mysterious, otherworldly sightings.

Starring: Julie Christie, Donald Sutherland

Why it's great: Based on a short story by Daphne du Maurier, this acclaimed mystery thriller is known for its innovative style, suspenseful storytelling, and chilling score by Pino Donaggio.

Where to watch: YouTube

20. Gosford Park

Entertainment Film Distributors / USA Films

The wealthy McCordle family hold a weekend shooting party at their country estate, but everything goes awry when somebody is killed under suspicious circumstances.

Starring: Kristin Scott Thomas, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith

Why it's great: Co-created by Julian Fellowes, this murder mystery served as a blueprint for the ITV hit Downton Abbey and, IMO, is even better than the series!

Where to watch: Amazon

21. Keeping Mum

Entertainment Film Distributors

A crestfallen vicar's wife is on the brink of making a terrible life choice — that is, until a mysterious housekeeper arrives to take away all of her worries.

Starring: Rowan Atkinson, Maggie Smith, Kristin Scott Thomas

Why it's great: This wholesome black comedy boasts a brilliant cast and is one of those rainy Sunday films you never, ever regret watching.

Where to watch: YouTube

22. Saint Maud

StudioCanal

A pious private care nurse arrives to look after a terminally ill former dancer and finds her faith tested in more ways than one.

Starring: Morfydd Clark, Jennifer Ehle

Why it's great: This genuinely terrifying and suspenseful directorial debut from Rose Glass imaginatively blends religious martyrdom and modern life and will leave you wondering what on earth you just saw.

Where to watch: Amazon

23. My Beautiful Laundrette

Mainline Pictures

British-Pakistani student Omar and Cockney street punk Johnny are from different walks of life. But when their paths converge after years spent apart, they find themselves irreversibly drawn to each other.

Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Gordon Warnecke

Why it's great: Set in London during the Thatcher years, this iconic kitchen sink–esque drama is not without a sense of humour or gripping romantic storyline.

Where to watch: Amazon

24. 24 Hour Party People

Pathé Distribution

Frustrated by his humdrum life and inspired by what's happening around him, a TV reporter starts a music label that becomes an epicentre for musical revolution.

Starring: Steve Coogan, Shirley Henderson, John Simm

Why it's great: Exploring a seismic time in music and culture, this movie hilariously captures the true spirit of the raucous Manchester music scene.

Where to watch: YouTube