If you couldn’t keep up with film news this past weekend, we’re not going to blame you—that is, if you spent time with your mother, instead. Now that the long-distance phone calls and Sunday brunches are over, check out the indie film news that you probably missed. This weekend saw a lot of casting rumors and next projects for up-and-coming indie and genre filmmakers and comedians, as well as an opportunity to contribute to film history.

Indiegogo Campaign Created to Complete Orson Welles’ The Other Side of the Wind

On the celebrated 100th birthday of the great auteur Orson Welles, The Hollywood Reporter announced that there was some hope for his final, unfinished project The Other Side of the World. A group of producers, including Filip Jan Rymsza, Jens Koethner Kaul and Frank Marshall, have started a crowd-sourcing campaign to raise the funds in order to complete the film thought lost. Check out the Hollywood Reporter article for the amazing backstory on how this came together. If you wish to be a part of history and contribute toward the $2 million goal, see the Indiegogo page. Like all Indiegogo projects, there are a number of tiered incentives, ranging from copies of the finished film, exclusive posters, your own 35mm print and Welles’ personal journal – the last one will set you back 50k.

Vincenzo Natali to Adapt Stephen King and Joe Hill

Last week we included a news story that Vincenzo Natali’s Cube was set for a re-visioning. Well now we know the genre filmmaker’s own next project—an adaptation of Stephen King/Joe Hill collaboration In the Tall Grass. Screen Daily first announced the news. The novella, which first appeared in Esquire, is a stripped down horror tale about a brother and sister who react to a young boy’s cry for help deep within a Kansas field. Natali typically works from his own scripts, but small-set horror with larger, metaphysical elements are right up his alley.

Paul Feig to Produce Film Penned by Broad City Co-Stars

Paul Feig is suddenly one of the hottest directors in Hollywood—early reviews of his upcoming Spy have been overwhelmingly positive and he has the lady-version Ghostbusters on the horizon. And now The Hollywood Reporter first reports that he will team up with two of the hottest young comedians for their film breakout. Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson, the duo behind the Comedy Central hit Broad City have sold an untitled script to 20th Century Fox, with Feig attached to produce. Not much else is known yet about the project, though it is not a Broad City feature and Glazer and Jacobson are not currently attached to star. We can only hope their first starring roles come soon, hopefully this is a step towards that.

Natalie Portman in Talks for Alex Garland’s Next Film

Alex Garland’s Ex Machina has performed well with both critics and audiences (a little more on that in a bit), making him a director to watch. His next project has already been announced as an adaptation of Jeff VanderMeer’s novel Annihilation, and now he may have a star attached. According to Variety, Natalie Portman is currently in talks for the leading role, with the likes of Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton vying to co-star. Since Portman’s Oscar win, she’s appeared in a pair of Thor films and not much else. A turn in serious sci-fi with this pedigree behind it could be a welcome return to form.

Indie Box Office Update

While Avengers: Age of Ultron continued to dominate the box office this weekend, it was relatively quiet on the indie end. In its fifth weekend, Ex Machina expanded to 2,000 theaters and rebounded after a drop the weekend before, earning about $3.5 million. It now has raised a healthy $24 million worldwide. Far from the Madding Crowd expanded to 99 theaters in its second weekend, with a $7,687 average. The Apu Trilogy revival and profile doc I Am Big Bird both opened in one theater and subsequently had the two largest per screen averages aside from the Marvel juggernaut, with $16,000 and $10,000, respectively.

Trailer of the Week: Unexpected

Cobie Smulders and Anders Holm get the chance to lead a film in Unexpected, a dramatic comedy about the (unexpected) effects of an (unexpected) pregnancy. Samantha is a teacher at a Chicago inner-city high school who strikes up a friendship with one of her students in the same situation. Unexpected is directed by Kris Swanberg, the wife of noted indie filmmaker Joe Swanberg—a big jump in production level from her previous film Empire Builder, a very good film that made festival rounds in 2012 but was difficult to see. Thankfully, you’ll be able to see Unexpected when it comes to limited release on July 24. Check out the trailer below!

May the Fourth be with you! For the second straight week, Star Wars news was all aflutter, along with the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron, dominating the film newswire and raking in $187.6 million domestically. It wasn’t all good news this week, however, as we learned Josh Trank, best known for the indie hit Chronicle and the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot, let his post as director of an upcoming Star Wars standalone film. According to Entertainment Weekly, it was Trank’s decision to leave the project, but it always stings when you see a talented young filmmaker get caught up in big Hollywood productions that aren’t seen through. After you’re done ogling all the new Star Wars character photos, check out the news you may have missed this week.

Cube Remake Coming from Lionsgate

Vincenzo Natali’s Cube remains one of the most striking and puzzling indie genre debuts. Eighteen years later, a remake is in the works, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Newcomer Saman Kesh is attached to the project, which is will take the original construction of the film and expand into the newly hot world of artificial intelligence and the increasing presence of a digital life. A pure remake of the stripped-down original wouldn’t work, so as far as a remake of a cult indie goes, this might not be so bad. Until the Cube remake finally comes around, you can watch Kesh’s acclaimed short film Controller for free on Vimeo.

Cary Fukunaga to Direct True-Life Tragedy for A24

Even before his work on the acclaimed first season of True Detective, Cary Fukunaga’s striking feature films Sin Nombre and Jane Eyre set the filmmaker up for a promising future. He now seems to be one of the hottest young talents after being called to direct the tragic story of Joe and Jadin Bell. First reported by The Film Stage, the upcoming drama is being scripted by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, Oscar winners for their adaptation of Brokeback Mountain. If you are unaware, Jadin Bell was an openly gay high school student who took his own life after being bullied by his peers and unable to find acceptance from those close to him. Full of remorse and grief, Jadin’s father Joe sets out for a walk across America to draw attention to this very typical problem. The film will certainly be Fukunaga’s highest profile, but also may be a shift in his career.

Cat’s Cradle Coming to TV

Kurt Vonnegut is one of the most influential and popular novelists of my generation, though his work has never had much success on-screen. Besides a decent Roy George Hill adaptation of Slaughterhouse-Five, the author’s off-kilter work really hasn’t been able to translate. IM Global is going to try to reverse that trend with an upcoming television series based on Vonnegut’s fourth novel. According to Variety, the novel is being adapted by Bradley Yonover (Swimfan) and Sandi Love, and will executively produced by Ilene Kahn Power (Traffic series) and Elizabeth Stanley. While it’s way too early to tell if Cat’s Cradle will make for a sustainable series or if this is the right team to make it happen, but we can hope.

Indie Box Office Update

While Avengers: Age of Ultron taking up most of the world’s screens this weekend, two indie newcomers had decent openings. First, Kristen Wiig comedy Welcome to Me opened on two screens with a $19,000 per screen average. Thomas Vintenberg’s adaption of Far from the Madding Crowd, starring Carey Mulligan and Matthias Schoenaerts, had a $17,200 average on its 10 screens. These showings were the second and third highest per screen averages of the weekend, behind the obvious. Welcome to Me‘s mark puts it in the top ten for per screen openings in 2015. In its fourth week, Ex Machina had a small expansion to a total of 1,279 screens, but saw over a 50% decrease in its business. It’s hard to sustain $50,000+ per screen averages, after all.

Trailer of the Week: The Nightmare

Rodney Ascher’s Room 237 was an awesome deep dive into obsession and our Easter egg hunting theater-going society. It was also one of the most original documentary films of the past decade. His follow-up, The Nightmare (read our review from Hot Docs), debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and later played at the South by Southwest Film Festival, where it has received some positive buzz. Though it may have the same spooky tone, The Nightmare takes on a much different setting, with subjects that experience sleep paralysis tell their stories of fright and helplessness. Before the film hits theaters on June 5, check out the first trailer below.

When you think sci-fi movies, you might think of the low, swirling drone of a lightsaber. You might think of a DeLorean barreling through a parking lot at 88mph and vanishing into thin air as it leaves a trail of fire in its wake. You might think of Sigourney Weaver going toe to toe with an Alien Queen in a badass power-loader. You might even think of “Khaaaaaaan!” or “I know Kung-Fu.”

We don’t. We’re Way…Too…sophisticated for that (buh-dum-psh!)

All joking aside, we love sci-fi movies of all shapes and sizes, including big-budget ones. The problem is, since the advent of CGI, it feels like it’s a requirement for every sci-fi film to cram a mind-numbing amount of digital effects into every frame. Transformers and the Star Wars prequels, for example, abuse CGI so egregiously that they feel like half-films. They’re hardly ‘filming’ anything and—more importantly—they’re missing the point.

Science fiction at its core is about exploring the dangers and consequences of abusing science. It’s about peering into another world and learning from it so as to better our own. It’s about sparking philosophical discussion—Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? It’s about scientific allegories, not data—‘the force’ is about faith, not ‘midi-chlorians.’

These ten films get it. Their directors have created incredible works of sci-fi, and they’ve achieved it without spending exorbitant amounts of cash on lasers and explosions and spaceships and frivolous bullshit. These films aren’t extravagant or shiny—they’re gritty, tethered to reality. Tethered to our reality. They tackle subjects like self-identity, discrimination, envy, and regret through the power of blow-your-freakin’-mind science.

Some might view a ‘low-budget’ as a disadvantage, but these filmmakers used their meager funds as a catalyst for innovation. These films are every bit as good as their bloated-budget brothers. They prove that Monsters we barely see can be just as fascinating as blue-skinned, long-limbed, cat-faced, Disney-eyed cartoon characters. No offense, Mr. Cameron. T2 was the shit. You don’t need expensive special effects and costumes to tell an amazing science fiction story—all you need is a great idea and the talent and imagination to represent it on screen. Without further ado, here are our Top 10 Indie Sci-fi Films.

Top 10 Indie Sci-fi Films

#10 – Akira

When people hear the word Anime most people run away. They are, unfortunately, missing out on some really exciting films. Akira is one such film. It’s easy to see where the film gets its influences from, but boy oh boy is it very good at showing them off. Akira is that film that has everything a Sci-Fi fan will love; absurdly high buildings, fast vehicles and loads of violence. I’ve seen the film countless times now and honestly I don’t know if I could tell what all actually happens in Akira, but what I will say is that this is one film that has to be seen to be believed. Akira features some of the best imagery in sci-fi for me and it’s all set to a pulsating score that drives the film into a final 30 minutes that will quite literally blow your mind. [Blake]

#9 – Another Earth

Another Earth is a fantastic indie sci-fi film about the discovery of a planet close to ours called Earth 2. However, instead of traveling down the path that most films would attempt to go, Another Earth wisely chooses not to exploit the concept and instead only explores the idea of a second chance in another life. The final scene in the film is one of the most shocking and eerie endings that I have seen in years. The film serves as a great reminder that it is possible to create a terrific sci-fi film without a ton of effects and a large budget. [Dustin]

#8 – Primer

Shane Carruth is a name that is being circulated at high speed this last year due to his recent Sundance success Upstream Color. Primer is the prime example of how to make an independent film with little to no budget– it was so perfect in its visual storytelling that the dialogue did not have to play a key part but just added to the aesthetic and the illusion of two men hooked on physics that happen to accidently create a time machine. Primer is a very intense and an incredibly well put together intellectual indie sci-fi. [Amy]

#7 – Being John Malkovich

It may come as a bit of a shock that Being John Malkovich could be considered an “indie” film based on it’s commercial success and big named cast list, but the film was made for just thirteen million dollars and despite being nominated for the huge award shows such as the Oscars and Golden Globes, the film also qualified for the Independent Spirit Awards that year. This wild fantasy science fiction film was all about getting into someone’s head, literally. Being John Malkovich is fun mind-trip adventure that is completely original. [Dustin]

#6 – Stalker

Stalker is a brilliant Sci-Fi film almost for one simple reason. It’s aesthetics. It features no ray guns, no flying cars or any massive skyscrapers tickling the feet of clouds. No teleportation machines, no androids or cool gadgets. Stalker works purely on the way Andrey Tarkovskiy chooses to show you his story. The film is simple tale of a man (a stalker) who is tasked with taking two men to The Zone, a forbidden land where a room exists that grants wishes. The film is essentially two and a half hours of men walking slowly through wastelands of a forgotten world, philosophizing about life and its meaning. But it’s Tarkovskiy’s direction that dazzles us. Featuring long takes and extreme close ups to show a life ravaged by the evil of humanity, Tarkovskiy hypnotizes his audience into a maddening and yet, very fulfilling journey into the soul of men. [Blake]

#5 – Brazil

Terry Gilliam’s Brazil provides a cautionary, paranoid glimpse into a future where the technology we birthed with our own hands begins to swallow us whole. Gilliam shows us thick jungles of wire and tubing spilling into an apartment like spaghetti. We see an old lady so obsessed with recapturing her former beauty that she hires people to pull the skin on her face back so hard that it stretches like silly putty, ready to rip. Though rife with techno-horror, Gilliam finds room to inject his signature sense of whimsy, surrealism, and adventure as well. Few cinematic minds are as imaginative and eccentric as Gilliam’s, and Brazil is his magnum opus. [Bernard]

#4 – Cube

Six strangers wake up in a cube shaped room, with a door on each side leading to another room exactly like it. As they try to find a way out of the seemingly endless series of rooms (some of which are booby trapped to kill whoever enters them), tensions begin to rise until finding a way out is the least of their concerns. The best part about Cube, other than its ingenious concept, is how well it maintains the mystery of what exactly the cube is. With a budget of less than $400,000 (the entire film was shot within one cube ‘room’), Cube has more excitement and smarts than most sci-fi blockbusters from the last decade combined. A quick tip for anyone willing to give Cube a try: Pretend the film’s two sequels don’t exist. It’ll save you plenty of time. [CJ]

#3 – Moon

Rarely does a sci-fi movie allow for an Oscar-worthy performance from an actor, but Moon is outstanding entirely because of Sam Rockwell, who is the only actor onscreen for about 95% of the film. Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) is the sole worker for Lunar Industries’ Moon-based mining site. Sam is in his last two weeks of a three-year assignment before returning to Earth, where his wife and child wait. In a routine trip out to the mining site, Sam is distracted by one of the recent hallucinations he’s been having and ends up unconscious. When he wakes, he’s back in the base unable to quite explain how. But it’s when he finds an identical version of himself out on the surface that Sam’s reality starts to bend and shift, slowly building to an exciting conclusion. The benefit of low-budget sci-fi is that bells and whistles are beyond the means of the production, and the simplicity of Moon is what really sells it. The quiet moon-base and Sam’s interaction with GERTY, his AI companion (voiced in dulcet tones by Kevin Spacey), who uses cartoony emoticon-style expressions, only mocks Sam’s growing paranoia as he unravels a disturbing mystery. Perfectly performed, Moon is a rare slow-building but psychologically thrilling sci-fi gem. [Ananda]

#2 – Timecrimes

A man notices a naked woman in the woods behind his home, and his decision to take a closer look leads him down a path involving time travel and masked murderers. Director Nacho Vigalondo has a surprisingly airtight narrative (mainly helped by his use of a secluded location), with all of the fun coming from exactly how every piece of the story fits together. At times eerie, funny and intense, Timecrimes is a perfect example of how to make a great time travel movie. [CJ]

#1 – Monsters

Though it’s title doesn’t accurately indicate the cleverness of the film, Monsters stands out among indie sci-fi films as an alien creature-feature with heart. Taking place 6 years after a NASA space probe crash landed in Mexico and large tentacled alien creatures began their reign of terror; photo-journalist Andrew (Scoot McNairy) begrudgingly agrees to chaperon his boss’s daughter, Sam (Whitney Able), out of quarantined Mexico back to the States. Newby-Brit director Gareth Edwards has a refreshingly firm grasp on utilizing off-screen presence to build suspense, especially using sound. And while we see glimpses of the alien early in the film, the focus remains on the daily terror of the people living in this invaded country, giving the film a thoughtful humanistic vantage. Monsters also satisfies the sci-fi viewers most basic need to see the monster in it’s entirety at the very end, but in a way that is both provoking and beautiful. The ad-libbed performances of the main actors and the off-the-cuff low-budget cinematography, combined with the tasteful special effects (done entirely by Edwards with prosumer software in his bedroom!), make Monsters an indie sci-fi must-see. [Ananda]