The 10 Indie Films You Must See This July

"Ruby Sparks"

As an extension of our last month's summer movie preview, Indiewire is offering the third of four monthly summer "must-see" lists to make cinematic decision-making as easy as possible this summer.

From Ai Weiwei and LCD Soundsystem to a murderous Matthew McConaughey and a planet of snail, check out Indiewire's picks for your 10 best options, and then check out July's full calendar, as there are many worthy films that didn't end up making this list.

1. Ruby Sparks (July 25)

Directors: Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
Cast: Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Antonio Banderas, Annette Bening, Steve Coogan
Distributor: Fox Searchlight

Why is it a "Must See"? Six years after "Little Miss Sunshine," directorial team Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris finally give us their follow-up with "Ruby Sparks."  The film follows a novelist ("Sunshine" breakout Paul Dano) struggling with writer's block who manages to somehow creating a female character (Zoe Kazan, who also wrote the script) he thinks will love him, and then forcing her into actual existence. Chaos and romance ensue, and early reviews suggest it works out quite nicely (The Playlist went so far as to say "it rings of an instant classic"). This is definitely the most likely to succeed in terms of July indie breakouts.

Check out the film's trailer:

2. The Queen of Versailles (July 6)

Director: Lauren Greenfield
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures

Why is it a "Must See"? This highly buzzed-about documentary from the Sundance Film Festival (one of five such films on this list -- July is going to be a great month for doc lovers) follows a glimpse into the extremely wealthy lives of David and Jackie Siegel. He the CEO of the largest timeshare corporation in the country, she something of an intelligent trophy wife, director Lauren Greenfied somewhat accidentally comes across what turns into what Sundance got into trouble for calling "a riches-to-less-riches story." While documenting the development of their 90,000 sq. foot home (to be the largest in America), the 2008 financial crisis hits and David is all of a sudden in trouble. Timely and crowd-pleasing, "Versailles" is a definite must-see.

Check out the film's trailer:

3. Alps (July 13)

Director: Giorgos Lanthimos
Cast: Stavros Psyllakis, Aris Servetalis and Johnny Vekris
Distributor: Kino Lorber

Why is it a "Must See"? Giorgos Lanthimos found considerable international acclaim for his 2009 film "Dogtooth," which went on to surprise pretty much everyone with an Oscar nomination for best foreign language film (not because it was undeserving, but because stuffy Academy voters rarely go for something as dark and unconventional). He's followed up the film with "Alps," which has been making its way around the festival circuit since premiering in Venice last August (where it won best screenplay).  The film involves an intimate club of disaffected individuals committed to running the "Alps service," in which friends and relatives of recently deceased people hire them as "substitutes." Somewhat less radical than "Dogtooth," it should still easily please fans of that film.

Check out the film's trailer: