A Decade of Film

By Sarah Soliman, Marketing Associate/Series Curator; Adapted: Page to Screen, and the JBFC Staff

Vanity Fair’s Richard Lawson put very succinctly something that I’ve spent the past few weeks trying to express to my colleagues at the Burns when asking them to put these lists together: “Doing a ten best movies of the decade list and getting it exactly right is impossible.” The number of emails I received asking me if it was too late to make changes can attest to the truthfulness of that statement.

What I often ended up saying to this community of film lovers—one struggling with what probably felt like a Herculean task—was that a list like this is only the beginning of a conversation; it’s a snapshot of what we’re thinking about right now, and of course we always reserve the right to change our minds. No list of 10 films could encompass all the work that we’ve watched and thought about and loved over the past decade—but this is a good sampling of the movies that mean a lot to us.

If you want more best of the decade coverage, Indiewire has a list of their 100 favorite films from the past 10 years, the New York Times wrote about their picks for most influential films of the decade, K. Austin Collins put together a list of 30 for Vanity Fair, and Jeff Goldblum talked to NPR about some of his favorite films. Finally, because we couldn’t celebrate the best of the decade without also giving the films that came out this year their due, this blog post also includes JBFC staff favorites from 2019.

 

Best of the Decade

Still from Minding the Gap, directed by Bing Liu

 

Christine Coleman, Executive Assistant

1. Get Out | Dir. Jordan Peele | 2017
2. Call Me By Your Name| Dir. Luca Guadagnino | 2017
3. Shoplifters | Dir. Hirokazu Koreeda | 2018
4. The Edge of Seventeen | Dir. Kelly Freemon Craig | 2016
5. Beasts of No Nation | Dir. Cary Joji Fukunaga | 2015
6. Roma | Dir. Alfonso Cuarón | 2018
7. Django Unchained | Dir. Quentin Tarantino | 2012
8. The Florida Project | Dir. Sean Baker | 2017
9. BlacKkKlansman | Dir. Spike Lee | 2018
10. Burning | Dir. Lee Chang-dong | 2018

 

Edward Collins, Projectionist

1. First Reformed | Dir. Paul Schrader | 2018
2. Columbus | Dir. Kogonada | 2017
3. Jackie | Dir. Pablo Larraín | 2018
4. Paterson | Dir. Jim Jarmusch | 2016
5. Melancholia | Dir. Lars von Trier | 2011
6. Blue Ruin | Dir. Jeremy Saulnier | 2013
7. Putty Hill | Dir. Matthew Porterfield | 2010
8. Hell or High Water | Dir. Taylor Sheridan | 2016
9. Minding the Gap | Dir. Bing Liu | 2018
10. The Guest | Dir. Adam Wingard | 2014

 

Kendra Ekelund, General Manager

1. First Reformed | Dir. Paul Schrader | 2018
2. Shoplifters | Dir. Hirokazu Koreeda | 2018
3. The Favourite | Dir. Yorgos Lanthimos | 2018
4. Manchester by the Sea | Dir. Kenneth Lonergan | 2016
5. Jiro Dreams of Sushi | Dir. David Gelb | 2011
6. Call Me By Your Name| Dir. Luca Guadagnino | 2017
7. The Shape of Water | Dir. Guillermo del Toro | 2017
8. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | Dir. Martin McDonough | 2017
9. Free Solo | Dir. Jimmy Chin & Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi | 2018
10. Get Out | Dir. Jordan Peele | 2017

 

Charlotte Exton, House Manager

1. Parasite | Dir. Bong Joon-ho | 2019
2. Moonlight | Dir. Barry Jenkins | 2016
3. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Dir. Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey & Rodey Ramsey | 2018
4. Coco | Dir. Lee Unkrich & Adrian Molina | 2017
5. Mad Max: Fury Road | Dir. George Miller | 2015
6. Wolf of Wall Street | Dir. Martin Scorsese | 2013
7. Beasts of the Southern Wild | Dir. Ben Zeitlin | 2012
8. Nightcrawler | Dir. Dan Gilroy | 2014
9. We Need to Talk About Kevin | Dir. Lynne Ramsay | 2011
10. Black Swan | Dir. Darren Aronofsky | 2010

 

Adrienne Frank, Education Outreach Coordinator

1. Blancanieves | Dir. Pablo Berger | 2012
2. Carol | Dir. Todd Haynes | 2015
3. Captain Fantastic | Dir. Matt Ross | 2016
4. Wadjda | Dir. Haifaa Al-Mansour | 2012
5. The Love Witch | Dir. Anna Biller | 2016
6. The Witch | Dir. Robert Eggers | 2015
7. The Favourite | Dir. Yorgos Lanthimos | 2018
8. Her | Dir. Spike Jonze | 2013
9. Get Out | Dir. Jordan Peele | 2017
10. Blue Valentine | Dir. Derek Cianfrance | 2010

 

Still from Get Out, directed by Jordan Peele

 

Paige Grand Pré, Digital Marketing Associate

1. Boyhood | Dir. Richard Linklater | 2014
2. A Ghost Story | Dir. David Lowery | 2017
3. Minding the Gap | Dir. Bing Liu | 2018
4. Drive | Dir. Nicolas Winding Refn | 2011
5. Only Lovers Left Alive | Dir. Jim Jarmusch | 2014
6. Moonlight | Dir. Barry Jenkins | 2016
7. The Act of Killing | Dir. Joshua Oppenheimer & Christine Cynn | 2013
8. Get Out | Dir. Jordan Peele | 2017
9. Bridesmaids | Dir. Paul Feig | 2011
10. Tangerine | Dir. Sean Baker | 2015

 

Yves Leibowitz, Projectionist

1. Inception | Dir. Christopher Nolan | 2010
2. The Wolf Of Wall Street | Dir. Martin Scorsese | 2013
3. Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood | Dir. Quentin Tarantino | 2019
4. Skyfall | Dir. Sam Mendes | 2012
5. Mission : Impossible – Rogue Nation | Dir. Christopher McQuarrie | 2015
6. The Nice Guys| Dir. Shane Black | 2016
7. Mission : Impossible – Ghost Protocol | Dir. Brad Bird | 2011
8. Mission : Impossible – Fallout | Dir. Christopher McQuarrie | 2018
9. Interstellar | Dir. Christopher Nolan | 2014
10. Dunkirk | Dir. Christopher Nolan | 2017

 

Lina Matta, Series Curator; Contemporary Arab Cinema

1. Boyhood | Dir. Richard Linklater | 2014
2. The Act of Killing | Dir. Joshua Oppenheimer & Christine Cynn | 2013
3. The Big Short | Dir. Adam McKay | 2015
4. The Favourite | Dir. Yorgos Lanthimos | 2018
5. A Separation | Dir. Asghar Farhadi | 2011
6. Miss Violence | Dir. Alexandros Avranas | 2013
7. Whiplash | Dir. Damien Chazelle | 2014
8. Ex Machina | Dir. Alex Garland | 2014
9. For Sama | Dir. Waad Al-Khateab & Edward Watts | 2019
10. The Florida Project | Dir. Sean Baker | 2017

 

Emily Ohara, Senior Faculty/Program & Curriculum Development/JBFC Kids Curator & Creative

1. The Rider | Dir. Chloe Zhao | 2017
2. Moonlight | Dir. Barry Jenkins | 2016
3. Minding the Gap | Dir. Bing Liu | 2018
4. Honeyland | Dir. Tamara Kotevska & Ljubomir Stefanov | 2019
5. Stories We Tell | Dir. Sarah Polley | 2012
6. The Favourite | Dir. Yorgos Lanthimos | 2018
7. Tangerine | Dir. Sean Baker | 2015
8. Leaning Into the Wind: Andy Goldsworthy | Dir. Thomas Riedelsheimer | 2017
9. Shoplifters | Dir. Hirokazu Koreeda | 2018
10. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Dir. Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey & Rodey Ramsey | 2018

 

Brandon Shenkman, Senior Faculty/Lab Courses Coordinator/Program & Curriculum Development

1. Parasite | Dir. Bong Joon-ho | 2019
2. The Social Network | Dir. David Fincher | 2010
3. Spotlight | Dir. Hirokazu Koreeda | 2018
4. You Were Never Really Here | Dir. Lynne Ramsay | 2017
5. Whiplash | Dir. Damien Chazelle | 2014
6. Blade Runner 2049 | Dir. Denis Villeneuve | 2017
7. Birdman | Dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu | 2014
8. Booksmart | Dir. Olivia Wilde | 2019
9. The Grand Budapest Hotel | Dir. Wes Anderson | 2014
10. Nightcrawler | Dir. Dan Gilroy | 2014

 

Still from Meek’s Cutoff, directed by Kelly Reichardt

 

Sarah Soliman, Marketing Associate/Series Curator; Adapted: Page to Screen

1. Before Midnight | Dir. Richard Linklater | 2013
2. Shoplifters | Dir. Hirokazu Koreeda | 2018
3. Moonlight | Dir. Barry Jenkins | 2016
4. Inside Llewyn Davis | Dir. Ethan Coen & Joel Coen | 2013
5. Manchester by the Sea | Dir. Kenneth Lonergan | 2016
6. Phantom Thread | Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson | 2017
7. Mad Max: Fury Road | Dir. George Miller | 2015
8. Minding the Gap | Dir. Bing Liu | 2018
9. Columbus | Dir. Kogonada | 2017
10. Meek’s Cutoff | Dir. Kelly Reichardt | 2010

 

Denise Treco, Director of Communications and Marketing

1. The Social Network | Dir. David Fincher | 2010
2. First Reformed | Dir. Paul Schrader | 2018
3. Get Out | Dir. Jordan Peele | 2017
4. Boyhood | Dir. Richard Linklater | 2014
5. Shoplifters | Dir. Hirokazu Koreeda | 2018
6. Parasite | Dir. Bong Joon-ho | 2019
7. Black Panther | Dir. Ryan Coogler | 2018
8. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Dir. Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey & Rodey Ramsey | 2018
9. John Wick | Dir. Chad Stahelski | 2014
10. Beginners | Dir. Mike Mills | 2010

 

Sean Weiner, Director of Creative Culture: Fellowship & Residency Programs

1. Moonlight | Dir. Barry Jenkins | 2016
2. Minding the Gap | Dir. Bing Liu | 2018
3. Certified Copy | Dir. Abbas Kiarostami | 2010
4. Honeyland | Dir. Tamara Kotevska & Ljubo Stefanov | 2019
5. The Lobster | Dir. Yorgos Lanthimos | 2015
6. The Act of Killing | Dir. Joshua Oppenheimer & Christine Cynn | 2013
7. American Honey | Dir. Andrea Arnold | 2016
8. The Square | Dir. Ruben Östlund | 2017
9. Holy Motors | Dir. Leo Carax | 2012
10. Mustang | Dir. Deniz Gamze Ergüven | 2015

 

Best of 2019

 

Kendra Ekelund, General Manager

1. The Farewell | Dir. Lulu Wang
2. Rocketman | Dir. Dexter Fletcher
3. Booksmart | Dir. Olivia Wilde
4. Captain Marvel | Dir. Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck
5. Wild Nights with Emily | Dir. Madeleine Olnek

 

Charlotte Exton, House Manager

1. Parasite | Dir. Bong Joon-ho
2. John Wick 3 | Dir. Chad Stahelski
3. Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood | Dir. Quentin Tarantino
4. Avengers: Endgame | Dir. Anthony Russo & Joe Russo
5. Jojo Rabbit | Dir. Taika Waititi

 

Paige Grand Pre, Digital Marketing Associate

1. Parasite | Dir. Bong Joon-ho
2. Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood | Dir. Quentin Tarantino
3. The Whistlers | Dir. Corneliu Porumboiu
4. Jojo Rabbit | Dir. Taika Waititi
5. Booksmart | Dir. Olivia Wilde

 

Andrew Jupin, Senior Programmer

1. Her Smell | Dir. Alex Ross Perry
2. Parasite | Dir. Bong Joon-ho
3. The Irishman | Dir. Martin Scorsese
4. Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood | Dir. Quentin Tarantino
5. Uncut Gems | Dir. Benny Safdi & Josh Safdie

 

Still from Portrait of a Lady on Fire, directed by Céline Sciamma

 

Nicole Klein, Special Events Coordinator

1. Parasite | Dir. Bong Joon-ho
2. Portrait of a Lady on Fire | Dir. Céline Sciamma
3. The Souvenir | Dir. Joanna Hogg
4. Uncut Gems | Dir. Benny Safdi & Josh Safdie
5. Pain & Glory | Dir.  Pedro Almodóvar

 

Sarah Soliman, Marketing Associate/Series Curator; Adapted: Page to Screen

1. Parasite | Dir. Bong Joon-ho
2. Portrait of a Lady on Fire | Dir. Céline Sciamma
3. Her Smell | Dir. Alex Ross Perry
4. Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood | Dir. Quentin Tarantino
5. The Farewell | Dir. Lulu Wang

 

Mike Towndrow, Equipment Manager

1. Jojo Rabbit | Dir. Taika Waititi
2. The Lighthouse | Dir. Robert Eggers
3. Her Smell | Dir. Alex Ross Perry
4. Parasite | Dir. Bong Joon-ho
5. Lords of Chaos | Dir. Jonas Akerlund

 

Denise Treco

1. Ready or Not | Dir. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett
2. Us | Dir. Jordan Peele
3. Parasite | Dir. Bong Joon-ho
4. Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood | Dir. Quentin Tarantino
5. Never Look Away | Dir. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

 

 

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