Welcome back to Indie Film Weekly for the week of September 25, 2026. I'm your host, Glenn Reynolds. This week in theaters, a Catholic school girl finds her place behind a drum kit. A New York location scout gets drawn into the lives behind the front doors. And a council worker visits a Scottish island whose residents have absolutely no intention of leaving. And please take a friend to one of these films in a theater this weekend. There's something lovely about discovering a movie together, especially when neither of you knows quite what you've signed up for. On demand, a daughter restores her late father's forgotten invention and discovers how much she never knew about him. And our classic celebrates 30 years with two Italian brothers hoping one extraordinary dinner can save their restaurant. Want the written version of these picks each week? I also publish the Indie Film Weekly newsletter. It's the same five films in a quick read. Sign up at newsletter.com. Let's dive in. Our first indie film in theaters this week is Edie Arnold is a loser, directed by Megan Rico and Kate Atwood. It follows a Catholic schoolgirl who discovers that being a drummer is considerably more fun than being invisible. An unexpected turn on stage at a punk show reveals Edie's talent, and her best friend Frances encourages her to start a band. They call themselves the Nun Dead, which probably rules out an invitation to perform at Sunday Mass. Having something she cares about gives Edie a reason to push back, although her strict mother isn't thrilled with this development. Neither are the nuns. Frances meanwhile has enough nerve for both of them, and a wonderful ability to make trouble seem worth it. Their friendship is what makes the movie such good company. Frances doesn't need Edie to become cool before she believes in her, and the band gives them a chance to enjoy being themselves a little more loudly. The animated scribbles that pop up around the girls add to that feeling as though we've been let in on the jokes in their school notebooks. There's a real affection here for the kids who aren't going to get invited to the right parties. They might have a better time starting their own band anyway. The film is playing select theatrical dates, so check for a screening near you. And if you want to go deeper, check out our indie film weekly behind the film conversation with the filmmakers behind Edie Arnold is a loser. Our second indie film in theaters this week is The Scout. Written and directed by Paula Gonzalez Nasser, it follows Sophia through a day finding New York locations for a television pilot. She's good at getting strangers to open up doors. Getting her bosses to agree on what they want is another matter. A roof deck looks promising until they discover you have to reach it through a window. Could she find the same thing with an elevator? You can feel an entire afternoon disappearing in that request. Still, Sophia keeps going and the people she meets gradually become more interesting than the spaces she's photographing. A fish shop manager turns her visit into a dinner invitation, then pitches her a novel that bears a remarkable resemblance to Moby Dick. Apparently, even the Fishmonger has a project. The encounters are funny because Sophia needs to keep everyone happy while quietly trying to get back to work. She's being paid to look at people's homes, but she also lends up listening to their disappointments and making room for their loneliness. Gonzalez Nasser worked as a location scout herself, and she understands how much patience the job takes. The result is a New York movie that gets past the skyline and into the rooms where people actually live. It's also a lovely film about filmmaking before the filmmaking has even started. Our last indie film in theaters this week is The Incomer, written and directed by Louis Paxton. The Scottish comedy stars Donald Gleason as a council worker about to have a very difficult conversation with two people who would rather he wasn't there. Daniel has been sent to a remote island to bring its last residence back to the mainland. Unfortunately, siblings Isla and Sandy were raised to protect their home from outsiders, so his arrival puts him on the wrong side of the argument before he opens his mouth. His explanation doesn't improve things much. Before long, they have him tied to a bed frame. Gleason makes Daniel so uncomfortable in his own skin that even without the restraints you'd suspect he'd be struggling to find somewhere to put his hands. But the siblings aren't simply obstacles for him to overcome. Their father's stories have shaped everything they understand about the world, and leaving would mean trusting a stranger over the person who taught them how to survive. As Daniel gets to know them, his assignment becomes harder to separate from his feelings. He's supposed to be showing them a better way to live, yet he hardly seems happy with his own. That's where these three begin to find each other. Under all the absurdity, they're people who could use a friend, even if they never think to ask. So in theaters this week, that's Edie Arnold is a loser, the scout, and the incomer. Our spotlight indie film on demand this week is Resonator, directed by Alison Tavill. This documentary begins with an invitation her father left behind and becomes her way of getting to know him. Don Tavill died when Alison was 10 weeks old. She grew up hearing he was a genius, but that doesn't tell the daughter much about the person she missed. Years later, she retrieves his synthesizer prototype from her grandmother's attic and sets out to get it working. Her search takes her to musicians, including Peter Gabriel, and to people whose memories complicate the father she's imagined. There's real pleasure in watching musicians discover what this strange machine can do, but you don't need to know anything about synthesizers to get drawn in. Alison hopes restoring the instrument will give her a connection to Dawn, and each discovery makes that connection more personal. The stories she uncovers don't always fit the version she grew up with, which means she has to make room for a father who is more complicated than the family legend. That's what makes the film so moving. She starts out trying to show the world what he made and gradually finds out who he was. You can rent it on Apple TV or Prime Video. Our Indie film classic this week is Big Night, celebrating its 30th anniversary. Directed by Stanley Tucci and Campbell Scott, it stars Tony Chaloube and Tucci as Italian brothers serving wonderful food to almost nobody in 1950s New Jersey. Primo does the cooking, and he'd rather lose a customer than serve something he considers wrong. His brother Secundo runs the business, so he knows exactly what losing that customer costs. Early on, a woman asks for spaghetti alongside her risotto. She thinks she's ordering dinner. Primo thinks she's attacking everything he believes in. And Secundo has to somehow keep both of them happy. Their arguments are so enjoyable because you can understand each brother even while wishing he'd listen to the other. When a rival restauranteur promises to bring band leader Louis Prima to dinner, they decide to put everything into one spectacular meal. At last, someone might notice what they've been doing. Anyone who's made an independent film will recognize that hope. You keep believing the work is good enough to find its audience, even when the bills suggest otherwise. Shalub and Tucci make the brothers' devotion to each other as convincing as their frustration, which is why the dinner matters long before the food arrives. By then, you want their restaurant to survive almost as much as they do, and you'd happily book a table yourself. Just don't ask for spaghetti with the risotto. You can rent it on Apple TV or Prime Video. And that wraps it for the September 25th, 2026 edition of Indie Film Weekly. Subscribe, and I'll have another five picks for you next week. Share this episode with someone you'd like to take to the movies, and leave us a rating and a review. A few words about a film you discovered here would make my day. Until next week, keep it neighborly, keep it noisy, and keep it indie.
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