ScreenAnarchy's Top 10 Movies of 2016

Editor, U.S.; Los Angeles, California (@filmbenjamin)

This year, 23 Screen Anarchists from 11 countries around the globe shared with us 129 films for consideration in our collective top ten movies of 2016.

Our criteria was simple: an individual contributor could include a film on their ballot had it been released in their home country in 2016, or they had seen it at a festival locally or abroad. 

Another fun fact (and a clue to what's on our list): The films included in our honorable mentions and our collective top ten total 2,911 minutes in running time. In other words, we spent a lot of time watching movies this year. And we wouldn't have had it any other way.

To celebrate, we present to you a gallery countdown, showcasing each film in the top ten with fresh takes from our contributors. And be sure to stick around till the end, where we present each individual's top ten ballot. Indeed, that is my favorite part as it spotlights our contributors' wide ranging tastes in the cinematic arts. No doubt you will discover a rich assortment of new titles to check out in the new year. Meanwhile, what about your own favorites? Or perhaps you think we missed something on our list... Chime in with a comment and we'll keep the discussion going!


Peter Martin, James Marsh, Ryland Aldrich, Shelagh Rowan-Legg, Andrew Mack, Michele "Izzy" Galgana, Brian Clark, Christopher Bourne, Dustin Chang, Jim Tudor, Pierce Conran, Patryk Czekaj, Zach Gayne, Jaime Grijalba Gomez, Kurt Halfyard, Stuart Muller, Christopher Webster, Ernesto Zelaya Miñano, Hugo Ozman, Eric Ortiz Garcia, Martin Kudlac and Loïc Valceschini contributed to this story.

The above still is of Sandra Hüller in Maren Ade's Toni Erdmann. To me this shot exemplifies 2016 in a number of resonant ways. It is: exacerbating, embarrassing, heartfelt, and frightening. But where does Toni Erdmann fall on our list? Oh, you'll just have to read through the gallery to find out...

(Note that the number after each title indicates the number of points each film accumulated in our weighted vote)

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