No Wave Cinema

Originating in New York City’s Lower East Side during the 1970s and 1980s, a loose collective of filmmakers and artists created a bold, boundary-pushing body of work that later became known as No Wave Cinema.

Much like the influential music movement that inspired its name, No Wave Cinema rejected conventional filmmaking norms—its definitions, aesthetics, and methods. Instead, it embraced a raw, low-budget, politically charged style. Drawing heavily from punk culture and guerrilla filmmaking practices, No Wave Cinema used humor, shock, and improvisation to confront and disrupt traditional cinematic approaches.

Notable No wave films:

IVAN KRAL, AMOS POE

The Blank Generation (1976)

AMOS POE

Unmade Beds (1976)

The Foreigner (1978)

Subway Riders (1981)

JAMIE NARES

Rome '78 (1978)

SCOTT B and BETH B

G-Man (1978)

Black Box (1978)

Letters to Dad (1979)

The Offenders (1980)

Vortex (1981)

ABEL FERRARA

The Driller Killer (1979)

Ms. 45 (1981)

JIM JARMUSCH

Permanent Vacation (1980)

Stranger Than Paradise (1984)

ERIC MITCHELL

Underground U.S.A. (1980)

The Way It Is or Eurydice in the Avenues (1985)

SUSAN SEIDELMAN

Smithereens (1982)

LIZZIE BORDEN

Born in Flames (1983)

BRADLEY EROS

Mutable Fire (1984)

BETTE GORDON

Variety (1984)

CINQUIÉ LEE

Window on Your Present (1988)