Screen Slate's Best Movies of 2021

Screen Slate has once again invited Nicolas Rapold to guest edit its second annual Best of the Year poll, as voted on by contributors, friends, and filmmakers.

We also asked respondents to submit lists of “new-to-me” first viewings and discoveries. The full list of participants, their ballots (if submitted), and first viewings are available here, and we’re grateful to include filmmakers such as Michael Almereyda, Jessica Beshir, Jim Jarmusch, Radu Jude, Guy Maddin, Alex Ross Perry, Josh Safdie, Sandi Tan, and Amalia Ulman in the mix.

This list also arrives at the conclusion of Screen Slate’s 10th anniversary year. Thank you to all our readers—especially those who have been with us since the beginning—and contributors, members, venues, programmers, distributors, and filmmakers who have made our work possible.

-Jon Dieringer, Screen Slate Editor

A big thank you to everyone who took part in Screen Slate’s Best of 2021 poll! Behold, the best, at least according to us! And while we’re talking bests… The best part of the Screen Slate poll is that participants share their favorite “first viewings” from 2021—not new releases, but movies of all vintages seen for the first time, whether at home or in theaters. Why settle for just one year? These glorious “First Viewings” lists are printed in full, and the wide-ranging selections never fail to put wind in my sails and offer hundreds of ideas for what to watch next. But first, about those new releases… —Nicolas Rapold