Persepolis
(2007)The film follows a young Iranian girl growing up during the Iranian Revolution. She navigates family, identity, and political upheaval both in Iran and abroad.
Coming of age films that get it right
Being sixteen was mostly waiting around and being embarrassed, and the good films about it know that. No montage where somebody becomes confident. Just people working out who they are, slowly and badly.
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. They work from the whole catalogue, not just this list.
Charm City Kings
(2020)A teenager in Baltimore gets pulled into the world of dirt-bike riders. He must decide between following his dream of becoming a veterinarian or joining a local crew.
Close
(2022)Two teenage boys have a close friendship that is disrupted when classmates notice their intimacy. The film follows how this pressure affects them and their relationship.
Cousins
(2019)A young man visits his grandmother's house and reconnects with his cousin. They develop feelings for each other as they spend time together.
The Seven Deadly Sins: Grudge of Edinburgh, Part 1
(2022)Tristan, the son of Meliodas and Elizabeth, struggles to control his dual inheritance of Goddess and Demon Clan powers. He travels to Edinburgh Castle to protect his family and meets new friends along the way.
Jongens
(2014)A teenage boy discovers his sexuality and falls for another boy during a summer track and field training camp. He must navigate his feelings while keeping his new relationship a secret from friends and family.
Billy Elliot
(2000)During the 1984-85 miners strike in a northern English town, an 11-year-old boy discovers a love for ballet. His working-class father disapproves because of old-fashioned ideas about male dancers.
Almost Famous
(2000)A teenage writer in the early 1970s gets a chance to tour with a rising rock band and write a story about them for Rolling Stone. He navigates the band's tensions and his own growing up.
You Are the Apple of My Eye
(2011)A group of high school friends in Taiwan follow a mischievous boy's crush on a popular honor student over the years. The story shows their friendship, school days, and the way small moments shape their lives.
The Basketball Diaries
(1995)A promising high school basketball player and writer in New York City gradually descends into heroin addiction. The film follows his fall from athletic stardom into crime and homelessness.
Moonlight
(2016)Moonlight follows a black man in Miami through three stages of his life: boyhood, teenage years, and adulthood. The film shows how he copes with his sexuality and the abuse he experiences growing up.
Spider-Man
(2002)A shy teenager named Peter Parker gets bitten by a genetically engineered spider and gains superhuman abilities. He takes on the identity of Spider-Man to fight crime in New York City, where he must confront a dangerous villain called the Green Goblin.
Butterfly's Tongue
(1999)A young boy named Moncho starts school in a small Galician town in 1936. He grows close to his elderly teacher, who opens his eyes to nature and poetry. Their peaceful life is disrupted by the rising political tensions that lead to the Spanish Civil War.
It
(2017)A group of outcast children in a small town band together to fight a shape-shifting monster that takes the form of a clown and feeds on their fears. The creature emerges from the sewers to torment them during one summer.
Closely Watched Trains
(1966)A young railway apprentice works at a station in German occupied Czechoslovakia during World War Two. He deals with the everyday humor and awkwardness of life while the war carries on around him.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
(2023)This animated film reboots the story of four mutant turtle brothers. They want to be accepted by humans in New York City. They also have to stop a criminal gang of mutants.
Snack Shack
(2024)In the summer of 1991, two teenage friends run a snack shack at a community pool in Nebraska City. A new lifeguard arrives and changes their dynamic.
Big Time Adolescence
(2019)A teenage boy looks up to his older friend who dropped out of college. The older friend gives him bad advice about girls and growing up.
This Boy's Life
(1993)A teenage boy moves with his mother to Seattle in the 1950s. He struggles to fit in at a new school and faces abuse from his stepfather.
I'm Not Scared
(2003)In a small Italian town during the 1970s, a nine-year-old boy finds a hidden crime that involves the local community. He must decide whether to stay quiet or do what he feels is right.
Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken
(2023)A shy teenage girl discovers she is a kraken, a giant sea creature from a long line of protectors. She must balance her normal high school life with her new underwater destiny and family legacy.
Giant Little Ones
(2018)A teenage boy and his male best friend have an intimate encounter after a party. This event upends the lives of the boy and his parents as they deal with the aftermath.
Rang De Basanti
(2006)A British film student comes to India to make a documentary about historical freedom fighters. She casts a group of young Indian men in the film, and their experiences playing these revolutionaries push them to take a stand against corruption and injustice in modern India.
Raw
(2016)A young vegetarian goes to veterinary school. She tastes meat for the first time and starts craving human flesh.
Say Anything...
(1989)A high school valedictorian and an average student start a romance after graduation. Their relationship is tested by her overprotective father and their different paths ahead.
The Wanderers
(1979)The movie follows a gang of Italian-American teenagers in the Bronx in 1963. They navigate power struggles with rival gangs while dealing with the usual struggles of growing up.
Outlaws
(2021)A teen boy gets drawn into a gang of young criminals in 1970s Spain. He navigates loyalty and violence as his world changes.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post
(2018)A teenage girl is sent to a conversion therapy center in 1993 after her guardians discover her with another girl. She tries to get through the program with the help of other residents.
Simon Birch
(1998)A young boy with dwarfism believes he is part of a divine plan. He and his best friend navigate childhood, family secrets, and a tragic accident.
Lost and Delirious
(2001)A teenage girl at a boarding school watches her two friends fall deeply in love. When that relationship starts to fall apart, she must navigate the emotional fallout around her.
Piranhas
(2019)In Naples, a group of teenage boys get involved with the local mafia. The film follows their escalating crimes and the harsh consequences that follow.
That's What I Am
(2011)A middle school student in the 1960s navigates adolescence and learns about bullying and prejudice when he befriends a lonely teacher who is rumored to be gay. The story follows his growing understanding of compassion and standing up for what is right.
Goodbye Berlin
(2016)Two misfit teenagers from Berlin steal a car and take a wild road trip through Eastern Germany one summer. They meet odd characters and get into strange situations as they explore the countryside.
The Thirteenth Year
(1999)A teenager discovers he is turning into a mermaid. He deals with the changes and girls he likes.
Hot Summer Nights
(2017)In the summer of 1991 on Cape Cod, a teenage boy gets pulled into selling drugs. He starts navigating a dangerous new world of crime while also falling for a local girl.
La Boum
(1980)A thirteen year old girl starts at a new school in Paris and deals with typical teenage problems. At home her parents are having their own difficulties.
The Diary of a Teenage Girl
(2015)In 1970s San Francisco, a 15-year-old aspiring cartoonist begins a secret sexual relationship with her mother's boyfriend. The film follows her personal and artistic coming-of-age as she navigates the consequences of her choices.
Alex Strangelove
(2018)A high school senior named Alex plans to lose his virginity to his girlfriend Claire. But he starts to have confusing feelings for a gay student named Elliot, forcing him to question his sexuality and what he really wants.
Caterina in the Big City
(2003)A teenage girl moves from a small town to Rome with her family and navigates the social challenges of a new school. She deals with friendships, crushes, and the gap between her parents' dreams and her own experiences.
Battle
(2018)A teenage dancer from a working-class background tries to compete in a prestigious competition. She faces personal and social pressures along the way.
This list is from Underplayed Gems, a catalogue of films and series from everywhere. You can also browse by genre, country and year, or look around it in 3D and ask the Catbot there.