Film

We Are Still Here

Name: We Are Still Here
Genre: Crime, Comedy, Animation, Science Fiction, Romance
Released: 2023
Cast: Clarence John Ryan, Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne, Leonie Whyman, Calvin Tuteao, Meyne Wyatt

Other titles called We Are Still Here: the 2015 film.

Western
Strange

A dazzling animated anthology that weaves Indigenous stories across a thousand years and three continents. Each segment shifts genre, form and tone—from sci-fi to romance to crime—but all speak to survival, love and resistance against colonialism. Visually inventive, sometimes brutal, always vital. Essential viewing.

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Wolfwalkers2020

Stunningly hand-drawn animation that honors Indigenous Irish legend while telling a story about belonging and defiance. The animation itself is a character, alive and urgent in ways CGI rarely achieves.

But The plot builds slowly and the ending opts for ambiguity over resolution, which can feel unfinished if you want clear closure.

Akira1988

A genre-defying masterpiece that scrambles sci-fi, action and philosophy across a sprawling, non-linear narrative. The animation is baroque and furious. Influenced everything that came after it.

But It's dense, violent, and the dubbed English version has some rough moments. You may need to watch it twice to fully grasp the plot.

Everything Everywhere All at Once2022

Multiverse chaos and existential dread filtered through a story about mothers and daughters, grief and love. Formally inventive in every frame; the editing and visual effects are intoxicating.

But The tonal whiplash—from absurdist comedy to devastating sadness—doesn't work for everyone. Some find it exhausting rather than exhilarating.

Everything Everywhere All at Once poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from We Are Still Here

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Samurai Champloo2004

Like We Are Still Here, it refuses to stay in one genre or register. It's formally playful while telling stories about displacement, belonging, and people trying to survive outside the systems designed to contain them.

A genre-fluid anime that mixes hip-hop culture, samurai drama, comedy and pathos across episodic stories. Each episode surprises you. The animation is inventive, the soundtrack is alive, and the three-character dynamic never stales across 26 episodes.

But Anime can feel niche; if anime's visual language alienates you, nothing here will convert you. Some episodes are stronger than others.

Samson and Delilah1949

An Indigenous Australian film that moves between tenderness and violence with unflinching honesty. Shot in the outback with non-professional actors, it feels raw and alive in ways polished cinema rarely does.

But Slow, quiet pacing. If you need plot momentum to stay engaged, you'll struggle. The ending is ambiguous and offers no comfort.

Klaus2019

A warmly hand-drawn animated film about redemption and isolation, with a visual style that feels like storybook illustration. Funny, moving, and genuinely kind-hearted without being saccharine.

But The premise is familiar (cynical guy learns the power of giving) and some find it too earnest, too wholesome. There's no edge here.

The Congress2013

A surreal, genre-bending journey through animated surrealism and existential science fiction. It's ambitious, visually wild, and interested in how we consent to being consumed.

But Deeply confusing and the narrative logic doesn't always hold. It prioritizes atmosphere and ideas over coherence, which alienates many viewers.

Sorry to Bother You2018

Sharp satirical comedy about telemarketing, race and capitalism that shifts genre midway through and somehow makes it work. Smart, furious, and genuinely funny in ways that land culturally and politically.

But The tonal shift will feel jarring if you prefer consistent tone. Some of the surrealist choices come across as self-indulgent rather than illuminating.

Annihilation2018

Sci-fi horror with a meditative, almost elegiac tone. Visually distinctive and interested in grief and transformation. Atmospheric and unsettling without relying on jump scares.

But Slow-burn pacing with a deliberately cryptic ending. If you want clarity and emotional catharsis, you'll leave disappointed.

Bread and Roses2000

Both witness the everyday struggles of people against systems—colonialism, capitalism—that refuse to acknowledge their presence. Both choose specificity and dignity over spectacle. Both understand that bearing witness is a political act.

A documentary series about the real lives of working-class women in Britain. Shot in intimate, fly-on-the-wall style with no narrator. Quietly powerful, sometimes funny, sometimes devastating. Pure observation that reveals injustice without preaching.

But It's grainy 1990s video and moves at documentary pace. If you need narrative drive or visual polish, it will feel slow and ordinary. The stories are unglamorous by design.

Fleabag2016

Both refuse easy categorization—drama-comedy hybrids that shift tone wildly within single episodes. Both use formal play (fourth-wall breaks, stylistic shifts) not as gimmick but as essential to their emotional truth. Both are about people trying to survive systems and families that don't quite have room for them.

A six-episode comedy-drama that breaks the fourth wall and talks directly to you. The writing is sharp, the tone whips between laugh-out-loud and heartbreak, and the exploration of family dysfunction and self-sabotage feels alive and contemporary.

But The humor is very British, sometimes dark. The main character is deeply flawed and selfish; some viewers find her unlikeable rather than sympathetic. Brief and unsatisfying if you wanted more.