The world of independent films opens a glimpse into the layered story lines that peel deeper into important social issues that most other films fail to discuss. These films showcase authentic culture and guide the viewer through the lives of people entirely different from their own, or even to a piece of themselves through the characters.

Here are three films that should not go overlooked:

1. Captain Fantastic: Taking place among the forests of the pacific northwest, father of six, Ben, raises his children off the grid in order to devote himself to their rigorous intellectual and physical education. Life is beautiful until their mother dies and venturing to modern day society becomes a possibility.

The film touches on both the pros and cons of a life style outside of our own society along with the struggles of being a single parent. As the family struggles with the logistics of their own belief of not participating in today’s society and dealing with his children’s constant questioning of staying off the grid, Ben’s parenting comes into question.

2. Moonlight: Following the life of a young black man from childhood to adulthood in Miami, Moonlight is nothing short of a masterpiece encompassing the hardships of growing up and finding a place in the world through love. Race, sexuality and class are laid on the table to find humanity in vulnerability.

Winner of a Critic’s Choice Award and many others, Moonlight shines through with its way of venturing through this one man’s life by learning, understanding and empathizing through connection.

3. American Honey: This film follows the life of a young woman, Star, who joins a group of kids selling magazines and traveling across the country, partying and falling in love. American Honey opens a window into the lives of kids on the run using Star as its muse while they travel across the Midwest.

The strong female lead played by Sasha Lane orchestrates the film in a way that left me pondering the film for hours and days after leaving the theater. The 2016 film exemplifies youth in American and the challenges, hardships and opportunities they learn and grow from.

Carly Plemons can be reached at [email protected] or @plemnz on Twitter.