Ali Abbasi and Boots Riley.
These are names you should remember.
They are Writer/Directors to seek out.
You know for the most part when we go to one of these Blockbuster films in the theater, whether AVENGERS ENDGAME or the latest MISSION IMPOSSIBLE or JAMES BOND , we know what we are going to get. If not the particulars, we know the formula, the genre, the broad beats of hero and villain and threat to resolve.
With films like SORRY TO BOTHER YOU and BORDER if you go in blind, without trailer, or forewarning, or spoilers, as I did, and as I suggest you do, you are in for what film used to be, in the early days of film. You are in for something strange, and beautiful, and horrible, and more than a little bit unsettling; you are in for something rare, something new under the sun.
You are in for a ride, that is unfathomable and twisting, and both harrowing and transformative.
These are arguably not films that do well in the theatrical setting, for the simple fact they do not cater to expectations, they live in the unfamiliar places. And can arguably leave us… thoughtful and conflicted about what we see.
And audiences these days like to leave the theater, with easy assumptions reinforced, rather than challenged.
SORRY TO BOTHER YOU and BORDER are both films that do not play to the usual. They are living room films, they are home theaters films, they are personal films, and they are films that will stay with you long after you see them.
Both films feature amazing performances. Lakeith Stanfield of SORRY TO BOTHER YOU, and coming off a show stealing performance in ATLANTA is quickly becoming one of the best young Actors working. And Eva Melander, an actress unknown to me, is nothing short of award material in BORDER.
Both are must own films on DVD/Blu-Ray. In the age of streaming, these are the type of films you do not trust to the ephemeral nature of streaming. You can try before you buy by viewing both movies courtesy of HULU. and once you do, you’ll want to add these films to your collection.
I consider them both, cinematic gems, that will only grow with subsequent viewings.
Get your copies here:
Heroic Times 
I really need to make time for SORRY TO BOTHER YOU. I purchased the Blu-Ray last summer, placed it on the stack to join the 20 or so other Blu-Rays I buy and haven’t even opened yet. See, the plan was that these were movies I would watch during the winter months when it was too cold to venture out to my FMT. But of course I found other movies to watch or just rewatched the ones I already have.
It is definitely a film that, if you go in knowing nothing, will surprise you with its audacity and wild invention. May not be to everyone’s taste, especially if you like your films to be one thing or another. But I am a fan. And completely agree with you about the backlog of movies/Blurays to get to. As well as a sizable heaping of books, comics, and music. First world problems. Good problems to have. 🙂