As is the case every year, there’s a number of films premiering during the festival circuit but don’t see a release until the following year.  In some instances, this could be because of how long it takes to acquire a distributor.

If some of these films had gotten an official theatrical release, make no mistake that they’d have found a spot in my top 20 films of the year and maybe even the top ten.

Of all the films on this list, And Then There Was Eve may be the one that struggles the most to find a buyer and that’s a shame.  A film like this is important because it’s not that often that a transgender actor plays a leading role and more opportunities like these are needed.  I’m working on a screenplay for a trans-led indie comedy myself.  I developed it originally as a sitcom pilot but transitioned to a feature film when I realized that a film had a better chance of finding an audience on the festival circuit.

Black Cop was one of the films I saw during the Chicago International Film Festival but it wasn’t originally in my coverage plans.  It wasn’t until after attending the Resistance and Satire panel during Industry Days in which I made the decision to request a screener and review the film.  When I finally watched it, I fell in love with it!  Writer-director Cory Bowles’ film displays some biting satire and with Get Out in 2017, it may be for the best that the film is on hold until 2018.

In any event, the following is my list of the best unreleased films in 2017.  It’s possible that some do have buyers but they haven’t been announced.

Top Unreleased Films Premiering in 2017

• And Then There Was Eve
• Black Cop
• Beauty Mark
• Chasing the Blues
• For the Love of George (Coming February 2018)
• Room for Rent
• Bernard and Huey
• Zoo
• The Last Movie Star (Originally titled Dog Years, will be released by A24)
• Rogers Park
• Love in Moreno Valley
• Quality Problems