Ever explorative, ever inquisitive, singer-songwriter and performer Mitski draws inspiration from a wide range of sources: from cinema and photography to the Japanese avant-garde dance form Butoh. Her collaborations with filmmakers stretch back over a decade, and she boasts an Oscar® nomination for Best Original Song. Taking center stage with her first concert film Mitski: The Land (2025), she brings her legendarily compelling stage presence to a wider audience. Celebrating its arrival, we invited Mitski to peruse our library and pick out the titles that got under her skin. The variety of her curation—which embraces horror, documentary, and experimental film as well as cult classics and comedy—is consistent with the musician’s magpie sensibility. Zippy with enthusiasm, this is Mitski’s playful hand-picked collection.
My First Film (Zia Anger, 2024)
“This one’s personal, because I’ve worked with Zia Anger for ten years and we’ve become friends. This is such a unique film, and I feel honored to have been a witness to its gradual creation. I met Zia in 2016 when we made the video for Your Best American Girl. Around 2018, she was doing this radical thing where she started touring with clips of her very first film, Always All Ways, Anne Marie, this film that never got shown. I had never heard of anyone doing anything like that. Now we have My First Film, an amalgamation of it all… I’m so in awe of her creativity.”
Revenge (Coralie Fargeat, 2017)
“Female revenge stories are catnip for me. This film is so well-made, so cathartic… and ridiculous in the best way! I remember standing up and yelling at the TV during the scene when the characters chase each other round and round a wall. It’s simple, but so tense! That’s a director’s power: to take a simple concept and make it compelling. I watch this every year just to have an emotional release.”
Rewind & Play (Alain Gomis, 2022)
“This one’s gonna stay with me forever. Marginalized people whose identities are considered “less than” will recognize shades of their own experience in this. When you have some sort of gift, and the white patriarchal world sees it not as a part of you but as something separate that can be extracted, eventually you realize that being exceptional does not induce a racist and sexist world to respect you as a human being. And it’s made so clear in this film, because Thelonious Monk is a genius. But people talk to him like he’s an unruly child who is making this extraction process difficult for them. I’ve never seen a film like it. And, of course, it’s nice to listen to Monk playing."
Dancer in the Dark (Lars von Trier, 2002)
“I rented this on video in high school. I was getting my hands on anything involving Björk by that point. I loved her. But, oh man, it was my first Lars von Trier and it showed. It took me a long time to get through it; I kept having to pause it. I remember the scene with David Morse on the ground begging Björk, and I was like, ‘Nope, I gotta walk away. I can’t do this right now.’ It’s too bad Björk didn’t have a good experience on set. I hope she doesn’t regret making the film. I’m glad it exists, and the music she made for it has stayed with me.”
Party Girl (Daisy von Scherler Mayer, 1995)
“Speaking of films that I’m so glad exist… I first watched this because I love Parker Posey. It’s clearly made on a small budget and it doesn’t matter. If anything, that makes it better. It’s so fun! And I can tell it was made with love. The film is full of joy from start to finish. As a working artist who becomes more jaded every year, it’s good to watch low-budget films like these and be reminded, ‘Yes, this is fun! This is supposed to be joyous!’ And, I don’t know, I just want to live in the world of the film!”
It Follows (David Robert Mitchell, 2014)
“I’m a big horror fan and other horror fans were like, ‘It Follows is important. It’s part of the canon. You have to watch it.’ I finally did, not long ago, and it felt like the film could have come out this year. The horror in it is interesting, because there are jump scares, but it doesn’t rely on them. It really induces a sort of deep psychological fear. And it’s not just about being scared. It ponders profound questions and leaves a lot of things unanswered. Highly recommend!”
Midnight Cowboy (John Schlesinger, 1969)
“Oh god, it’s so good. No offence to, like, new films, but you watch this and it’s on a different level. It’s just… cinema! Watching it today, you understand why New Hollywood was pivotal. There’s “before New Hollywood” and “after New Hollywood,” and we’re still being influenced by that movement. Here, the acting is amazing and you get a glimpse into late-1960s New York. And the soundtrack… Everything is stellar! I don’t make films, but I have filmmaker friends and I know how hard it is: It’s a miracle when everything aligns. I’m in awe of Midnight Cowboy every time I watch it!"

Ever explorative, ever inquisitive, singer-songwriter and performer Mitski draws inspiration from a wide range of sources: from cinema and photography to the Japanese avant-garde dance form Butoh. Her collaborations with filmmakers stretch back over a decade, and she boasts an Oscar® nomination for Best Original Song. Taking center stage with her first concert film Mitski: The Land (2025), she brings her legendarily compelling stage presence to a wider audience. Celebrating its arrival, we invited Mitski to peruse our library and pick out the titles that got under her skin. The variety of her curation&#8212;which embraces horror, documentary, and experimental film as well as cult classics and comedy&#8212;is consistent with the musician&#8217;s magpie sensibility. Zippy with enthusiasm, this is Mitski&#8217;s playful hand-picked collection.
My First Film (Zia Anger, 2024) 
&#8220;This one&#8217;s personal, because I&#8217;ve worked with Zia Anger for ten years and we&#8217;ve become friends. This is such a unique film, and I feel honored to have been a witness to its gradual creation. I met Zia in 2016 when we made the video for Your Best American Girl. Around 2018, she was doing this radical thing where she started touring with clips of her very first film, Always All Ways, Anne Marie, this film that never got shown. I had never heard of anyone doing anything like that. Now we have My First Film, an amalgamation of it all… I&#8217;m so in awe of her creativity.&#8221;
Revenge (Coralie Fargeat, 2017) 
&#8220;Female revenge stories are catnip for me. This film is so well-made, so cathartic… and ridiculous in the best way! I remember standing up and yelling at the TV during the scene when the characters chase each other round and round a wall. It&#8217;s simple, but so tense! That&#8217;s a director&#8217;s power: to take a simple concept and make it compelling. I watch this every year just to have an emotional release.&#8221;
Rewind &amp; Play (Alain Gomis, 2022) 
&#8220;This one&#8217;s gonna stay with me forever. Marginalized people whose identities are considered &#8220;less than&#8221; will recognize shades of their own experience in this. When you have some sort of gift, and the white patriarchal world sees it not as a part of you but as something separate that can be extracted, eventually you realize that being exceptional does not induce a racist and sexist world to respect you as a human being. And it&#8217;s made so clear in this film, because Thelonious Monk is a genius. But people talk to him like he&#8217;s an unruly child who is making this extraction process difficult for them. I&#8217;ve never seen a film like it. And, of course, it&#8217;s nice to listen to Monk playing.&quot;
Dancer in the Dark (Lars von Trier, 2002) 
&#8220;I rented this on video in high school. I was getting my hands on anything involving Björk by that point. I loved her. But, oh man, it was my first Lars von Trier and it showed. It took me a long time to get through it; I kept having to pause it. I remember the scene with David Morse on the ground begging Björk, and I was like, &#8216;Nope, I gotta walk away. I can&#8217;t do this right now.&#8217; It&#8217;s too bad Björk didn&#8217;t have a good experience on set. I hope she doesn&#8217;t regret making the film. I&#8217;m glad it exists, and the music she made for it has stayed with me.&#8221;
Party Girl (Daisy von Scherler Mayer, 1995) 
&#8220;Speaking of films that I&#8217;m so glad exist… I first watched this because I love Parker Posey. It&#8217;s clearly made on a small budget and it doesn&#8217;t matter. If anything, that makes it better. It&#8217;s so fun! And I can tell it was made with love. The film is full of joy from start to finish. As a working artist who becomes more jaded every year, it&#8217;s good to watch low-budget films like these and be reminded, &#8216;Yes, this is fun! This is supposed to be joyous!&#8217; And, I don&#8217;t know, I just want to live in the world of the film!&#8221;
It Follows (David Robert Mitchell, 2014) 
&#8220;I&#8217;m a big horror fan and other horror fans were like, &#8216;It Follows is important. It&#8217;s part of the canon. You have to watch it.&#8217; I finally did, not long ago, and it felt like the film could have come out this year. The horror in it is interesting, because there are jump scares, but it doesn&#8217;t rely on them. It really induces a sort of deep psychological fear. And it&#8217;s not just about being scared. It ponders profound questions and leaves a lot of things unanswered. Highly recommend!&#8221;
Midnight Cowboy (John Schlesinger, 1969) 
&#8220;Oh god, it&#8217;s so good. No offence to, like, new films, but you watch this and it&#8217;s on a different level. It&#8217;s just… cinema! Watching it today, you understand why New Hollywood was pivotal. There&#8217;s &#8220;before New Hollywood&#8221; and &#8220;after New Hollywood,&#8221; and we&#8217;re still being influenced by that movement. Here, the acting is amazing and you get a glimpse into late-1960s New York. And the soundtrack… Everything is stellar! I don&#8217;t make films, but I have filmmaker friends and I know how hard it is: It&#8217;s a miracle when everything aligns. I&#8217;m in awe of Midnight Cowboy every time I watch it!&quot;

Hand-picked by Mitski

HAND-PICKED BY MITSKI

To mark the arrival of her first concert film Mitski: The Land (2025), we invited the Oscar®-nominated singer-songwriter to peruse our library and choose her favorite titles. Singing with enthusiasm for all things film, Mitski talks us through her zippy guest curation.

To mark the arrival of her first concert film Mitski: The Land (2025), we invited the Oscar®-nominated singer-songwriter to peruse our library and choose her favorite titles. Singing with enthusiasm for all things film, Mitski talks us through her zippy guest curation.

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Contains material and themes suitable only for mature audiences.

self harm

injury detail

Lars von Trier

Cannes Film Festival

Dancer in the Dark

en-US

DANCER IN THE DARK

discriminatory language

Daisy von Scherler Mayer

Party Girl

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PARTY GIRL

Contains material that may not be suitable for children or young adults.

strobe lighting

Grant James

Mitski: The Land

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MITSKI: THE LAND

sexual assault

domestic violence

animal cruelty

Coralie Fargeat

Revenge

REVENGE

graphic sexual content

Zia Anger

My First Film

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MY FIRST FILM

Alain Gomis

Rewind & Play

REWIND & PLAY