Alan Rudolph is a pioneer in the American independent film movement. He has directed nineteen narrative features and one feature-length documentary. His films have been presented in major international festivals for forty years and are noted for their fluid style, unpredictable humor, and glowing performances. His explorations of paradoxical human complexities are seen in films such as Trouble in Mind, The Secret Lives of Dentists, Afterglow, Choose Me, and his new film Ray Meets Helen.

He sent on this explanation of his list: “I consider films to be living entities. They only change by staying the same while all else redefines itself around them. Films have actively molded me to the point where there is no version of life without their influence. Lists? Ha! Today’s will be tomorrow’s yesterday’s. For pure impact, Invaders From Mars—released in 1953, when I was nine—probably left the greatest imprint on my perceptions, but it wasn’t on the list of choices. A handful of directors own the entire list by themselves. Of too many I know too little. I do know, however, that ever since I first saw these, they have been alive.”