212 articles
Ratcatcher (1999 film)
Ratcatcher is Lynne Ramsay's 1999 debut feature, a UK-French drama set in 1970s Glasgow during a dustbinmen's strike, following 12-year-old James Gillespie, haunted by a friend's canal drowning, premiered at Cannes Un Certain Regard.
Real Women Have Curves
Real Women Have Curves: 2002 HBO Films coming-of-age comedy-drama directed by Patricia Cardoso, starring America Ferrera as Ana García; Sundance Audience Award winner, first Latina-directed National Film Registry entry, adapted to Broadway in 2025.
Rebel Without a Cause
Rebel Without a Cause (1955) is a Warner Bros drama directed by Nicholas Ray, starring James Dean as Jim Stark with Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo; a juvenile-delinquency melodrama blaming parental failure, released weeks after Dean's death.
Remember Me (2010 film)
Remember Me (2010 film), also titled Memoirs, an American romantic drama directed by Allen Coulter, starring Robert Pattinson and Emilie de Ravin, set in New York in summer 2001, released 12 March 2010 by Summit Entertainment, with a controversial final twist.
Rocks (2019 film)
Rocks (2019) is a British coming-of-age drama directed by Sarah Gavron, written by Theresa Ikoko and Claire Wilson, about a teenage girl hiding her mother's abandonment; it won Best British Independent Film and the BAFTA Rising Star Award for Bukky Bakray.
Rushmore (film)
Rushmore is a 1998 American coming-of-age comedy directed by Wes Anderson and co-written with Owen Wilson, starring Jason Schwartzman in his film debut and Bill Murray.
Sacrifice of Youth (青春祭)
Sacrifice of Youth (青春祭, Sacrificed Youth) is a 1985 Chinese drama directed by Zhang Nuanxin, adapted from Zhang Manling's novella There Is a Beautiful Place, about a Han sent-down youth awakening among the Dai in Yunnan; not the 2015 TV series.
Sang Pemimpi
Sang Pemimpi (The Dreamer) is a 2009 Indonesian drama, sequel to Laskar Pelangi, adapted from Andrea Hirata's second novel, directed by Riri Riza, released 17 December 2009, second best-selling Indonesian film of 2009 with 1.9 million viewers.
Shanghai Dreams (青红)
Shanghai Dreams (青红, aka 我十九) is Wang Xiaoshuai's 2005 semi-autobiographical Chinese drama about a Shanghai family relocated to Guiyang under the Third Front policy; it won the 2005 Cannes Jury Prize and was his first film approved for Chinese theatrical release.
She Remembers, He Forgets (哪一天我们会飞)
She Remembers, He Forgets (哪一天我們會飛) is a 2015 Hong Kong Cantonese romantic drama directed by Adam Wong, starring Miriam Yeung and Jan Lamb, about a woman re-examining a high-school love triangle after discovering her husband's affair.
Shoeshine
Shoeshine (Sciuscià) is Vittorio De Sica's 1946 Italian neorealist film about two Roman shoeshine boys, Pasquale and Giuseppe, whose friendship is destroyed after a juvenile prison term; it won an honorary Academy Award in 1948.
Slums of Beverly Hills
Slums of Beverly Hills is a 1998 American comedy-drama, Tamara Jenkins's first feature, starring Natasha Lyonne, Alan Arkin, and Marisa Tomei as a family chasing a Beverly Hills address.
Small Faces (1996 film)
Small Faces (1996) is a British coming-of-age drama directed by Gillies MacKinnon, set in 1968 Glasgow, about the Maclean brothers and gang violence; it won the 1996 Rotterdam Tiger Award.
Smoke Signals (film)
Smoke Signals (1998) is a comedy-drama directed by Chris Eyre and written by Sherman Alexie, the first wide-release feature written, directed, co-produced, and acted by Native Americans, about a road trip to retrieve a father's ashes; it won Sundance awards and joined the National Film Registry in 2018.
Smooth Talk
Smooth Talk is Joyce Chopra's 1985 independent drama, also known as an adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates's 'Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?', starring Laura Dern and Treat Williams; it won the 1986 Sundance Grand Jury Prize and received a 4K restoration in 2020.
So Young (致我们终将逝去的青春)
So Young (致我们终将逝去的青春) is Zhao Wei's 2013 directorial debut, adapted from Xin Yiwu's novel, starring Yang Zishan and Mark Chao; it earned about 720 million yuan in mainland China and set the template for Chinese campus youth films.
Soul Mate (七月与安生) (2016 film)
Soul Mate (七月与安生, Soulmate) is a 2016 Mandarin drama directed by Derek Tsang, adapted from Annie Baby's novella, starring Zhou Dongyu and Ma Sichun, who tied for the 2016 Golden Horse Best Actress award.
SPF-18
SPF-18 is a 2017 American coming-of-age romantic drama, Alex Israel's feature directorial debut co-written with Baywatch creator Michael Berk, starring Carson Meyer, Noah Centineo, and Bianca A. Santos, released on iTunes September 29, 2017 and later on Netflix.
Spontaneous (film)
Spontaneous (2020) is a science fiction romantic black comedy, Brian Duffield's directorial debut, adapted from Aaron Starmer's 2016 YA novel, starring Katherine Langford and Charlie Plummer as seniors whose classmates explode; released by Paramount October 2020.
Spud (film)
Spud is a 2010 South African coming-of-age comedy directed by Donovan Marsh, adapted from John van de Ruit's novel, starring Troye Sivan and John Cleese, set in 1990 at a KwaZulu-Natal boarding school.
St. Elmo's Fire (film)
St. Elmo's Fire is a 1985 Joel Schumacher ensemble drama, also called a Brat Pack film, about seven Georgetown graduates; released June 28, 1985 by Columbia, it grossed $37.8 million on a $10 million budget with a David Foster and John Parr soundtrack.
Stand by Me (film)
Stand by Me (1986), Rob Reiner's coming-of-age drama adapted from Stephen King's novella The Body, follows four Oregon boys seeking a missing boy's corpse; rescued by Norman Lear, it earned over $52 million and an Oscar screenplay nomination.
Submarine (2010 film)
Submarine (2010) is a British coming-of-age comedy-drama, Richard Ayoade's feature directorial debut, adapted from Joe Dunthorne's 2008 novel. Set in 1980s Swansea, it stars Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige, Sally Hawkins, Noah Taylor, and Paddy Considine, produced by Warp Films and Film4 with an Alex Turner soundtrack.
Sujo
Sujo (2024) is a Mexican drama by Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez about a cartel hitman's orphaned son, winner of the Sundance 2024 World Cinema Grand Jury Prize and the 2025 Ariel for Best First Film.
Summer of '42
Summer of '42 (1971) is a coming-of-age romance directed by Robert Mulligan, written by Herman Raucher from his own wartime summer, starring Gary Grimes and Jennifer O'Neill, with an Oscar-winning Michel Legrand score.
Summer of 85
Summer of 85 (Été 85) is François Ozon's 2020 French-Belgian coming-of-age romance, adapted from Aidan Chambers' Dance on My Grave, about 16-year-old Alexis and 18-year-old David on the 1985 Normandy coast, starring Félix Lefebvre and Benjamin Voisin.
Summer Palace (颐和园) (2006 film)
Summer Palace (颐和园) is Lou Ye's 2006 China-France romance drama about lovers Yu Hong and Zhou Wei from 1987 to 2001 against the Tiananmen backdrop; it competed at Cannes 2006, was banned in mainland China, and drew five-year bans on Lou Ye and Nai An.
Summer with Monika
Summer with Monika (Sommaren med Monika) is Ingmar Bergman's 1953 Swedish drama starring Harriet Andersson and Lars Ekborg, adapted from Per Anders Fogelström's novel, famous for Monika's direct look into the camera and its influence on the French New Wave.
Superbad
Superbad (2007) is a Columbia Pictures teen comedy directed by Greg Mottola, written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg from a script begun at age 13, starring Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse as McLovin.
Sweet Sixteen (2002 film)
Sweet Sixteen is Ken Loach's 2002 social-realist drama, written by Paul Laverty, about Greenock teenager Liam (Martin Compston) dealing drugs to buy his imprisoned mother a home; it won Cannes Best Screenplay and became Loach's first BBFC 18-certificate film.