# List of avant-garde films of the 1980s

This is a list of avant-garde and experimental films released in the 1980s.
| Title | Director | Cast | Nation | Notes |
| 1980 |||||
| Amor | Robert Beavers | | United States | 15 mins, Color |
| Amy! | Laura Mulvey, Peter Wollen | | United Kingdom | |
| Duplicity III | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Duplicity cycle |
| Germany, Pale Mother | Helma Sanders-Brahms | Eva Mattes, Ernst Jacobi, Elisabeth Stepanek | West Germany | |
| Lucifer Rising | Kenneth Anger | | United States | |
| Made Manifest | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Other | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Roman Numeral: IV | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Roman Numeral Series (also called the "Romans") |
| Roman Numeral: V | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Roman Numeral Series (also called the "Romans") |
| Roman Numeral: VI | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Roman Numeral Series (also called the "Romans") |
| Roman Numeral: VII | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Roman Numeral Series (also called the "Romans") |
| Salome | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Sincerity V | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Sincerity cycle |
| 1981 |||||
| Aftermath | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Arabic Numeral Series 1 | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") |
| Arabic Numeral Series 2 | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") |
| Arabic Numeral Series 3 | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") |
| Arabic Numeral Series 4 | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") |
| Arabic Numeral Series 5 | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") |
| Arabic Numeral Series 6 | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") |
| Arabic Numeral Series 7 | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") |
| Arabic Numeral Series 8 | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") |
| Arabic Numeral Series 9 | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") |
| Arabic Numeral Series 0 + 10 | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") |
| Arabic Numeral Series 11 | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") |
| Arabic Numeral Series 12 | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") |
| Arabic Numeral Series 13 | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") |
| The Garden of Earthly Delights | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Murder Psalm | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| No Mercy, No Future | Helma Sanders-Brahms | Elisabeth Stepanek, Jorge Reis, Curt Curtini | West Germany | |
| Nodes | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Le Pont du Nord | Jacques Rivette | Bulle Ogier, Pascale Ogier, Pierre Clémenti | France | |
| Possession | Andrzej Żuławski | Isabelle Adjani, Sam Neill, Heinz Bennent | France West Germany | |
| Roman Numeral: VIII | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Roman Numeral Series (also called the "Romans") |
| Roman Numeral: IX | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Roman Numeral Series (also called the "Romans") |
| RR | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Stonebridge Park | Patrick Keiller | | United Kingdom | |
| T.G.: Psychic Rally in Heaven | Derek Jarman | | United Kingdom | Short |
| Tango | Zbigniew Rybczyński | | Poland | |
| Unconscious London Strata | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| 1982 |||||
| The Angel | Patrick Bokanowski | Maurice Baquet, Jean-Marie Bon, Martine Couture | France | |
| Arabic Numeral Series 14 | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") |
| Arabic Numeral Series 15 | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") |
| Arabic Numeral Series 16 | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") |
| Arabic Numeral Series 17 | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") |
| Arabic Numeral Series 18 | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") |
| Arabic Numeral Series 19 | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of Arabic Numeral Series (also called the "Arabics") |
| The Atomic Café | Jayne Loader, Kevin Rafferty | | United States | |
| Baby Doll | Tessa Hughes-Freeland | | United States | |
| Chronopolis | Piotr Kamler | | Poland | |
| Dimension of Dialogue | Jan Švankmajer | | Czechoslovakia | |
| The Draughtsman's Contract | Peter Greenaway | | United Kingdom | |
| Hours for Jerome | Nathaniel Dorsky | | United States | |
| In Order to Pass | Chris Kraus | | United States | |
| Macbeth | Béla Tarr | György Cserhalmi, Erzsébet Kútvölgyi, Ferenc Bencze, Imre Csuja, János Derzsi, István Dégi, Attila Kaszás, Gyula Maár, Đoko Rosić, János Ács, Lajos Őze | Hungary | Drama |
| Koyaanisqatsi | Godfrey Reggio | | United States | |
| Liquid Sky | Slava Tsukerman | Anne Carlisle, Paula E. Sheppard, Susan Doukas | United States | Sci-Fi |
| Personal Cuts | Sanja Iveković | | Yugoslavia | |
| Pictures on Pink Paper | Lis Rhodes | | United Kingdom | |
| Shift | Toshio Matsumoto | | Japan | |
| Three Crowns of the Sailor | Raúl Ruiz | Jean-Bernard Guillard, Philippe Deplanche, Jean Badin | France | |
| 1983 |||||
| La Belle captive | Alain Robbe-Grillet | Daniel Mesguich, Gabrielle Lazure, Cyrielle Claire | France | |
| City of Lost Souls | Rosa von Praunheim | | West Germany | |
| Cosey Fanni Tutti | Doobie Eylath | Cosey Fanni Tutti | United Kingdom | |
| Diary | David Perlov | | Israel | TV series |
| Efpsychi | Robert Beavers | | United States | 20 mins, Color |
| First Name: Carmen | Jean-Luc Godard | Maruschka Detmers, Jacques Bonnaffé, Myriem Roussel | France Switzerland | |
| Freeze Frame | Peter Tscherkassky | | Austria | |
| Hell Spit Flexion | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of The Dante Quartet |
| Messages | Guy Sherwiin | | United Kingdom | |
| No End | Sanja Iveković, Dalibor Martinis | | Yugoslavia | |
| Norwood | Patrick Keiller | | United Kingdom | |
| Pneuma | Nathaniel Dorsky | | United States | |
| Sans soleil | Chris Marker | Florence Delay | France | |
| Sweet Bunch | Nikos Nikolaidis | Despina Tomazani, Dora Maskalvanou, Takis Moschos | Greece | |
| Syntagma | Valie Export | Irmilin Hoffer | Austria | |
| Videodrome | David Cronenberg | James Woods, Debbie Harry | USA | |
| 1984 |||||
| Blue Monday | The Duvet Brothers | | United Kingdom | |
| The Cabinet of Jan Švankmajer | Stephen Quay, Timothy Quay | | United Kingdom | |
| Egyptian Series | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| The Future of Emily | Helma Sanders-Brahms | Brigitte Fossey, Camille Raymond, Hermann Treusch | West Germany | |
| The Green Witch and Merry Diana | Grayson Perry | | United Kingdom | |
| Ian Breakwell's Continuous Diary | Ian Breakwell | | United Kingdom | TV series |
| Klassenverhältnisse | Straub-Huillet | Christian Heinisch, Mario Adorf, Nazzareno Bianconi | West Germany France | Drama |
| Shut the Fuck Up | General Idea | | Canada | |
| Tortured Dust Part I | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Tortured Dust Part II | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Tortured Dust Part III | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Tortured Dust Part IV | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| 1985 |||||
| 2084 | Chris Marker | | France | |
| The Angelic Conversation | Derek Jarman | Judi Dench, Paul Reynolds, Philip Williamson | United Kingdom | |
| The Epic of Gilgamesh | Stephen Quay, Timothy Quay | | United Kingdom | |
| Les Favoris de la Lune | Otar Iosseliani | Pascal Aubier, Alix de Montaigu, Gaspard Flori | France Italy | |
| Hail Mary | Jean-Luc Godard | Myriem Roussel, Thierry Rode, Philippe Lacoste | France United Kingdom Switzerland | |
| Jane | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| The Monument of Sacrifice and Orgy | Ana Nuša Dragan, Srečo Dragan | | Yugoslavia | |
| The Practice of Love | Valie Export | Adelheid Arndt, Hagnot Elischka, Rüdiger Vogler | Austria | |
| The Right Side of My Brain | Richard Kern, Lydia Lunch | | United States | |
| Super-8 Girl Games | Ursula Pürrer, Hans A. Scheirl | | Austria | |
| Where Evil Dwells | Tommy Turner, David Wojnarowicz | | United States | |
| Wingseed | Robert Beavers | | United States | 15 mins, Color |
| A Zed & Two Noughts | Peter Greenaway | Andréa Ferréol, Brian Deacon, Eric Deacon | Netherlands United Kingdom | |
| 1986 |||||
| The Aerodyne | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of the "Caswallon Trilogy" |
| Caravaggio | Derek Jarman | Sean Bean, Tilda Swinton, Nigel Terry | United Kingdom | |
| Confession | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Dance Shadows by Danielle Helander | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of the "Caswallon Trilogy" |
| The End | Patrick Keiller | | United Kingdom | |
| The Family Album | Alan Berliner | | United States | |
| Fingered | Richard Kern, Lydia Lunch | | United States | |
| Fireloop | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of the "Caswallon Trilogy" |
| Foolproof Illusion | Chris Kraus | | United States | |
| Handsworth Songs | Black Audio Film Collective | | United Kingdom | |
| Kelimba | Peter Tscherkassky | | Austria | |
| The Loom | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of the "Caswallon Trilogy" |
| Mommy, Mommy, Where's My Brain? | Jon Moritsugu | | United States | |
| Nidhiyude Katha | Vijayakrishnan | | India | |
| Night Music | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of the "Three Handed-Painted Films" |
| Street of Crocodiles | Stephen Quay, Timothy Quay | | United Kingdom | |
| Thames Film | William Raban | John Hurt | United Kingdom | |
| Toutes les femmes est Jeanne d'Arc | Suzanne Lemaître | | France | |
| 1987 |||||
| 17 Reasons Why | Nathaniel Dorsky | | United States | |
| Alaya | Nathaniel Dorsky | | United States | |
| All Our Secrets are Contained in an Image | Breda Beban, Hrvoje Horvatić | | Yugoslavia | |
| The Black Tower | John Smith | | United Kingdom | |
| Cruel Illness of Men | Igor Aleinikov | | Soviet Union | |
| The Cure for Insomnia | John Henry Timmis IV | | United States | |
| The Dante Quartet | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of The Dante Quartet |
| The Deadman | Peggy Ahwesh, Keith Sanborn | | United States | |
| Dream | Dmitrii Frolov | | Soviet Union | |
| Faustfilm: An Opera: Part I | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of the Faustfilm Project |
| From the Archives of Modern Art | Eleanor Antin | | United States | |
| How to Shoot a Crime | Chris Kraus, Sylvère Lotringer | | United States | |
| Kindgering | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| The Last of England | Derek Jarman | Tilda Swinton, Spencer Leigh, Spring (Mark Adley) | United Kingdom | |
| Loud Visual Noises | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Morning Patrol | Nikos Nikolaidis | Michele Valley, Takis Spiridakis, Liana Hatzi | Greece | |
| The Revolutionary Sketch | Gleb Aleinikov, Igor Aleinikov | | Soviet Union | |
| Traktora | Gleb Aleinikov, Igor Aleinikov | | Soviet Union | |
| 1988 |||||
| Alice | Jan Švankmajer | Kristina Kohoutova | Switzerland Czechoslovakia | |
| Degrees of Blindness | Cerith Wyn Evans | | United Kingdom | |
| Faust 3: Candida Albacore | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of the Faustfilm Project |
| Faust's Other: An Idyll | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of the Faustfilm Project |
| I... Dreaming | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| The Limits of Vision | Clio Barnard | | United Kingdom | |
| Marilyn's Window | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Matins | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Measures of Distance | Mona Hatoun | | United Kingdom | |
| Powaqqatsi | Godfrey Reggio | | United States | |
| Rage Net | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of the Three Hand-Painted Films |
| Virile Games | Jan Švankmajer | | Czechoslovakia | |
| 1989 |||||
| Babylon Series #1 | Stan Brakhage | | United States | |
| Begotten | E. Elias Merhige | Brian Salzberg, Donna Dempsey, Stephen Charles Barry | United States | Experimental horror |
| Clownery | Dmitrii Frolov | Dmitri Shibanov, Dmitri Frolov, Natalya Sourkova, Alexey Zaharov, Viktoriya Zlotnikova, Mark Nahamkin, Yevgeniy Suhonenkov, Alexey Frolov, Alexandr Kostin, Yakov Shmayev, Vyacheslav Gridin | Soviet Union | |
| The Clouds | Patrick Keiller | | United Kingdom | |
| Ecce Homo | Jerry Tartaglia | | United States | |
| Faust 4 | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of the Faustfilm Project |
| Looking for Langston | Isaac Julien | | United Kingdom | |
| Marquis | Henri Xhonneux | Francois Marthouret, Valerie Kling, Michel Robin | Belgium France | |
| Santa Sangre | Alejandro Jodorowsky | Axel Jodorowsky, Blanca Guerra, Sabrina Dennison | Italy Mexico | |
| Tabula Rasa | Peter Tscherkassky | | Austria | |
| Tetsuo: The Iron Man | Shinya Tsukamoto | Tomoroh Taguchi, Kei Fujiwara, Shinya Tsukamoto | Japan | |
| Visions in Meditation #1 | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of the Visions in Meditation Cycle |
| Visions in Meditation #2: Mesa Verde | Stan Brakhage | | United States | Part of the Visions in Meditation Cycle |
| The Window | Julius Ziz | | Soviet Union | |