Movies like The Dust of Light (2024)
The best movies like The Dust of Light (2024) are Reading Lolita in Tehran (2024), The Making of Star Wars (1977) and Appropriate Behavior (2015). If The Dust of Light hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedCasablanca (1943)8.1/10 from 6,330 votes
- NewestS4: The Bob Lazar Story (2026)Released 2026
Reading Lolita in Tehran (2024)
In 1979, amidst censorship and religious extremism, a revolutionary literature professor in Tehran gathers seven of her most dedicated female students to immerse themselves in banned literary classics.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Making of Star Wars (1977)
Learn the incredible behind-the-scenes story of how the original Star Wars movie was brought to the big screen in this fascinating documentary hosted by C-3PO and R2-D2 which includes interviews with George Lucas and appearances by Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAppropriate Behavior (2015)
Shirin is struggling to become an ideal Persian daughter, politically correct bisexual and hip young Brooklynite but fails miserably in her attempt at all identities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCircumstance (2011)
A wealthy Iranian family struggles to contain a teenager's growing sexual rebellion and her brother's newfound conservatism.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th (2013)
Taking inspiration from Peter M. Bracke's definitive book of the same name, this seven-hour documentary dives into the making of all twelve Friday the 13th films, with all-new interviews from the cast and the crew.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLouis Theroux: Twilight of the Porn Stars (2012)
In 1997, Louis Theroux made a documentary about the world of male porn performers in Los Angeles. 15 years later, he returns to find a business struggling with the deluge of free porn on the internet. Louis revisits some of the original programme's contributors as well as meeting the latest crop of porn performers dreaming of porn stardom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Director and the Jedi (2018)
An intimate documentary delving into Rian Johnson's process as he comes in as a director new to the Star Wars universe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)
Lifelong platonic friends Zack and Miri look to solve their respective cash-flow problems by making an adult film together. As the cameras roll, however, the duo begin to sense that they may have more feelings for each other than they previously thought.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTaxi (2015)
A yellow cab is driving through the vibrant and colourful streets of Tehran. Very diverse passengers enter the taxi, each candidly expressing their views while being interviewed by the driver who is no one else but the director Jafar Panahi himself. His camera placed on the dashboard of his mobile film studio captures the spirit of Iranian society through this comedic and dramatic drive…
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Favourite Cake (2024)
Mahin lives alone in Tehran since her husband’s death and her daughter’s departure for Europe, until an afternoon tea with friends leads her to break her solitary routine and revitalize her love life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHasan Minhaj: The King's Jester (2022)
Filmed at the historic Brooklyn Academy of Music, Hasan Minhaj returns to Netflix with his second stand-up comedy special Hasan Minhaj: The King's Jester. In this hilarious performance, Hasan shares his thoughts on fertility, fatherhood, and freedom of speech.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEndless Love (2014)
A privileged girl and a charismatic boy's instant desire sparks a love affair made only more reckless by parents trying to keep them apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCasablanca (1943)
In Casablanca, Morocco in December 1941, a cynical American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisClose-Up (1990)
This fiction-documentary hybrid uses a sensational real-life event—the arrest of a young man on charges that he fraudulently impersonated the well-known filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf—as the basis for a stunning, multilayered investigation into movies, identity, artistic creation, and existence, in which the real people from the case play themselves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisS4: The Bob Lazar Story (2026)
Over 35 years after Bob Lazar's revelations, this documentary exposes secrets of a facility the government still denies. Featuring Lazar's testimony, recreations, and new evidence, it reopens a case that continues to spark global curiosity
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThey Won't Believe Me (1947)
On trial for murdering his girlfriend, philandering stockbroker Larry Ballentine takes the stand to claim his innocence and describe the actual, but improbable sounding, sequence of events that led to her death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible (2021)
In 2019, Nepalese mountain climber Nirmal “Nims” Purja set out to do the unthinkable by climbing the world’s fourteen highest summits in less than seven months. (The previous record was eight years). He called the effort “Project Possible 14/7” and saw it as a way to inspire others to strive for greater heights in any pursuit. The film follows his team as they seek to defy naysayers and push the limits of human endurance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLove in the Sun (2019)
When successful dating app creator Alana hesitantly gets engaged, she returns to her hometown in Florida to deliver the news to her dad. Upon returning home, she crosses paths with her former flame, Kai, and finds herself falling in love with the fun and adventurous lifestyle tied to her community. As Alana and Kai work together to help her dad restore his declining property, Alana finds herself conflicted as to whether or not her current way of living makes her happier than the home and community that she always knew and loved.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Report (2019)
The story of Daniel Jones, lead investigator for the US Senate’s sweeping study into the CIA's Detention and Interrogation Program, which was found to be brutal, immoral and ineffective. With the truth at stake, Jones battled tirelessly to make public what many in power sought to keep hidden.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNot Without My Daughter (1991)
An American woman, trapped in Islamic Iran by her brutish husband, must find a way to escape with her daughter as well.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like The Dust of Light and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Dust of Light?
The closest matches to The Dust of Light are Reading Lolita in Tehran (2024), The Making of Star Wars (1977) and Appropriate Behavior (2015). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Dust of Light?
Start with Reading Lolita in Tehran (2024), the closest match to The Dust of Light.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Dust of Light?
Casablanca (1943), rated 8.1/10 by 6,330 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Dust of Light?
S4: The Bob Lazar Story (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to The Dust of Light chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Dust of Light, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.