As is common with the Seattle market, a number of independent or otherwise less-marketable studio releases are coming to the Emerald City over the course of the next few months. As the days get colder and darker, prepare for a number of films that won’t be viewed by the common filmgoer. Consider them special treats for the mind and soul.

Unless otherwise noted, all of the following films are receiving limited national releases or exclusive releases in Seattle.

What: Where the Wild Things Are

Who: Spike Jonze

When: Oct. 7 (one day only)

Where: Northwest Film Forum

Based on the beloved children’s story by Maurice Sendak, Wild Things centers on young Max, who gets sent to bed without dinner and dreams up a massive forest inhabited by wild creatures. Early reviews have been glowing, although reports from test screenings mention children running out of the theater crying. The film is scheduled for a wide national release on Oct. 16, but the Northwest Film Forum is holding a special early screening for one day to benefit 826 Seattle, a writing center for students. Screenwriter Dave Eggers and star Max Records will be in attendance.

What: Still Walking

Who: Hirokazu Koreeda

When: Oct. 9

Where: Landmark Varsity

Warmly received at the Toronto, Tribeca, and San Francisco International Film Festivals, this film is drawing positive comparisons with the 1953 Yasujiro Ozu masterpiece, Tokyo Story. A tragedy fell upon the Yokoyama family 15 years ago. Now, they are reconvening on the anniversary of the death of their youngest son. Over the course of 24 hours, the dynamics and affections of a brooding family will be explored in both touching and humorous ways.

What: Five Minutes of Heaven

Who: Oliver Hirschbiegel, starring Liam Neeson and James Nesbitt

When: Oct. 16

Where: Landmark Varsity

Inspired by true events. In 1975, Alistar Little murdered Jim Griffin. Thirty years later, Little is given the chance to meet Griffin’s brother, Joe. who witnessed the murder years before. The plan is to broadcast the reconciliation of Irish nationalists and the victims of their crimes. But will the two men shake hands peacefully, or will Joe Griffin avenge his brother’s death live on television? From the director of the Academy Award-nominated film Downfall.

What: Amelia

Who: Mira Nair, starring Hilary Swank, Richard Gere, and Ewan McGregor

When: Oct. 23

Where: Wide

The director of the modern classic Monsoon Wedding brings the life of famous aviatrix Amelia Earhart (Swank) to the screen. Earhart disappeared over the Pacific Ocean in 1947 while making a historic flight around the world. The Oscar buzz is deafening with prospects for a third acting nomination for Swank and a directing nomination for Nair. Gere co-stars as her husband George Putnam.

What: The Headless Woman

Who: Lucrecia Martel

When: Oct. 23 – 29

Where: Northwest Film Forum

The most recent film from the acclaimed Argentinean director Lucrecia Martel, The Headless Woman follows an upper-class dentist named Verónica who is racing through the streets in a luxurious car when she thinks she hits something — a dog, a child in the street, or nothing at all? Following Veronica’s footsteps as she careens through Argentina wracked by confusion and guilt, the film offers a glimpse into the deep rift that separates the country’s social and economic classes.

What: Antichrist

Who: Lars von Trier, starring Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg

When: Oct. 30

Where: Landmark Harvard Exit

The most talked-about picture at the Cannes Film Festival, leaving audiences both disturbed and wildly polarized, Antichrist is sure to cause an even greater stir when it opens for the public. Dafoe and Gainsbourg play a couple that retreats to “Eden,” a secluded cabin deep within the woods, to escape the grief of a past tragedy and to mend their ailing marriage. It isn’t long, however, before the events take an unsettling turn for the horrific. Gainsbourg won an award for best actress at Cannes for her performance.

What: Beeswax

Who: Andrew Bujalski

When: Oct. 30 – Nov. 5

Where: Northwest Film Forum

Jeannie co-owns a clothing store with a woman who is threatening to sue her. Turning to her sister’s ex-boyfriend for help, Jeannie finds herself getting pulled into the confusing dynamics of love and relationships. Bujalski is a truly independent director, and one of the propagators of the super low-key “mumblecore” movement. Films labeled as such typically involve nonprofessional actors and extremely small budgets. Regardless, Beeswax has become a favorite of critics and audiences alike for its purity of expression and mature themes.

What: Up in the Air

Who: Jason Reitman, starring George Clooney and Anna Kendrick

When: Nov. 13

Where: TBA

From the director of Juno and Thank You for Smoking. Clooney stars as Ryan Bingham, who works as a corporate-downsizing expert and goes for almost a year at a time without returning home to his empty apartment But his life of travel may be about to change when he is on the verge of reaching ten million frequent flyer miles, after he meets the woman of his dreams. The film has generated a tremendous amount of Oscar hype for both its cast and its director.

What: Precious

Who: Lee Daniels

When: Nov. 20

Where: Wide

The gem of the Sundance Film Festival, and the winner of the Sundance Grand Jury Prize as well as the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival, Precious is based on the novel Push by Sapphire. It chronicles the story of an illiterate Harlem teen who is pregnant with her second child. Although her life seems to be going nowhere, she gets a chance to turn her life around when she is invited to enroll in an alternative school. Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry both signed on as executive producers after seeing the film.

What: The Road

Who: John Hillcoat, starring Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee

When: Nov. 25

Where: Wide

Based off of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Cormac McCarthy, this adaptation is being brought to the screen by the director of the brilliant western The Proposition (2005). As readers of the novel are sure to explain, the unrelentingly dark story follows the dismal lives of a father and his son (Mortensen and Smit-McPhee) as they journey through a post-apocalyptic America, trying to survive with a shred of human decency as the last remnants of humanity fade away.

What: Brothers

Who: Jim Sheridan, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, and Tobey Maguire

When: Dec. 4

Where: Wide

When her husband Sam, a decorated Marine, goes MIA in Iraq and is presumed dead, Grace Cahill turns to his younger brother Tommy, just released from jail, for comfort and assistance in raising their two young children. Slowly, Grace and Tommy develop an intimate relationship. But things get complicated when Sam returns home deeply scarred and mentally unhinged. A remake of the Danish film Brødre by Susanne Bier, MGM is hanging much of its Oscar hopes for the current year on this film.

What: Invictus

Who: Clint Eastwood, starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon

When: Dec. 11

Where: TBA

Recently-elected South African President Nelson Mandela (Freeman) is looking to end the social, economic, and racial divides that have split the country in the wake of apartheid. Hoping to bring the country together through the language of sport, he unites the nation’s rugby team with the hopes of getting to the 1995 World Cup Championship Match. Ever since 2003’s Mystic River, Eastwood has been garnering Oscar bets. Expect nods for acting, directing, and possibly even Best Picture.

What: The Lovely Bones

Who: Peter Jackson, starring Rachel Weisz and Mark Wahlberg

When: Dec. 11

Where: Wide

Among the most eagerly anticipated literary adaptations in years, Alice Sebold’s modern classic arrives on the screen just in time for awards season. Susie Salmon finds herself in a fantastical if not vacuous Heaven after being murdered. She spends her time watching over both her family and her killer. Soon, her father (Wahlberg) begins to suspect a local man, and Susie must watch helplessly as those she loves are put in grave danger.