20 Best Films Of 2017 (So Far)

12. Burning Sands

Burning Sands is far from the most mainstream movie released so far this year, and it didn't receive anything like the attention some of the others on this list will have, but it is no worse for it.

It should have gained more attention for being the next film Trevante Rhodes made after Moonlight, if marketeers were looking for an accessible means to sell the film. But it deserves attention on its own merits, and hopefully the Netflix streaming deal means it will find an audience.

The story isn't particularly world-changing (as Moonlight felt), but it works thanks to effective story-telling and excellent performances and the horrifying message at its core. If 2016 and '17 are considered important years for socially conscious movies, Burning Sands deserves to be considered among the best of the sub-genre.