This dramatic film about a determined drummer won 3 Oscars and 1 Golden Globe Award. In the beginning, nobody really believed in Damien Chazelle’s idea. But later, he shot the famous La La Land: a musical thriller that seemed to have zero future. Producers thought that viewers wouldn’t be interested in trying to understand the intricacies of a relationship between a 19-year-old drummer and the head of a jazz band.

But Chazelle decided to make a short film with one of the scenes from his future movie and it was the right decision: he won an award at the Sundance Film Festival! After that, his long-time attempts to turn Whiplash into a full-length film finally worked out. The film turned out to be a real hit and it was even on the list of 10 best films of 2014. The film ended up being way more intense than it was expected to be (after all, it’s about how new talent arises). But the story didn’t feel too sweet which often happens in films like this one. The characters were amazingly charismatic and realistic.