Dynamic Watchlist Hub: May 09, 2026

10 Best Movies Like When I Was 12

If you loved When I Was 12, we've curated the perfect watchlist for you based on shared genres, themes, and directorial style.

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Expert Review & Ratings

See our full critical analysis and audience score for When I Was 12.

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#1
Hellion

Hellion

2014★ 5.9

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to When I Was 12 for fans of Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

When motocross and heavy metal obsessed, 13-year-old Jacob's delinquent behavior forces CPS to place his little brother Wes with his aunt, Jacob and his emotionally absent father m...

#2
Mammal

Mammal

2016★ 6.2

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to When I Was 12 for fans of Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

After Margaret, a divorcée living in Dublin, loses her teenage son, she develops an unorthodox relationship with Joe, a homeless youth. Their tentative trust is threatened by his i...

#3
Imperial Dreams

Imperial Dreams

2014★ 6.6

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to When I Was 12 for fans of Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

A 21-year-old reformed gangster's devotion to his family and his future is put to the test when he is released from prison and returns to his old stomping grounds in Watts, Los Ang...

#4
Rocks

Rocks

2019★ 6.6

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to When I Was 12 for fans of Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

15-year-old Rocks fears that she and her little brother Emmanuel will be taken into care and forced apart if anyone finds out that their mother has left them. Against all odds, and...

#5
Lady Driver

Lady Driver

2020★ 6.4

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to When I Was 12 for fans of Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

When a rebellious teen embarks on a solo summer journey to connect with her roots, she finds herself in a new world, geared up for the ride of her life, and discovers she had the d...

#6
Babylon

Babylon

1980★ 7.0

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to When I Was 12 for fans of Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

Drama telling the story of Blue, a young man of Jamaican descent living in Brixton in 1980, as he hangs out with his friends, fronts a dub sound system, loses his job, struggles wi...

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