letterboxd.com/director/john-sayles/

A record of the films that most influenced John Sayles. This list was published from an in depth interview Sayles did with 'The Dissolve', where he openly discussed about the films that impacted and inspired his career the most.
Sayles, born out of the modern American independent cinema movement is often underappreciated, his interesting and extensive filmography tackles themes of political and social injustices and reflection, through a humanistic conscience.
His work mind like many others. . . defies categorisation.

Beyond the top 12 films listed here are the additional films Sayles picked from the Criterion closest and his top 10 list curated for Empire in 2008.

The article in which John Sayles discuses 12 films that most influenced him can be found here:
thedissolve.com/features/5-10-15-20/261-john-sayles-on-the-12-films-that-most-influenced-h/?page=all