After falling down a YouTube fitness rabbit hole, a woman dives deep into a new obsession. Marissa Losoya’s “Beyond Failure” is a comedic docu-fictional study of a spontaneous foray into sculpting a new ass. What starts as a simple online search for stretches to fix her lower back becomes an all-...

A man with shit for brains struggles to cope with his strange condition. “SHITHEAD”  directed by Riley Donigan, follows a young man on the brink of physical and psychological implosion. The opening sequence aptly foreshadows the portrait ahead. A log floats in the toilet while we overhear a phone...

A young man, on-edge, tries cycling as a way to make friends. Noah Kentis directs “Pedestrian,” an expressionistic character study of a highly volatile call center employee. Working at United Auto Loan Trust, Kehlani gets aggressive on phone calls with people short on cash. A coworker tells Kehla...

A renowned novelist is stuck in a rut when he runs into an old flame at a bookstore. “The Flavor of Cassava Leaf Over Rice,” directed by Tracey Todd, is an animated drama about a rainy weekend in L.A. where a trio of characters reflect on their lives as they begin to move into middle age. Married...

Two tortured men spend the day taking care of one another. Michael Rees’ “Guzzle Buddies” features a charismatic Lewis Pullman and Kyle Chase in a darkly comedic examination of male friendship and deep-seated crisis. Lewis comes home to find his roommate, Kyle, in the middle of an existential pan...

A man tries to steal from his friends at game night and then things get infinitely worse. Alex Sovoda’s “Circumstantial Forgiveness” follows a frantic friend group as they erupt in outcry when the dirty laundry of two friends is laid out on the table. While the gang engages in a game of dice, Wil...

Seeking refuge from their anxieties and menial problems that haunt them at home, two girls from Miami take a last minute surfing trip to Nicaragua. In “Turn On The Bright Lights,” Juanita Umaña ruminates on the memory of a mid-20’s rendezvous. We get familiar with Missy and Layla through a young ...

Ruby has what seems like a sex dream about her best friend but can't tell if it actually happened. Allison Bunce’s “Ladies” is a 16mm drama observing female friendship and the intimate moments of a low-key bachelorette party weekend. Cheese boards and glasses of white wine spread across the kitch...

An exploration of the emotional divide between fiction and reality in the American sitcom. Philip Thompson’s “Living Reality” puts the peculiar form of sitcom into perspective when a character shows strange symptoms and signs of longing. The spoof TV-show, also called “Living Reality,” starts and...

Abandoned by the roommate she'd been expecting to live with, a young woman finds herself stuck in an apartment she can’t afford. Justin Senkbile’s 16mm slice-of-life film, “We Live Here Now,” follows a newly arrived Chicago transplant caught adrift in wintry solitude. Carolyn wheels her single lu...

A box-office clerk is forced to deal with a hot-tempered patron. David Cardoza’s “Life in the Cage” is a comedic vignette capturing a confrontation outside of a movie theater. Behind the glass, a box-office attendant reads a comic as a frantic movie-goer rushes to the window. The man, increasingl...

As the date of her first televised appearance draws near, a cello prodigy and her stage mother grapple with public expectations. Clara Mamet directs and stars in “Nell,” an enthralling dark comedy dissecting and disassembling themes of fame and physical appearance. A slow punch-in brings us into ...