A filmmaker making a documentary about fossil fuel extraction is consistently subverted by an AI agent that wants to tell a generic love story. Sarah Lasley directs “Climate Control,” an absurd comedy realizing the futile feeling of trying to call attention to a crisis. We’re dropped into a diora...

An ode to the unspoken romance between cats and their humans. LaTajh Weaver directs “Companion,” a black-and-white film poem putting a peculiar bond into perspective. A young man waits for someone to come home. We listen to his train of thought, watching as he tries to occupy his lonesome mundane...

A nervous magician performs one last trick. Gordy De St. Jeor directs “A Tale of an Unimpressive Magician,” a nightmarish, monochrome sequence, all in a single location where dark fate and punishment awaits. Smashed drywall litters the floor. Dust floats into the nether. An old man shivers as he ...

On the day of a cataclysmic event, a young woman begins to act in an increasingly erratic manner. David Fu directs “Eschaton,” a dreamy, 16mm account of a young woman’s drift to another realm. Emily sits on a wooden bench in the middle of a lush, botanical garden. Her boyfriend finds her. They ha...

A nomadic musician embarks on a road trip up the pacific coast to spread his mother’s ashes. Daniel Freeman directs “Teddy, Out of Tune,” a docu-fictional portrait—part road movie, part meditation on grief—brought to life with vivid detours and musical bursts. Teddy doesn’t have (or need) much as...

A self-sabotaging scammer attempts to sell fake acting classes in Times Square. Ben Scott directs and stars in “You’ve Been Chosen,” a chaotic look at an aggravated young man steamrolling through a new business venture. Before hitting 42nd street, Frank throws on a bedazzled blazer, grabs a micro...

A man’s talent for playing a 1990’s video game makes him famous in the Los Angeles arcade community. Zac Weathers and Brooke Palmieri direct “Time Crisis,” a vivid documentary capsule of the physical arcade space following one of its most devout patrons. Recognized in the leaderboards as “E.E.,” ...

Lila’s growing relationship with Luca is threatened by self-sabotaging fears, forcing her to confront her past. “Venusia,” directed by Angela Sari, is a lovely 16mm tone poem capturing a young woman in a moment of indecision set against an idyllic French countryside and village. On a getaway to L...

An emotionally exhausted nurse revisits the comforts of childhood when she hires a babysitter to take care of her for the evening. Isabel Pask directs “Goodnight,” a weighty drama about a hospice worker looking for relief. After an intense day on the job, Daria returns to her New York City apartm...

Two best friends put their friendship to the test when they audition for the same role. Emily May Jampel directs “Clean Slate,” a dark comedy about competitiveness and resentment among two New York City actors. Joyce and Josephine shoot their self-tapes for a “Untitled LGBTQIA + GEN Z Series.” Th...

An unnamed narrator uses found footage from his childhood to construct a portrait of his father and their relationship. “Lespri,” directed by Jard Lerebours, is a poetic reflection on childhood and frayed family bonds. The narrator shares he’s turning 27 in a month—the same age of his father when...

A fragmented road trip becomes a portrait of love, loss, and memory. Antoine Pret and Elena Bonhomme direct “Cinq étapes,” a black-and-white, 16mm snapshot that connects a French road map with five steps of grieving. Monica pulls off to the side of the road. She pays her respects to a small memor...

A constable, young officer, and dysfunctional family try to get to the bottom of a murder. Jonah Bergman directs “Music for the China Doll,” an eccentric murder mystery shot entirely on broadcast television tube cameras. The dead body of Madame Charlotte Dubois lies in the middle of a living room...

An introverted girl goes clubbing alone and wishes she could be less uncomfortable. Tiger Hornby’s “Double Club,” is an atmospheric portrait, made of zero words yet still close and intimate. The anonymous woman quietly enters a club, trying to fit in with other party-goers through the fog and pul...

A young woman makes a documentary about her affair with an older filmmaker. Shae Sennett directs “The Honest Movie,” a docu-fictional satire driven by self-absorbed creatives and their snappy exchanges. Finch and her friend, Agnes, watch TikToks while talking about filmmaking pursuits. Finch fina...

After decades of collecting dust, a restored visual manifesto captures a revolutionary’s jazz-smacked, Afro-apocalyptic address to a burning world. Joel Watson’s “A Jet Black Future” is a frenetic piece of docu-fiction spawning an impassioned poet on a bright day in Brooklyn. An opening card thro...

When a young line cook hears the voices of his favorite podcasters beckoning him like sirens, the mundane becomes macabre. Ahmad Bakrin directs “Happy Ending,” an account of a young man quietly reckoning with his loneliness, precise in its dark tone and heavy atmosphere. Pete doesn’t feel too goo...

A lonely girl falls in love with a woman who is secretly trying to turn her into a CRT television. Jay Villalobos directs “Brain Rot,” a mostly silent experimental film built with lo-fi textures and fragmented storytelling. At an arcade, Jessie meets a woman and they start going out. It’s not lon...

An extremely antisocial young man reluctantly accompanies his mourning friend to the beach. “Jeffrey, Bad Day,” directed by Theo Matza, is a dark comedy shot on 16mm film featuring a tottering trio of offbeat men. Jeffrey starts his day on edge. His mother asks about his plans, already pressing t...

Fiction, reality, the private and the performed all overlap at a medical center on a routine day. Lori Felker directs “Patient,” a docu-fictional account of a training exercise for medical students. Each student is paired with an actor, also known as a "standardized patient,” who is assigned with...

A sound artist at a residency in the woods becomes increasingly paranoid after an eerie discovery and bizarre run-in with conspiracy theorists. Linda Mai Green directs “Mondegreen,” a mysterious portrait about an artist’s spiraling state of mind. Maggie attends a residency in isolation, lodged in...

A young woman recounts her most recent relationship, coming to grips with the highs, lows, and what she may have missed. Ella Gibney directs “Move with Me,” a breakup story told through seasonal vignettes and Mini DV playback. Peal records Sarah, her girlfriend, while she makes spaghetti. Sarah s...

When two best friends attempt an astrophysical internet trend, one of them must face the consequences of her new reality alone. “A Sweetness of Lapse,” directed by Bashir Aden, is an understated sci-fi drama, detouring into a ‘what if’ universe. Mina and Ava chill at the park. They listen to hous...

A security guard walks his old beat in an abandoned strip mall, contemplating his purpose in guarding the vacant property. “Portrait 001: Security Guard,” directed by Tanner D. Masseth, is an existential portrait rendering a 3D-animated subject in a dismal suburban landscape. With a distinctive a...