A young daughter and mother spend an evening together in the wake of an emotionally painful moment. Katie Kim directs “Jenny and Jihae,” a tender vignette that’s both heavy and sweet, a film that hovers around the senses — smell, touch, taste — to build intimacy and refuge. Jenny tries to ignore the loud argument happening outside her door between her parents. When her mother comes to check on her, there’s a relief and a shift to tangible concerns — blow drying Jenny’s hair, slathering lotion across her face, addressing her growling stomach. Kim’s focus is less on exposition or overt drama, and more about internal anxiety, familial cycles, and the yearning for closeness. -KA. Writer, director: Katie Kim. Cast: Levana Wang, Hyojin Park. Director of Photography: Isabel Bethencourt. Editor: Brian Choi. Producer: Flora Jiwu Hwang. Production Design: Ben Eckersley. Music Composer: Evan Rashby. Sound Design: Jinghan Klaire Zhang. Colorist: Chriz Naing.
An ode to the present moment capturing snippets of city life and visions of escape. “Observations of the Amazing World Around Us,” directed by Lee Phillips, explores what it means to construct our lives as a series of memories. A narrator poetically aims to reject this mode of living, instead hop...
A no-name indie rock band schlepps their gear from a cramped practice space in Bushwick to a show in Manhattan. The comedy “Tired Eyes,” directed by Ryan Martin Brown, nails the plight of the broke musician, desperate to find any way forward in a city overflowing with bands with no future. The tr...
A young woman tries to embrace her sexuality while beginning to question the intimacy with her best friend. Lucy Blumenfield & Arielle Friedman direct “Countdown,” a tender snapshot that finds two friends at different stages of sexual expression. A bedroom conversation establishes Julia as th...
