Nick’s existential pondering is interrupted by the arrival of his girlfriend’s new intern and muse. Samuel Centore directs “Tyler Works at the Gas Station,” a stylish dry comedy about a family unit of cultured young creatives which places its sharply drawn characters in an appealing fashion magazine aesthetic, complete with beautiful clothing, haircuts, and living spaces. In a series of vignettes, we hover over the recent struggles of Nick and his relationship with Nika, an artist preparing for her first gallery show. Tensions flare when Tyler arrives on the scene and becomes Nika’s intern, muse and lover. Though the soft-spoken Nick says he’s okay with the polyamorous arrangement, it starts to wear on him, exacerbated by the fact that he’s frustrated with his position and reputation in the family (“you guys don’t trust me enough to be a professional creative, I don’t understand?”). Nika suggests maybe he get a straight job like the others (as per the film’s title, Tyler works at the gas station), but he’s more at home in the high-minded realm, like discussing Earth Art with his other roommate Cameron. Centore’s film is effortlessly witty and fashionable while tackling the age old conundrums of art vs money, creative freedom vs reality, open-mindedness vs jealously.
An L.A. actress invites her filmmaker friend to a Palm Springs getaway from quarantine, a supposedly restorative trip that turns frustrating. “Kate, Unhinged,” directed by Kailee McGee, is a meta deconstruction on acting and friendship which follows the maneuvering of a well-positioned creative t...
A poetic meditation on women's work and the dream life of ants, set to the words of Toni Morrison. Directed by Stefani Saintonge, “Fucked Like a Star” is a lovely translation and a profound rumination on the natural world. Told in four parts, the film is rendered with all the complexity of the so...