A western novelist makes a noise complaint to his neighbors before getting sucked into their strange orbit. “A Man’s World,” directed by Jens Josephs, is a loopy, rapid-fire comedy wherein a man enters a rabbit hole and struggles to find his way out. After the cowboy-hat-wearing writer slides a n...

Quarantining lovers are forced to face a new reality. “Beautiful!”, made by and starring Liv Layhee and Caydon LiRocchi, is an intimate snapshot of a young couple dealing with the possibility of pregnancy. Shot on VHS, the film captures the real-life couple (and filmmaking team) through an emotio...

Sacha gallops around Florida and gets his heart crushed by an older female. Harleigh Shaw directs “The Day that Sherrie Stopped,” a 3D animated film that’s both dreamy and somber, its surreal visual landscapes filled with color and youthful energy. After getting popsicles in the park with his fri...

In a moment of tense negotiation, Joyce and Mims haggle over a vintage Hank Aaron baseball card inside a sweltering pizzeria. “Card Shark,” directed by Alex Fabry, is an oddball comedy vignette about a should-be simple exchange turning into a strange encounter. Mims arranges a meet-up at his usua...

A teenager confronts her best friend who has a closer relationship to her mom than her, threatening the ties that hold them all together. Chaconne Martin-Berkowicz directs “In Sync,” a coming-of-age drama built with specificity and detail that explores the simmering tensions embedded in an unusua...

On a remote mountaintop in Vermont, a charismatic hippie makes his living selling novelty toasters. “Burnt Toast,” directed by Timothy Racca Morrish, is a documentary portrait of an unconventional online business run by a fun-loving, pot-smoking, guitar-playing, oddball. In lively anecdotes, Gale...

On a car trip, a young couple tries to maintain a fragile relationship. Jake Kolton directs “Bruised Fruit Tastes Sweeter,” a quiet drama that unfolds in waves of unresolved feelings and built-up tensions. After speaking with his mother, Miguel feels stressed out about the upcoming Christmas holi...

A stay-at-home mom experiences an unexpected upheaval during her daily routine. This Super 16mm short is about the other side of motherhood, beyond the joys. Directed by Jake Kolton. Written by Jake Kolton, Audrey Findlay. Starring Mascha Mareen.

A woman momentarily evades her discontent by adopting a stranger's identity. A stunning slow burn character portrait built around a masterful performance and sumptuous Super 16mm images. Directed by Jake Kolton. Written by Audrey Findlay, Jake Kolton. Starring Mascha Mareen.

Two strangers meet by chance and form a romantic connection. Julissa Yasmeen Ramirez directs “Future Memory,” an experimental short (just over 1 minute long), shot on Super 8mm filmed primarily in close-ups of hands. Under a pressing electronic score, the young couple moves through New York City ...

An ode to teen friendship told through a series of loose vignettes exploring the moods and personalities of a group of friends in Brooklyn, NY. “Salt Mom,” directed by Sam Kahrar, is a hybrid documentary filled with moments of casual intimacy, specificity and humor. We watch as the kids read each...

Two Amish teens embark on a rite of passage as they discuss sex, self-discovery, and the taste of cigarettes.”Rumspringa,” directed by Kristina Arjona, takes place entirely in the back of a box truck and finds Amity and Fanny experimenting with new language and behaviors that contrast their Amish...

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 the fr...

Lessa and Cass are young lovers in a small town who dream of moving to Florida in this impressionistic portrait directed by Monica Lek. “And She Hisses” is a pulsating snapshot of the beauty and recklessness of young love, a fantasy that could last forever or be gone tomorrow. Cass gets a job at ...

Davey needs to win the high school QuizJam to help pay for his girlfriend Lex’s abortion. Habitually oblivious but generally well meaning, he's only a few answers away from the $125 they need. “Más Bowls,” directed by Max Tullio, is a well-drawn coming-of-age drama carried by its subtly affecting...

A poetic essay film portraying Baltimore in a moment of reckoning, shown uniquely through humble observations and personal recollections. “Diary,” directed by Gillian Waldo, tracks the summer of 2020 with its nationwide cataclysms revolving around Covid-19 and police brutality. The film is presen...

In order to finally be seen, a forlorn teenager takes the biggest action of her life: auditioning to be church cantor at her Christian high school. Kate McCarthy directs “Look, Mira,” a coming-of-age comedy delivered with colorful verve, a sweet-natured take on not fitting in. Overly sensitive fr...

A L.A. couple takes a shortcut down a steep staircase while playing a question-and-answer exercise designed to rekindle intimacy. “Hellmouth,” directed by Gus Reed, is a dramatic vignette that’s vaguely unsettling, almost dream-like in tone, and shouldered by performances from Rhian Rees and Shan...

A depressed writer in L.A. tries to find her way through the grieving process while her estranged brother returns home after a three year absence. “Pasadena,” the directorial debut feature from Gaston Stabiszewski, is a patiently observed character study about two siblings stuck in extreme patter...

Celeste and Aurora have lived together for awhile but sometimes their friendship finds them bickering over mundane issues. “Dye Red,” directed by Vittoria Campaner, is a character study filled with vivid color and atmosphere, presented in vignettes that flow into one another with hidden cuts. The...

When Sandy and Mitra get into trouble, they come to their friend Alyssa for help. “Alyssa Learns to Drive,” written by and starring Sandy Honig, Mitra Jouhari, and Alyssa Stonoha, is an ingeniously silly sketch that cycles through a smorgasbord of random accents, absurd phrasings, botched languag...

A mechanic in a small midwestern town would do anything to leave her boring life but she can’t seem to break free. Tipper Newton directs and stars in “The Dangerous Type,” an entertaining throwback to 80’s (and before) tropes that renders its snappy banter and B-movie characterizations with style...