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...

Cast off by society, a former fast food worker seeks justice for himself and other men through the teachings of a self help leader. “Moth Music,” directed by Ciaran Davis-McGregor, operates within modes of repulsion, distortion, and self-hate, with wafts of pitch black humor and touches of absurd...

Inseparable sisters, Henriette and Anais, find their relationship being torn apart under mysterious circumstances. “Perfect as Cats,” directed by Kevin Vu, is an atmospheric drama that moves in dreamy ripples, crafted with stylish visuals, costuming and production design. At an austere boarding s...

Two con women in a romantic relationship take a man prisoner in his own home. “Bandits,” directed by Natalie Fält, is a stylish pulp crime drama, a darkly poetic noir about dissociation and twin flames. After kidnapping and robbing a man, two lovers - Sweetie and Rose - keep him captive in his be...

After witnessing a violent beating on the boardwalk, a 12-year-old boy starts to feel his sleepy coastal town closing in around him. “Sparrow,” directed by Boris Krichevsky and Nikita Zarkh, is a quietly arresting character study rendered with striking images of desolate seaside locales. The boy,...

When three friends take a road trip to an idyllic forest and drop acid, one is lured into a mystic web of hallucination and nightmare. Jimmy Joe Roche directs “Skin of Man,” an experimental horror film that creates vivid textures with avant-garde technique. The black and white film is free of dia...

In a future where women are dying rapidly, a female psychologist counsels orphaned children to find answers. A stunningly achieved dystopian tale directed by Blake Salzman, “Midwife” is notable for its melding of genre and art-house sensibilities, and a powerful lead performance by Jules Willcox ...

Alex’s upscale co-workers think she’s going on a beach vacation. Instead, she descends into New York City in search of the vile. From director William Welles comes this pitch black comedy or tragedy (depending on your squeamishness) about perversity and compulsion. Her motivations aren’t spelled ...

Two gay men struggle with depression in a ruined environment, and a botanical glassblower mourns his wife. “Flora Borealis,” directed by Casey Friedman, is a striking animated film that uses a post-apocalyptic setting to explore themes of destruction and perseverance. The young couple survives in...

A woman attempts to re-caulk her bathtub. “How to Re-Caulk Your Tub,” directed by Sean Pierce, is a parody of a YouTube tutorial which begins as a straight-forward instructional video and devolves into an existential freak out. The woman, played by Alex Moorman, sets out to refresh her temple of ...

The trajectories of two teenage boys on opposite sides of a death in their town and the outlets they look to for emotional stability in the aftermath. | Directed by Cole Borgstadt.

An entrepreneur pivots with the market. “Trash Scab,” directed by Philip Steiger, is a scarily plausible, bitingly funny vision of a dystopian nightmare. The circumstances have been exaggerated from our current reality but not by much: a pandemic rages on, a citywide curfew in place, police have ...

A short anthology of four loosely related vignettes in which the central characters throw away their opportunities at happiness for something even more out of reach. | Director & Editor: Rob Schmidt. Writer: Nick Funess.

Two best friends retrace their steps after a seemingly average night in hopes of locating a missing item. As their accounts diverge, an ongoing rift in their relationship is revealed. Directed by Alex Bliss. Starring Felipe Di Poi Tamargo and Will Niedmann.

A mysterious woman finds her way into a stranger’s apartment resulting in an oddly unsettling encounter. India Donaldson directs “Hannahs,” a darkly funny, increasingly uncomfortable character study led by two wonderfully nuanced performances from Amy Zimmer and Brenna Palughi. Hannah returns hom...

A satirical look into a male filmmaker's creation, and the repercussions of his narcissistic behaviors that span across four realities. “Staff Pick,” directed by Mitch deQuilettes, is a mind-bending series of vignettes on art and life, both melodramatic and deeply self-aware. A straight man in L....

The relationship between a young man and woman slowly deteriorates as they struggle to come to grips with a past decision. Directed by Christian Nolan Jones. Cast: Patrick Cage, Zoë Soul, Curtiss Cook Jr., Corey Champagne & ReGina Niccole.

While recuperating from cosmetic surgery, an actress stops in a small town expecting peace and quiet, but instead finds herself absorbed in a local legend. “Pure Immersion,” directed by Dave Biddle and Dave Ehrenreich, is a strangely engrossing tale of a young woman covered in face bandages makin...

A Loss and Prevention officer faces a difficult moral decision in Alexander Etseyatse’s “LP.” An attempted theft leads to a tense back-room stand-off in this riveting drama, placing complex characters in an agonizing dilemma. While it stays grounded as a personal account, it also raises larger qu...