A young man cycles through a series of personas in a manic attempt to find himself. “Yamashiro LIVE!”, directed by Blake James Reid and Max Frumkin, is a fever dream odyssey carved from pure provocation, a melting-down outsider vision of an ineffectual shape-shifter. The man floods each of his un...
A young couple retreats to a glass house for two weeks of digital detox where they are disturbed by a lost hiker. “Earth Over Earth,” directed by Owen Campbell, is an enigmatic sci-fi drama that establishes itself as a convincing relationship study before wandering into an unclassifiable realm. L...
In his first semester at an out-of-state university, Ison navigates new friendships and a romantic interest. Jinho Myung directs “Into Particles,” an unassuming yet captivating small-scale character study, endearing in its naivety and tenderness. After an overview of Ison’s upbringing in Californ...
In this stylized personal essay, a renter says goodbye to their apartment. “What I Had to Leave Behind,” directed by Sean David Christensen, is a lovely ode to moving out, built around a self-deprecating voiceover and jazzy score. Memories spring to mind about every corner of the apartment — the ...
In this surreal odyssey, a young boy walks through a series of doors opening up visions of the past and future. “Mi,” made by Masayoshi Nakamura and Zak Engel, is beautifully animated, vibrating with color, shape and possibility. Emerging from abstract geometric landscapes, we lock in on a boy wi...
A passionate young photographer in Berlin fixates on a series of self-portraits as her boyfriend questions her approach. A mediation on artistic process and ambition, “Spiegel,” directed by Ewan Waddell, is a stylistically assured character study that gets deep into the head of a hip but vulnerab...
A date to see the fireworks on the Fourth of July turns into a weird night of discovery for a shy teenage girl. “Lightstreet,” directed by Billie Michael, is an understated coming-of-age drama that captures the awkwardness and uncertainties of youth in a quiet small town. The young couple wanders...
On the day of her mother's wedding, fifteen-year-old, Delia, reckons with a strange incident from the night before with her soon-to-be stepfather. Emma Hall-Martin directs “Congratulations,” an edgy coming-of-age drama that’s precisely observed and beautifully visualized (color scheme, production...
A harrowing account of a leadership seminar gone rogue in 1970’s California. In “You've Never Been Completely Honest,” a hybrid-documentary directed by Joey Izzo, a mixture of animation and reenactment footage brings to life a brutal audio interview. In 1972, a man named Gene recounts his experie...
A tale of sibling betrayal and revenge as told by a ranch horse. “Horse Brothers,” directed by Milos Mitrovic and Fabian Velasco, is a surreal fantasy tale and family melodrama built with inventive lo-fi visuals and a fever dream tone. After an absence, Frodo arrives back to the family farm in a ...
A man reconnects with an old friend from his days in the theater. “My Breakfast with Barf,” is an animated comedy directed by Peter Javidpour, a lighthearted send-up of the 1981 film, “My Dinner with Andre.” Leonard, a man of culture and intellect (whose head is shaped like an egg), meets up for ...
An alien comes to Earth landing in an ordinary American backyard. Or so goes the game of imagination that a group of siblings think up and play out. Stephen Wardell directs “Uriah Plays the Alien,” a vastly original piece of avant-garde filmmaking observed in a dream-like haze of childhood creati...
