Sarah gave Ezra a soul crystal, and that may have been a mistake. “I Love to Wait,” directed by Harrison Atkins, is an imaginative, free-roaming vision of an on-and-off relationship in Los Angeles, a rare melding of the mundane and the mystical. In a world where couples communicate via crystals (...

Instructional videos on how to survive an active shooter attack send a paranoid man into a self-fulfilling spiral. Dylan Redford directs “Emergency Action Plan,” a layered satire and personal essay film which explores emergency readiness drills ranging from Redford’s childhood to the present day....

A queer sci-fi about 10 aliens in human host bodies learning how to be men. Profound and strangely funny. Directed by Joseph Sackett. Julian Cihi, Will Seefried, Marchánt Davis, Vasile Flutur, Colby Minifie.

A struggling novelist throws a dinner party to announce his acceptance into a prestigious writer's program, but his plans are soon overshadowed by a more pressing matter. Joe Stankus directs “Good News,” an elegantly constructed exploration of a relationship between two men dealing with varying l...

When Nina fails to meet her goal in the final week of weight loss camp, she considers drastic alternatives. “Bye Bye Body,” directed by Charlotte Benbeniste, is a tender snapshot about body image and self-esteem delivered with wonderfully natural performances and lovely 35mm images. At a weigh-in...

A young woman decides to carry on the family tradition of attending the county fair, this time with her dead parents. Kate Jean Hollowell directs and stars in “Are They Smiling?” a comedy about an unusual grieving process: spending the day alone at a fair carrying the ashes of your dearly departe...

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.

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 wide-eyed man gets caught up in a surreal scheme presented as a business opportunity. Written, directed by Kati Skelton. Starring Branson Reese with Peter Reznikoff, Dagmar Stansova and Matt Dennie.

Suffering a loss, a woman finds a mysterious book on a subway platform and with it fights to get control of her life. An enigmatic drama, shot in gorgeous black & white, concerning the messy emotional state of Laine and the lengths she goes to reestablish well-being, personal and financial. Direc...

Kailee McGee, the online persona, sets out to discover Kailee McGee, the real person, in this funny and soul-searching self-portrait of a L.A. filmmaker in flux. A film about identity, and the simultaneous quests for attention and authenticity. Directed by Kailee McGee. Starring Kailee McGee, Mit...

Henry loses his vision after being exposed to an unknown toxic gas in this imaginative experimental drama full of startling images and unsettling developments. Written and Directed by Madeline Leshner. Starring Marchánt Davis, MaYaa Boateng.

A peculiar miracle binds together a pregnant nun in 1960s Ireland and a gas station attendant 25 years later in West Texas. | Directed by Eli Powers. Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Philip Ettinger, Thomas Sadoski, Dan Bakkedahl.

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 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 ...

Anne gathers herself for a job interview, a casual one at a coffee shop, but still a job interview. When her potential new employer arrives, a smooth, well-dressed man named Georg, giving off all the social cues of a first date, she’s caught off-guard and scrambles to react. Brilliantly observed ...

A young artist struggles to make a movie about a young artist who struggles to make a movie. Zenzelé Soa-Clarke directs and stars in “An Independent Movie About a Young Artist,” a meta breakdown on the tropes of slice-of-life indie filmmaking (“mumblecore, character driven, all the shit”), and an...

At the cusp of her Quinceañera, Pacurí must decide where her loyalties lie: with her devoted family or her wealthy friends. “Pacurí,” directed by Gustavo René, is a coming-of-age drama about a Paraguayan-American teenager expressing independence while her family fixates on a culturally important ...

wormgirl dances.

wormgirl was inspired by the time-bending isolation that came out of lockdown. with nothing to do and no one to see, the scope of the day shrank from a full life of work commitments and relationships to a lonely, worm-like crawl. wormgirl shows the highs and lows of worming: th...

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 ...

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 magaz...

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...