Afflicted by a mysterious case of hyper-empathy, a young woman stumbles across a group that claims to treat the disorder. “Empath,” directed by Alec Moeller, is an engrossing character study lifted by a powerhouse performance by Betsey Brown. Moving through everyday life is a minefield of emotion...

A sensual advertisement for the lofty high-rise buildings in an ambiguous metropolis. “The High Rise Beckons,” directed by Matt Barats, is a satirical commercial real estate ad where we’re tempted by an oddly erotic narrator and slow punch-in shots of various properties. Building to building, we ...

A guileless woman named Turyn is taken for a surrealist ride to visit “The Club.” An absurd mini-short about the social habits of the young, the archetypes involved, and the dangers lurking. | Directed by Lauren Ireland. Starring Lauren Ireland, Haley Rawson, John Trowbridge.

Traveling the continental United States, two vagabond thieves rob from sick, twisted sexual deviants. Griffin Sauter directs “Mousetrap,” an experimental road film following two drifters as they traverse a crude American landscape. From warehouse to ghost town, the two partners front as a “critte...

Parodying a psychology edutainment program, this fictional broadcast explores the world of optical illusions and beyond. Clare Ruddy’s “Brain Job: Perception” is a hilarious spoof on pop psychology filled with absurd animations and non sequitur riddles. Ruddy plays the host and offers a stream of...

Mourning her grandmother, a young woman takes a job that requires her to lure a mysterious entity from a hole. Casey Friedman’s “Pentatarmex Rabitular” is a quiet piece of sci-fi observed through its character’s mundane life and the bizarre occurrences that come with a strange job. Accompanied by...

Ted Marsden is a writer, director, and editor. He likes to create dramatic, surreal visuals and irreverent, character-based comedy. He is a founding father of the radical editing collective Racer Trash and visual art collective Dream Video Division. He is the Festival Director + Senior Programmer...

When her father doesn’t show up for a weekend visit in a beach town, a young woman has a fling with an older surfer. “San Clemente Syndrome,” directed by Claire Offenberger, is a portrait of disappointment and longing carried by tender performances and a reflective mood. She’s a college student e...

An office assistant at a culture website comes down with a mysterious illness. “Thread,” directed by Max Rosen, is both a satire on millennial workplaces (SUP “We’ve Got Content”), and a paranoia-doused descent into mental breakdown. River L. Ramirez plays Joni, who, along with several other youn...

An anxious musician finds himself unable to leave his hotel room. Dan Arnés writes and stars in “Please Enjoy Your Stay,” a surreal comedy that employs an ever-shifting dream logic to explore issues of identity and artistic process. Surrounded by slips of paper with scattered notes, a man attempt...

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...

An emerging filmmaker asks himself whether it's possible to make something meaningful in 10 minutes. “Kar,” directed by Nick Allen, is a self-reflexive film about trying, failing, and trying again to make a film. Under a looming cloud of anxiety, Nick gears up to make his road film about a bright...

Bonus footage from "The 15"

An unnamed narrator uses found footage from his childhood to construct a portrait of his father and their relationship. “Lespri,” directed by Jard Lerebours, is a poetic reflection on childhood and frayed family bonds. The narrator shares he’s turning 27 in a month—the same age of his father when...

Told from the perspective of a cat, this melancholic 16mm short begins as a portrait of a relationship between a young Japanese woman and an American man. An air of poetry and wistfulness pervades but there’s heaviness under the surface, and as the peaceful images morph into darker ones, we are f...

When Dusty masturbates for the first time, something bad happens. | Directed by Matt Kazman. Cast: Hale Lytle.

Sara experiences another woman's orgasm and gets a new view on life. “ARE YOU OK,” directed by Mattis Ohana Goksøyr, is a sex comedy from Norway built around a series of striking compositions and rendered with dry wit. Two young couples are vacationing together when an intimate sexual encounter s...

Locked down at home, Kent scrambles to make a last minute sign for his co-worker’s virtual surprise party. “Hey Yú (如魚得水),” directed by Athena Han, perfectly captures a common mode of our times — being distracted, overwhelmed, and failing to live up to other’s expectations. Living alone in Vancou...

Rachel visits her mother after a long work week. She is preparing for a house warming party.