A girl sits for a portrait, allowing flowers to adorn her until they cover her completely. “Haus Des Meeres,” directed by Kristine Morgan, is a lovely video art piece envisioned as both a beautiful object and a reaction against beautiful objects. Regina Soza is the girl in the flowers, and her st...

When two friends accept an invitation to see the new couch of an up-and-coming comedian/actor, it turns into an evening of heavy drinking and idiosyncratic self-expression. Kailee McGee directs “The Idea of a You,” a self-referential portrait of the lives and romantic inclinations of three L.A. a...

When a fire starts in Queens, a news reporter attempts to get the scoop from a rambling eccentric named Lorraine. It’s “Grey Gardens” meets local news in this brilliant sendup of awkward TV appearances written by and starring Cole Escola. "Lorraine Was On The News!" only needs one shot — a slow t...

Between parties and dips in the river, Lou abandons herself to roam freely through the summer. “Eau Vive (Whitewater),” directed by the Swiss filmmaker Lucia Martinez Garcia, is a poetic snapshot attuned to the spaces and dispositions of a certain type of youth. In a dark room, Lou watches pornog...

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 Russian immigrant looks for life beyond busking at the Brighton Beach boardwalk. Theo Belci’s “End of the Boardwalk” offers a momentary look at moving to a new place and the obstacles that come with acclimating. To stay afloat financially, the young woman busks on the Brighton Beach boardwalk w...

A cook is offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to act in a film. “The Role,” directed by Paolo Chianta, is a hand-drawn animated film that traces a quiet man’s foray into an unfamiliar world. After discovering that he bears a striking resemblance to their father, a pair of siblings ask the co...

Charting a cross country journey through rodeos, deserts, and motels, “I Know What I Saw,” is a poetic travelogue of American landscapes and small encounters. Directed by Gillian Waldo, who narrates a series of postcards addressed to someone named “N” — detailing low-key run-ins with cops and par...

For reasons one cannot explain, a crazed sense of curiosity has struck and electrified Bretton A. Miller’s imagination his whole life. From once believing that there were “flying time machines” in the night sky to becoming a young cryptid hunter searching for the Cincinnati Frogman, Bretton has a...

Over the course of several months, a Colombian immigrant working as a cleaner in New York converses with her grandmother in a series of phone calls and voice messages. Natalia Luque directs the tender portrait, “The Virgin, The Old Lady, The Journey,” a richly drawn study on familial bonds and lo...

A young woman finds herself caught between her present and past when she receives a letter from home. Directed by Daniel Turner, “dvě místa” (which translates to ‘two places’ in Czech), is a patient character study shot in black and white, formally precise and deceptively complex, about a young w...

A young woman teeters on the brink of adulthood while trying to grapple with the heartbreak that comes from a drifting friendship. In “It’s All Happening,” Sammy Grand contends with the realities of adult friendship, observing shifts in emotions and perspective. Their current form of friendship i...

Intro by director Oliver Shahery: This is a little mini short film I made on one of the days I spent hunting for an interesting subject for the project, which at the time was just a music video with no specific direction other than it had to be in Florida. I spent many days alone texting ex-girlf...

A glimpse at the goings-on of a 21-year-old in Brooklyn interrupted by a sojourn to North Carolina. Liam Barton directs “Blatant Interest,” a 16mm hangout film comprising a series of brief vignettes and electronica interludes. Beer cans litter Lyle’s rooftop. Instead of beginning the day with a c...

A man recounts the story of a local legend as he travels to the jungle to make peace with his life. “Del Arco Vacío,” by director Micah Van Hove, is a hybrid concoction, something like a joyous eulogy delivered via impromptu walking tour of a small town in Peru. The story of Alex Carlo Delgado is...