A young woman reflects on her upcoming departure from a city that has kept her in a vortex for too long. Bretton A. Miller directs “Goodbye Tallahassee, I Hope You Understand...,” a somber and whimsical farewell to a peculiar Floridian landscape. We meet Anna in a moment of sentimental cynicism w...

As an eight-year-old kid, director Travis Wood had two bikes stolen in the course of a month. In “One Peg Boss,” he narrates the tale over a charmingly simple animation, ruminating on his memories and coming to terms with the incidents. The first bike was stolen immediately after receiving as a b...

A woman and her ex-boyfriend reconnect at the vet after their dog gets sick, as a new boyfriend experiences jealousy. “WILK,” directed by Peg, is an experimental comedy with its own absurd cinematic language and esoteric scene-building. Joseph watches from the car as his girlfriend, Tallie, is co...

A dancer reflects on a recent injury in Anne Hollowday’s “Physical Thoughts.” A vivid portrait rendered with striking images and poetic narration, it’s a film about the limits of verbal expression (“we all have thoughts; we don’t share many of them”) and the possibilities of physical expression (...

A film about being on the phone. Bobby McCoy directs “Excuse Me, I’m On The Phone,” a high-tempo game of hot potato between erratic youngsters and their cellular crises. It all starts with a young lady seated outside an Erewhon grocery store. She speaks to someone on the phone, distressed about h...

An army of Catholic high school girls prepare for their upcoming play while dealing with the ugliness of adolescence and the intrusion of a boy into their drama troupe. Chloe Xtina directs “The First Taste,” an expressive coming-of-age character study about the passions and fascinations of a grou...

Two young kids explore the legend of a witch living inside their apartment building. “Evil Grows in the Dark” is a playful wildcard that taps into a world of pretend, mimicking the herky-jerky thought patterns of a child. Directed by Erin Vassilopoulos.

When Cass’s expectations about her first time aren’t met, she confronts the boy who took her virginity. Connie O’Connor directs “In Your Sheets,” a coming-of-age snapshot that captures a complex set of feelings pre and post first-time sex. Early in the evening, Cass is filled with jitters and exc...

A Chinese manicurist in Miami attempts to describe feelings she doesn't have the words for. “Agua Viva,” written, directed and animated by Alexa Lim Haas, is a gorgeous, melancholic portrait of a stranger in a strange land. As she quietly goes about her day giving manicures and pedicures in a Flo...

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...

A young woman mourning the loss of her cat receives an unexpected visitor. “Catlady” directed by Max Roux is an atmospheric elegy, a portrait of grief that spins into the surreal, carried by a spellbinding performance from Jade Louise. With tears streaming down her face, she buries her beloved ca...

While pondering the need to endlessly capture her life in photos and videos, a filmmaker attempts to be present in the moment. Shereen Lani Younes directs “how can i be present when photographs exist,” a self-reflective video essay narrated with stream-of-consciousness musings over a smorgasborg ...

When the wealthy patriarch of a family dies, they discover an unusual request in his will. Directed by Matt Kazman. Cast: Amy Landecker, Katherine Reis, Ryan Foust, David Rasche.

A tipsy young woman calls her ex over to kill a bug. “PONYTAILHEAD,” written by and starring Piper Verbrick and Brent Michal, is an unfiltered slice-of-life about the clumsy reconnection between recently separated partners. He isn’t thrilled to be summoned to her apartment to take care of a bug b...

After a disillusioned EMT quits his job in Newark, he becomes entangled on a wild adventure that begins with a mysterious Craigslist ad. Fiona Kane’s “There’s No Werewolves in Newark” is a moody character study of a modern floater. Dead-ends double down for Bill when he’s dumped by his girlfriend...