A woman practices a speech for her sister's wedding. Chester Vincent Toye directs “Francesca,” a slice-of-life vignette where a young woman’s efforts to workshop a speech snowballs into a self-reflective consideration of her own life. Late at night, Francesca walks around the moon-lit city in a d...

A struggling actor abandons all logic when she finds a stranger unconscious in her laundry room. Sophie Jarvis directs “Medical Drama,” a character study at turns surreal and darkly funny about a young woman going through a rough couple of days. Doing whatever she can for work, she finds herself ...

A woman retreats to a cabin to compose a piece of music but is haunted by writers block. Wonderfully constructed with rhythmic visuals and sound design, “4/4”, directed by Kyle Sawyer, is about the battle between creator and creativity. Sarah sits down to the keyboard. She starts her metronome an...

A shy college student turns invisible through a surreal metamorphosis and decides to follow around her crush from her philosophy class. In Natalie Horberg’s “Knowing Desmond,” animation collides with reality to form a youthful, experimental romance. In their university philosophy class, Desmond m...

Working as a babysitter for a melodramatic family, a woman looks for alone time as she prepares a Venus ritual. Directed by Jane Stiles and Meryl Jones, “The Love Spell” is a character study shot on 16mm that places its lovelorn subject in a last-minute scheduling predicament. Tucker is forced to...

Rachel questions her own agency while navigating the frustrating consequences of receiving a mental health diagnosis.

A conversation between 2 friends, drinking beers, eating Combos, talking about everything, a spirited 5am social + political + religious, etc, etc., discussion. There's a jump cut every 2 or 3 seconds which takes some getting used to, but creates interesting gaps and leaps, and establishes moment...

After being drafted for World War III, a group of burnout skateboarders are recruited into a casualty notification unit. “Vertical Valor,” directed by Alex Kavutskiy, takes an inspired premise and pumps it full of dopiness and absurdity, a war comedy that never hits the battlefield. Calvin and Ba...

A married couple battles an age-curse that begins the night of their wedding. Alex Kavutskiy and Jerzy Rose direct “A Bride’s Curse,” a darkly comedic folk tale about lying and marriage. After consummating on their wedding night, the curse is revealed. If the husband lies to his wife three times,...

The new satirical video tutorial from filmmaker John Wilson explores the world of regrets, both big and small. A bad haircut or a broken phone may not seem like a huge deal but it may cause "cascading effects that lead to long-term regret." With his signature halting voice-over, Wilson weaves in ...

Struggling to fit in at a sleepaway camp with a group of white girls, 11-year-old Aaliyah Khan tries to befriend a new arrival. Samina Saifee’s “AmeriGirl,” nuances the coming-of-age realities of assimilation and conformity to American beauty standards. After being unembraced by two fellow camper...

Director Jason Giampietro sets 'em up & knocks 'em down in this hilariously straightforward story of an anxious New Yorker's ruined summer. The neurotic man, perpetually wearing a ratty aqua short-sleeve, lets a friend store a bike in his hallway for what he promises is only a couple days. Three ...

Over the course of a long evening, a woman celebrating her birthday gets to know a new friend while navigating her relationship with an old one. Jesse Thurston directs “Bad at Birthdays,” a naturalistic portrait about a group of NYC friends spending the night in Stratford, Connecticut. Told in a ...

An L.A. actress invites her filmmaker friend to a Palm Springs getaway from quarantine, a supposedly restorative trip that turns frustrating. “Kate, Unhinged,” directed by Kailee McGee, is a meta deconstruction on acting and friendship which follows the maneuvering of a well-positioned creative t...

A man finds a woman washed up on shore; when she reveals her identity, he goes to great lengths to become part of her world. “Dolphin Boy,” directed by Arielle Bordow and Tyler Zonies, is a lo-fi fantasy film—a snapshot of longing rendered with deadpan campiness and body-horror elements. While sm...

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 knight in an accursed and shattered world tempts fate with a mysterious song. Albert Birney’s “Gruenfeld” boards a medieval quest where fantasy is suddenly met by horror. Told from the deep voice of an anonymous narrator, we observe the weathered knight, Sir Garreth, as he desperately searches ...

Gen z auteur + ceo of [REDACTED] EMOTIONS. Note: NoBudge is not sponsored by Celsius. The mention of brand affiliation is parody.

A biracial girl caught between worlds prepares for her Bat Mitzvah and adulthood. Radiating with warmth and lived-in specificity, “Broken Bird,” directed by Rachel Harrison Gordon, is a tender coming-of-age drama about a divided upbringing. Birdie has reached a vulnerable age of anxiety and self-...

Two alien sisters journey for the first time to their favorite planet Earth with hopes to go viral on the internet, but their father has other plans for them and their beloved humans. Director: Sophia de Baun. Cast: Miriam Gabriel and Zora Schiltz Rouse. Producers: Sophia de Baun, Miriam Gabriel ...