On his 25th birthday, Cary brings his friends to the desert and requests one gift: for them to list everything they hate about him. “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know,” directed by Neal Suresh Mulani, is a sharp-tongued comedy about insecure friendships and going to extreme lengths to uncover true f...

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 middle-aged woman runs out of things to talk about with her therapist. Ryan Wagner directs “Oh Man Magdelena,” a surreal, VHS look at a woman and her therapist who reach peculiar breakthroughs during an oddly ominous session. Magdalena peers out the blinds of her therapist’s office. The interio...

An Indian-American teenager is caught between a crush and an anthrax prank in the weeks following 9/11. “Hasim October,” by director Swetha Regunathan, is a portrait of youthful frustration at a chaotic moment in American history. On the day before her 15th birthday, Brinda and her friend are wal...

File under a little unusual for NoBudge. Might be the closest we've come to a horror film. It's a deathly dark story of unrequited love between two women. There's an astonishing visual flair at work, slow shutter speed rain dances, spectacular lightening storms, ghosts that look like ghosts. It's...

“Sandy” journeys through a New Jersey beachside town with no sense of the past as sea levels rise. Our take: This personal essay film by Dylan Hansen-Fliedner is a contemplative survey of family history, climate change, Hollywood hypocrisy, and our culture’s unwillingness to change its ways. Visu...

A young man achieves success on the internet. Alex Sovoda of Enzo the Magazine directs “Compounding Negativity,” a character comedy where a young man, played by Will Duncan, drops a drill freestyle that opens some new doors. After walking his date home, Will is approached by two young men who are...

On his way to Brad's animal-themed housewarming party, Richard stops at CVS and calls a close friend for advice about his costume. “The Woodpecker,” made by the directing team of Courtney Bush, Will Carington, and Jake Goicoechea, is a subtly funny slice-of-life sequence. In other hands, it might...

A young woman begins to have doubts while waiting to meet the adoptive parents of her unborn child. This expressive short directed by Anamari Mesa and Kevin Rios creates an instant atmosphere and lingers on well after the credits roll. The pregnant woman (played by Mesa) is on a train to meet the...

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 ...

Desperate for work, a struggling artist takes on a personal assistant gig from Craigslist. Tynan DeLong’s “Personal Assistant” confines us at close-range to a claustrophobic series of interactions between a young woman and her exasperating employer. Sadie lands a job that drops her into the apart...

Jaelyn is a recent graduate of Florida State University’s College of Motion Picture Arts and is currently based in London. Her only goal is to direct and produce movies for and about Black girls. Literally. That’s it. She particularly enjoys the coming of age and horror genres for their often sha...

In Philadelphia, an aspiring rapper tries to carve out a space for himself but begins to lose hope. “Out of Focus,” directed by Alex Sulock, is a cinema verite snapshot about artistic pursuit that maneuvers in a flow of spontaneous energy. Over the course of a couple weeks, Ray roams around his h...

The chat-room of an online porn-forum transforms into a techno-feudal court. Dana Greenleaf directs “Areyouwinningson?,” where private chats and searches personify into a 3D cyberspace. Subjects of his kingdom, the users, come to a mysterious ruler, a forum admin, to seek their fetishistic desire...

A fight between a dismissive man and his unhinged girlfriend draws the attention of the man’s pestering sister. “No Concept,” directed by Vogue Giambri, accounts a high-octane, aggro afternoon of stomach pain and pettiness. Waiting in the front yard of his father’s New Jersey home in anticipation...

Cast off by society, a former fast food worker seeks justice for himself and other men through the teachings of a self help leader. “Moth Music,” directed by Ciaran Davis-McGregor, operates within modes of repulsion, distortion, and self-hate, with wafts of pitch black humor and touches of absurd...

Rachel's dream is coming true. She prepares for her wash day routine.

A young musician living in Hollywood experiences a bizarre mystery that leads him on a journey to the Los Angeles River. Conor Scheinberg writes and directs “Boris,” a grim slow burn drama set in a bleak rendition of L.A. We meet Boris in the front seat of his car. He does pick-ups and drop-offs ...

In New York City, a young woman reckons with being sexually assaulted by a stranger on the train. This powerful drama from director Adinah Dancyger, moves in small waves, accumulating resonance with each exchange. India Salvor Menuez plays Anna, a woman forced to navigate a harsh reality. In the ...