Two Nigerian cousins have a meditative evening and discuss the prospect of leaving New York. Adesola Thomas directs “Ola Ola,” a small-scale conversational piece that offers a tender specificity in the identities and relationship of its two characters. For Abisola, it starts as a quiet evening. W...

A strange advertisement sends a young woman on a journey of memory loss and vampirism. “Oh! A Phantom All My Life,” directed by Ellena Eshraghi, is a coming-of-age reflection coded in darkness and fantasy. A young woman recounts the story her parents once told her—when she was a young child, she ...

An elderly woman turns to unconventional methods to create closeness with her caregiver. Spencer Gibson’s “Movie Star” is an intimate drama recognizing intergenerational companionship. Ruth and her younger caregiver, Jo, spend most of their day in the household. Despite their physical closeness, ...

A tech entrepreneur attends a silent yoga retreat. Charlie Sosnick directs “Silent Yoga,” a slapstick comedy where a cultish yoga event is attended by Zach, a wunderkind founder of a “decentralized finance unicorn.” Along with his unrelenting smart phone, which keeps buzzing due to possibly being...

A young woman flees to Paris and relinquishes her blackness in pursuit of personal freedom. “White Girl in Paris,” directed by Tajayona, is a poetic exploration of race, a powerful set of visuals that stake claim to a black woman’s opportunity to be young and carefree. She puts on a costume, pran...

An uninvited houseguest makes herself at home. “Sticky,” directed by Aisha Schliessler, is a stylish experiment — an exploration of a living space inhabited by somebody who doesn’t live there. With unclear intentions, the woman makes her way through the house: in the kitchen, she drinks from a bo...

On a duck hunting trip, two friends head to the lake. Auden Lincoln-Vogel directs “Bill and Joe Go Duck Hunting,” a quietly assured, gently funny, portrait of man and nature. An old, faded friendship centers the character study: Joe is the chatty one to Bill’s stoic reserve; Joe shows up in stree...

A man finds himself at a sketchy 24 hr dental clinic after having his wallet stolen and his tooth knocked out. “Central Dental,” directed by Lindsay Thomas Robinson, is an exercise in surreal atmosphere building, a noir-ish vignette, darkly clever and carefully composed. After getting mugged in a...

A filmmaker documents his grandfather’s reflections on time and the environment. Elijah Guess’s “Wise River, MT” embarks on a brief, but meditative piece of portraiture documentary. As we observe the 86-year-old man’s spry interactions with his remote Montana surroundings, we listen as he reckons...

When a doomsday cult leader decides that he can’t spend eternity with his most aggravating follower, their plan falls into chaos. “Exit Statement,” by director Ben Kitnick, is an oddball comedy about a ragtag group of believers aiming to transcend to a higher plane. It’s December 31st, 1999, and ...

A fourteen year-old girl on her last day before high school navigates the juncture between childhood and adolescence. Daiva Žalnieriunas directs “Farewell Winona,” a textured coming-of-age drama that vividly captures a place - rural Canada - and a period of innocence right before things start to ...

A man seeks answers when he finds a pair of golden truck nuts mysteriously affixed to his Honda Civic. Zach Romeo directs “This is Nuts,” an absurd account of local fate and fable told through a low-polygon animation style. While a guitar is pensively plucked, we hear a man narrate—a destructive ...

When a man suffers from severe stomach problems during a disastrous date night, he makes an unexpected connection with a stranger. “Irritable Bowel,” directed by Joseph Agredano, is a dramatic comedy set in Los Angeles where spontaneity, in various forms, tests a man’s relationship. Glen reads wo...

After a ten year hiatus, two friends reunite to break a mysterious curse. Steph Twyford-Rigley’s “Teeth Tacs” is a playful lo-fi comedy that explores a female friendship stuck in a supernatural cycle. At a quaint beach-side home, Angela and Steph meet on the shore. Over their uniquely large bowls...

A young adult must navigate the trials and tribulations of life and rejection from parents after shedding their skin. Asreen Zangana directs “Oh Dear Lord What is Wrong With Your Face?” a Super 8 black-and-white film looking at familial relationships through body horror. Surrounded with ominous m...

A young woman daydreams to escape from a mundane day at the office with her boss and co-worker. Eren Gülfidan directs “Daydreaming,” a collection of surreal images presented as a stream-of-consciousness tone poem. A brain falls from the sky. A mime juggles on the train. The woman imagines herself...

Wedding bells ring in Elisa's head as she sings of love and hopefully marriage. Elisa Victoria writes and stars in “I’m Gonna Get Married,” a charming DIY pop musical, stylized, self-assured and brimming with personality. Elisa hops around in vintage wedding dresses belting tunes about finding a ...

Rachel manages the expectations of her family and partner while raising a newborn baby.