The musician Dekunle dances through a supermarket in a suit accompanied by doo-wop backup singers with effervescent smiles, in this satirical take on the issue of food deserts. | Director: John Connor Hammond. Musician: Dekunle.

A male stripper has an unusual experience on the job in Mary Dauterman’s “Unfinished Business.” From a script co-written by Jenny Donheiser, the film is an awkward comedy that uses 1980’s costuming and choreography to highlight its dingy tableaus and expressionless ladies. When he arrives to a mo...

A chronically online, socially inept teenager takes a leap of faith to meet up with her virtual bestie for the first time. “Thru the Wire,” directed by Bocau, is a modern coming-of-age film set in Vietnam with an honest account of where online and IRL conflict. “Fried_fish_ball” (we never get her...

Two girls weaponize the digital gaze to turn a stranger into content. Logan Fields’ “Normie” is a snappy scrutinization where shit-talking gets put into perspective in a Los Angeles park. Two girls, with Erewhon smoothie and Juul in hand, observe an innocently unbothered man as he waits for the b...

A bizarre ‘systems-comedy’ that channels Pynchon as much as Stillman and Ferrara, a chamber-piece in varying shades of beige and taupe that nevertheless expands beyond the confines of its anodyne Wall Street office-space where a conspiracy-non-conspiracy surrounding something called “the Benson f...

An off-put man tries to make a heartfelt toast for his brother's baby shower but, instead, he completely unravels. Victor Tadashi Suarez and Max Azulay direct “Uncle Morris,” a dark comedy where cultish LA family rituals and a tiny crown of destiny are revealed through a confession. Doug and Tris...

A semi-recovered kleptomaniac goes home for the holidays and is joined by an unlikely guest. Kate Adams and Max Azulay direct “Carmen and Moony,” a romantic comedy where antics, bits, and banter unravel at the dinner table and beyond. It’s a snowy winter day and Carmen is returning home to celebr...

Patti and Tina are heading out for an idyllic day-trip but get sidetracked with lavender-based meditations. Ester Song Kim directs “Lavender,” a lighthearted ribbing of L.A. extreme wellness types, and a free-flowing character study about a fizzling friendship.

A man finds a family of strangers in his house and has an extremely difficult time asking them to leave. A film about avoiding conflict, or something more elaborate perhaps, a metaphor for shifting times? The house you thought was yours is no longer. Either way, it dishes out the cringe-y laughs ...

After a difficult break-up, Annie reckons with the imminent departure of another close friend who is moving away from their shared apartment and city. From a script she co-wrote with Hannah Rehak, Nina Slesinger directs “Downbeat,” an intelligent and emotionally astute portrait of friendship and ...

In a small east coast town, two teenage boys ruminate on their first stirrings of desire. “Albedo or Apples and Oranges,” directed by Yiro Hu and Sean Dahlberg, is a mood piece that explores longing without sex and the silences between friends. First, we observe Shane. He sits quietly in the pass...

When aliens land in America looking for a female virgin to abduct, a sexually repressed young woman desperately attempts to lose her virginity. “Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary,” directed by Rachael Moton, is a lighthearted satire filled with clever details about a world where body autonomy has vanish...

An alien comes to Earth landing in an ordinary American backyard. Or so goes the game of imagination that a group of siblings think up and play out. Stephen Wardell directs “Uriah Plays the Alien,” a vastly original piece of avant-garde filmmaking observed in a dream-like haze of childhood creati...

A mentally unstable young man takes care of his grandfather while alienating everyone else in his life. “Pricks of Sensation,” directed by Alex Sulock, is a disturbing portrait of a downward spiral, a pitch black fever dream tracking a man on the verge of snapping. Tending to his ailing grandfath...

An encounter between a police officer and civilian turns deadly. Directed by Jeanpaul Isaacs.