A musician, a YouTuber, and a Tik Tok star battle their egos and depression in “Things That Happen,” an urgent new drama by Bobby McCoy. Filled with style and momentum, this disturbing depiction of young adults (or old kids) lost in a vapid and cruel media landscape tracks three young characters ...

A Brooklyn couple navigates their unsteady relationship while hosting an Airbnb guest and a despondent friend. “Space,” by director Jesse Thurston, finds its characters in precarious zones, struggling to verbalizing inner thoughts, deferring conversations, balancing love and transparency. It’s a ...

Mallory attempts to start her day with a simple meditation but is overwhelmed by distractions both in her environment and in her head. Alex Markman directs “Mallory Meditates,” a kinetic character study / mood piece about the arduous task of quieting one’s mind. The simple conceit is pumped full ...

A recently married woman helps her single friend shoot an introduction video for a dating service. Imogen McCluskey directs “Atomic Love,” a 1980s found-footage piece where honest truths between two friends reveal themselves. With her hot pink blazer and questionable perm, Aleea struggles to get ...

An illustrator prepares for an assignment while his new plant demands his attention at home. “Plant Daddy,” directed by Peter Ferris Rosati, is a stylish, quietly surreal portrait. After bringing home a new houseplant, Rocca is surprised to feel a fatherly bond. The more he fixates on it, the mor...

The morning after a new love affair, a woman reflects on her past relationships. “Four Chairs,” directed by Ester Song Kim and Nika Burnett, is a poetic portrait that unfolds with sensory detail and surreal shifts. Waking up for the first time with a new man, a woman prepares coffee and tries to ...

A fragmented road trip becomes a portrait of love, loss, and memory. Antoine Pret and Elena Bonhomme direct “Cinq étapes,” a black-and-white, 16mm snapshot that connects a French road map with five steps of grieving. Monica pulls off to the side of the road. She pays her respects to a small memor...

When the camera clicks on, the persona does too. That carefully cultivated image that requires multiple takes, the perfect angle, the right filter. And then you meet someone in real life and you don’t have that luxury. It’s on this precarious foundation that director Francesca Mirabella frames th...

When three friends take a road trip to an idyllic forest and drop acid, one is lured into a mystic web of hallucination and nightmare. Jimmy Joe Roche directs “Skin of Man,” an experimental horror film that creates vivid textures with avant-garde technique. The black and white film is free of dia...

Bonus footage from "The 15"

On the precipice of a breakup, a couple briefly reunites to euthanize the cat they fostered together. “Cathy Doesn’t Know,” directed by Gregg Kearns, is a naturalistic drama where the hurt of saying goodbye to a pet meets with a fraught relationship. As another friend hovers in the kitchen for mo...

After being emasculated in front of his wife and friends at a dinner party, a man confronts an unwelcome neighbor about peeing on his fence. Paul Villenave & Dylan Posgate direct “Nice,” a dramedy exploring a backyard predicament with sociopolitical undertones. Anthony and Liz get ready to host f...

Marco cuts class to spend the afternoon with his boyfriend, Graham, in this tender portrait of young love and intimacy. Matthew Puccini’s “Dirty” is minimal but lush, a coming-of-age snapshot that tackles an uncomfortable first-time sexual experience with sensitivity and warmth. After ditching sc...

Tim struggles to fall asleep during an in-office sleep study and enlists the overnight technician to help. | Written & Directed by: Matt Porter. Starring Chris Gethard & Zach Cherry.

An aging widower attempts to make good with his estranged daughter by selling the time he has left. Ariel Gardner directs “Time Realtor,” a lo-fi, dark comedy pondering the question, how much are our lives worth? Carl, an older gent, arrives home to find an advertisement wedged in his doorway. In...