A rural Bulgarian family fights to keep a millenia-old demon chasing festival alive. “Kukeri,” directed by Daniel Ali and Jake Schühle Lewis, is a mesmerizing portrait of an ancient tradition where elaborately costumed individuals make their way through local villages aiming to bring happiness an...

A young woman experiences strange hallucinations while going about her daily life in Los Angeles. Directed by and starring Shereen Lani Younes, “Fall” is an unsettling psychological drama about dealing with a reality that appears to be crumbling. Words are jumbled on menus, the ceiling warps as i...

Emma Pillsbury is a filmmaker based in New York City who graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a BA in Cinema Arts & Sciences - concentrating in directing and experimental film. From the Metro - Detroit area, she grew up figure skating for Team USA.

A young woman drifts through a series of wintry adventures after leaving her backyard and heading into the woods. A lovely stop-motion animation by Evie Metz and Nick Daly, “Snow Angel” envisions a magical place where you can ride a reindeer, or ice skate on a pond encircled by giant sunflowers. ...

When her father doesn’t show up for a weekend visit in a beach town, a young woman has a fling with an older surfer. “San Clemente Syndrome,” directed by Claire Offenberger, is a portrait of disappointment and longing carried by tender performances and a reflective mood. She’s a college student e...

After having a dream where the two perform a dance routine, "The Girl" wakes up only to find Universal Love is still in the picture.

Affable instructor Bill visits a reluctant 7th grade class to run a drill with the teacher's new firearm. “Gather in the Corner” is a troubling snapshot of what it would look like to have armed teachers in American classrooms (unbelievably it’s a solution that’s been considered). Director & co-wr...

When a bet on Trump alienates him from all his friends, Keith aims to defend himself by telling his side of the story. As he recounts the tale of how it all went down, spouting his unlikely political views through the shocked streets of NYC post-election, it keeps getting darker and darker. Keith...

Two roommates try to come up with character ideas for a comedy show. Alex Ateah and Taylor Rivers direct and star in “Alex and Taylor Come Up With Characters,” a homemade video of rapid-fire silliness. Two friends follow each around the house ad-libbing absurd characters (an old lady who’s sudden...

Dusty Jacobson, a boy band obsessed grown man, tries to get a date online with someone named HungBrad. Directed by Natalie Fält, "The Loneliest Boy Band" has a light touch — mostly we’re just following Dusty as he talks about his love for The Backstreet Boys and dances in front of McDonalds— but ...

A man discovers the suicide note of an acquaintance, only to find the drafts that were left behind. Eli Speigel’s “Gone Fishin” is a dark and unsettled portrait of disassociation. A man stands inside a flower shop. As he tells the florist, he’s there to purchase a bouquet of flowers to conceal a ...

Two film critics discuss their profession in the park. Tynan DeLong directs “Critics,” a lighthearted satire lampooning celebrity worship, hobnobbing with movie stars, and Marvel fanboying. It stars Jeremy Levick and Rajat Suresh, playing movie geeks with podcasts — “The Dork Side” and “Are You T...

When a young French woman decides to leave New York City and return to France, her best friend, an American, confronts the reality of life without her. Gino Fortebuono directs “Loleh,” a slice-of-life ruminating on friendship, co-dependence, and evaded pasts. Loleh visits her family in France and...

In this morbid yet poetic look at the moments after death, the world keeps moving beyond the last breaths of a series of individuals. Aaron Salazar directs “Still Life," a beautifully framed exploration of life and death filled with striking landscapes littered with lifeless bodies. Wheels keep s...

A young man talks himself through a panic attack. In “Doomscrolling,” Santi MacLean layers multimedia documents and data moshes on top of a vulnerable outcry. With bulging eyes and spaghetti-like green hair, the young man speaks in the form of a 3D-animated figure. In a high pitch voice, the char...

Several New York City youths navigate their way to finding their own voice in the world. Directors: Andrew Garcia & Sarah Meital Benjamin.

A sprawling story of love and loss, as reflected on a single face. Conor Dooley directs “Gold and Mud,” a fast-moving comedy that shifts from moment-to-moment in the life, all the way to death, of a woman contending with fluctuating intimacies in her personal life and the bleak realities working ...