A wannabe Zumba instructor has an encounter with an alien while driving through the desert. “Planet Fitness,” directed by Paul Emerson, is a lo-fi, lighthearted comedy carried by the awkward charm of Katy Fullan, who writes and stars as Jessie, a hopelessly unemployed woman. As she drives, she st...

A meddling mother tries to help her 22-year-old son prepare for a job interview. Harris Gurny directs “Mustache,” a picture of suspended adolescence placed in a suburban bubble that’s awkwardly funny and lightly ominous (see flute score). At a strip mall store, Stuart tries on a suit but doesn’t ...

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 ...

The story of a drug-fueled weekend in a Brooklyn apartment propelled by grief and loyalty. Lee, reeling from the death of his mother, visits the home of his old friend, Monty. Given his present state of mind (and body), it’s not a pleasant visit, at least from the perspective of Monty’s well put ...

Two best friends rob a house to get fast cash for an abortion. | Writer and Director: Kerry LeVielle. Cast, Phoebe Amirault, Cassidy Stanley, Kristine Gallo.

A hybrid documentary about two trans men, who used to date in middle school, reconnecting 10 years later to develop a narrative film about their past. Brit Fryer and Noah Schamus direct “Across, Beyond, and Over,” a film made with warmth and vulnerability about the creative process and revisiting...

A brother and sister in the San Fernando Valley reunite after the sister is forced from her home and daughter. “Purity,” by director Max Roux, is an emotionally raw drama about a broken family trying to keep it together in an ugly world. Riley shows up at the apartment of her brother, Karl, with ...

Technical issues abound as a voiceover artist attempts to record a local news spot about an upcoming storm. “Ursula Promo,” directed by Tyler Rubenfeld, is one, uninterrupted six minute shot of the man (played by Matt Hopkins, impeccable) trying to perfect his weather warning performance for the ...

A darkly comedic web series about Monica Lewinsky’s life in 2001, when she was 27 and living in New York City.

Created by Doron Max Hagay and Lily Marotta. Starring Lily Marotta. Featuring Erin Markey. DP Daniel Rampulla.

A woman practices a speech for her sister's wedding. Chester Vincent Toye directs “Francesca,” a slice-of-life vignette where a young woman’s efforts to workshop a speech snowballs into a self-reflective consideration of her own life. Late at night, Francesca walks around the moon-lit city in a d...

A man finds out that his lover's ex-boyfriend resembles his personal hero. Free Man Agyapong’s “Malcom Ex” is a darkly humorous look at navigating insecurities in a new relationship. A group of friends kick it on the beach. Guy and Nairobi have been seeing each other recently. With the rest of th...

A YouTube Yoga tutorial. A collapsed body. “My Expanded View,” the latest experimental oddity from NoBudge favorite Corey Hughes presents a peaceful instructional video that derails into a meta deconstruction on digital realms and cultural trends. | Directed by Corey Hughes.

A naked body moves a stranger to empathy in this experimental film by Frank Mosley, in one of two scenes investigating body, movement, and connection. “Parthenon” is carried by the transfixing presence of Lily Baldwin; the film around her is largely wordless, and divided into two loosely connecte...

When the mother of his infant son boots him out of her life, Jim wants to go where no one knows his name. So he seeks refuge in the torrent of bodies clogging midtown Manhattan, where he’s safe to unload his bottomless cynicism on that most wretched of creatures, the American Tourist. Cutting an ...