Born into a life of opulence, Anna finds herself stuck in a plagued dream state. Horace Martins directs “The Duchess of Zion,” a striking experimental film capturing a life of beauty and decay, a mix of the haunted and the ethereal. Soon after her birth, Anna’s wealthy parents split, her dad ditc...

A man tries to decide whether or not to take acid while his friend films him. Written by Colin Burgess and Tynan Delong, “six tabs” is brimming with absurd behavior and juvenile silliness, another signature addition in the body of work of DeLong & friends. Looking to expand his mind, the man (pla...

Locked down at home, Kent scrambles to make a last minute sign for his co-worker’s virtual surprise party. “Hey Yú (如魚得水),” directed by Athena Han, perfectly captures a common mode of our times — being distracted, overwhelmed, and failing to live up to other’s expectations. Living alone in Vancou...

An aimless young woman befriends an up-and-coming actress but their relationship grows tumultuous. Kyra McConnell and Jessica Apatow co-direct, and both star in, “Unturned,” a unique look at online-to-irl friendships capturing the intricacies of social-climbing and obsession. Margret relaxes in h...

After 35 years as the official Elvis impersonator of Las Vegas, Jessie Garon confronts an uncertain future as his public persona begins to fade away. “A King,” directed by Ivan Olita, is a stylized documentary portrait on the sexuality, and loss of self, of an aging performer. With a sparkling fa...

A mix of archival and new footage documents a spiritual and philosophical movement founded in Bulgaria in the early 20th century that embraces the greater good. Alice Fassi directs “In Light,” part documentary, part visual poem, about the Universal White Brotherhood, a practice of living in harmo...

When Sandy and Mitra get into trouble, they come to their friend Alyssa for help. “Alyssa Learns to Drive,” written by and starring Sandy Honig, Mitra Jouhari, and Alyssa Stonoha, is an ingeniously silly sketch that cycles through a smorgasbord of random accents, absurd phrasings, botched languag...

Ah, the vaporizer. Cigarettes’ libertarian cousin. The clean coal of smoking. The accessory that says “I left my fedora at home, but you get the idea.” It’s no exaggeration to say that vaping has captured the American imagination. Techno-futurists love it because it’s under-regulated and it glows...

Discussing everything from lime beers to The Doobie Brothers concerts, Brad Howe takes his comedic stylings home to his favorite watering hole, The Legion. An inspired riff on the stand-up comedy special, “Brad Howe: Live at the Legion” is light on jokes and heavy on character building. It’s Satu...

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 troubled teen girl spends her time trolling men online and bowling with her grandfather while becoming increasingly medicated. “Bowling 4 Eva,” directed by Aelfie Oudghiri, is a bracingly original portrait of depression and pharmaceuticals rendered with satirical bite and punctuated by animated...

A documentary about a hypothetical hurricane unexpectedly turns into a documentary about a real one. Filmed over the course of 7 years, “We Like it Here” is a firsthand account of Hurricane Sandy and the years-long aftermath. Director & Editor: Kyle Richard McCarthy.

Jeremiah tries to console Kevin after a bad day. “I am hungry,” directed by Jeremiah Durian-Williams and Kevin Fielding, is a break-up film that turns sharply into the realm of absurdist comedy. Over a montage of Kevin going about his normal morning, a voicemail delivers the news that his girlfri...

A gang of 30-something punks still act like they’re 15, calling each other pussies and setting off fireworks all day. Characterized by an allegiance to movies before hyper-naturalism, it’s fitting that much of the film is in silhouette, as the characters are presented as broad shapes, movie arche...

What begins as a documentary about surfing evolves into a tale of a guy trying to get rid of a surfboard. Jack Galvin’s lengthily-titled “NADIR: A documentary about surfing in Newport, Rhode Island in the summer and most of the other times as well” is a comedic look at a New England town and a ma...

Two buddies flip through TV shows in the future. Written and performed by the Chicago comedy group, c.r.u.d., “CRUD COUNTRY” is an experimental comedy brimming with bizzaro non-sequiturs and elaborate DIY sets and props. As they kick it in the hangout room, Judd Crudd and Buddy Crudd telecommute ...

A musicologist and her dog climb a mountain in search of an indecipherable song hoping to understand its meaning. Daniel Witkin directs “The Inconceivable Mountain,” which registers both as an homage and a satire of black and white silent films of the 1930’s, particularly a type of German film co...