A group of friends go to the beach, but Nora isn’t having fun. This anxious drama from director Ryan Martin Brown throws us into the interior life of a young woman who’s starving, dehydrated, and perturbed about the lack of plans amongst her friends. A film about group dynamics — being stuck on o...

A young woman mourning the loss of her cat receives an unexpected visitor. “Catlady” directed by Max Roux is an atmospheric elegy, a portrait of grief that spins into the surreal, carried by a spellbinding performance from Jade Louise. With tears streaming down her face, she buries her beloved ca...

A fourteen year-old girl on her last day before high school navigates the juncture between childhood and adolescence. Daiva Žalnieriunas directs “Farewell Winona,” a textured coming-of-age drama that vividly captures a place - rural Canada - and a period of innocence right before things start to ...

Two brothers go to the desert to honor their father’s last wishes. | Directed by Matt Kazman, Ryan Nethery & Matt Porter. Starring Matt Kazman & Matt Porter.

A young woman reflects on her youth in Queens during the early 90s. Swetha Regunathan directs “Wire & Cloth,” a second gen, coming-of-age account with the feeling of re-enacted memories aided by a meditative narration. Anika, the child of Indian immigrants, spends the day with her mother. The you...

A comedian's break-up leads her to a surprising journey with a community of LARPers. “Sad LARP,” directed by Marissa Goldman, is a personal documentary where a down-bad individual turns to “live action role play” as a means of overcoming sadness. Reserving some details, Marissa lets us know she’s...

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...

A man played by writer/comedian Randall Otis whispers into a microphone the sort of soothing thoughts white people love to hear: that black people don’t hate them, and don’t consider them racist. A funny and biting expose. Produced by Studio 181. Director: John Connor Hammond. Writer/Starring: Ra...

Longing for a touch the casual encounters section can not satisfy, Tristan, an outsider among outsiders, is captivated by the appearance of a new man. Directed by Tristan Scott-Behrends, “Only Trumpets,” is a lavish glimpse into sex and love in the digital age, part cynical thesis, part experimen...

A beautifully-made character study of two ex-lovers in a luxurious hotel room reliving their past. The line between reality and role-play is thin and it’s an engrossing edge. Two wonderful performances lead the way: the man, an ex-college athlete, desperate to re-enact his days skipping practice ...

Ted Marsden is a writer, director, and editor. He likes to create dramatic, surreal visuals and irreverent, character-based comedy. He is a founding father of the radical editing collective Racer Trash and visual art collective Dream Video Division. He is the Festival Director + Senior Programmer...

Two 10th grade BFF's have a sleepover where they contemplate the topics of love, God, queerness and loss. Santi MacLean’s “rip” meshes sensibilities of a teen sitcom with characters deeply immersed into a gen-Z vernacular. Through several camera POV’s, a Macbook webcam being the main, we watch Be...

Jonny (Deragh Campbell) watches a toy frog swimming endlessly in a plastic tub. She then drops it in the East River and it mechanically swims away. A Snow Leopard paces back and forth behind a cage, as elegant and graceful as it is pathetically trapped. Sam (Kentucker Audley) sits with a baseball...

Dallas Mapleshade, a delusional actress, hires a filmmaker to make a feature documentary about her life to propel her into the spotlight. “#Blessed,” co-directed by Rich Costales and Kailee McGee, is a bonkers ‘fine line between real and fake’ romp through the life of a wannabe star, carried by a...

At a night festival in India, two former school friends reunite after years of being apart. Tanmay and Tanvi Chowdhary direct “Madhu” (Honey), a heartfelt look at a reunion and the feelings that simmer deep into the evening. In the city of Kolkta during the Hindu festival 'Durga Pujo,' Satakshi a...

Dad & Step-Dad is a slow-burn, character-driven family comedy that follows Jim (Dad), Dave (Step-Dad) and Suzie (Mom), three lost souls who spend the weekend together at a cabin upstate in an effort to bond for the sake of their 13-year-old son, Branson. Tensions mount however as differing parent...

A colorful compendium pairing musical genres with varieties of flowers. Luke Strickler directs and animates “Music for Plants,” which visualizes a series of melodic mash ups — “Sunflower Ska,” “Punk Petunias,” “Dandelion Dubstep,” et al. Morphing seamlessly between styles and tones, each chapter ...

Matteo reckons with the disappearance of his older brother, Damascus, after his car turns up unexplainably abandoned. A poetic mood piece directed by J.P. Emodi, “Jason Richardson” follows the young man through a quietly tumultuous period as he grapples with memories of his brother and begins to ...

A heartbroken man comes to New York City to sell the rings from his seven failed engagements. Matt Nelsen directs “Seven Rings,” a perfectly awkward romantic comedy about the sad life of a gregarious man. Looking to move on from a string of failed romances, Jerry Pound tries to convince himself h...