On the streets of Los Angeles, a group of young hustlers spend a night partying and stealing. It's a visceral collection of scenes with a pulsating natural energy and soft-focus gaze on lost innocence. The film centers around Gabriel, a handsome young man, and a gender-fluid set of friends maneuv...

Playing a version of himself, director Whitmer (aka Whit) Thomas drifts through L.A., meeting up with a series of friends and alienating them in various ways. Both comedic and revealing, "Fast and Loose" is a casual hang but an incisive one. As a self-reflection of a particular sort of friend gro...

Amid the high anxiety of post-9/11 NYC, a struggling post-production house is hired to make edits to a hit TV show: removing a shot of the twin towers during “The Sopranos” opening credits. Dustin Waldman directs “Never Fuggedaboutit,” a period piece that uniquely captures post 9/11 tension throu...

An art assistant for a gallery in New York knows his role well, to live in romantic poverty and be paid in social clout and drugs. “Art Boy,” directed by Taylor Ervin, is a sharp-edged depiction of an art scene where the actual art is a second tier concern over the lifestyles and personas behind ...

In a city where the sun never shines, a young skeptic helps his scientist uncle conduct an experiment that could give his people hope. Made in Kazakhstan by Batyrkhan Jussipov, “Helios” is deadpan dystopian sci-fi with an inventive DIY spirit. Nurseit is a disaffected young man living in a remote...

A woman turning 30 returns home dejected from life not living up to expectations. Chanel Dupree directs “Next Stop,” a surrealistic dark comedy that renders a dream-like quality in its melange of annoyances. She repeats affirmations to herself (“my destiny is bright and full”) while she avoids te...

A dispirited young musician living out of her car comes to a crossroads when she reconnects with an ex-girlfriend for one night. Chloe Jury-Fogel directs “Five Song Tour,” a portrait of solitude and longing set around Christmas that highlights the flip side of holiday frivolity. Making her way t...

Rachel discovers moments of light during a dark night of the soul. Her personal mental exercise of zooming in and out has a profound implication.

Sacha gallops around Florida and gets his heart crushed by an older female. Harleigh Shaw directs “The Day that Sherrie Stopped,” a 3D animated film that’s both dreamy and somber, its surreal visual landscapes filled with color and youthful energy. After getting popsicles in the park with his fri...

Unforeseen circumstances have brought a man to New York City alone. A trip that was meant for him and his girlfriend — they were to see a show — is now just him. And there’s something off about his Airbnb. Written & directed by Zach Fleming. Starring Rob Malone, Joanna Arnow, Sam Stillman.

An aspiring film director prepares for a play based on her complicated feelings toward her father. “An Athlete Wrestling a Python” is a Australian film by director Stephanie Jane Day, an incisive, darkly comedic character study on Julien. Her present preoccupations with the artistic process and c...

A self-sabotaging scammer attempts to sell fake acting classes in Times Square. Ben Scott directs and stars in “You’ve Been Chosen,” a chaotic look at an aggravated young man steamrolling through a new business venture. Before hitting 42nd street, Frank throws on a bedazzled blazer, grabs a micro...

A portrait of a young woman on the day of her Quinceñera in Los Angeles. Austin Spies directs “The 15,” a vérité style documentary that observes scenes and moments from a teenager's 15th birthday celebration. Sasha Sanchez sits in the chair of a beauty salon receiving touch ups for the big evenin...

Rachel just broke up with her boyfriend. She’s ready for an epic “glow up”.