A sight-restoring surgery leaves surreal distortions to a man’s vision. Efosa Osaghae directs “Locusts Beyond a Phantasia,” a fantasy-realist film where a photographer must distinguish between reality and illusion through his Polaroid camera. As he removes the blindfolds with the help of his surg...

A Korean woman with a severely scarred face visits a black market hospital in Queens to seek plastic surgery. | Writer & Director: Christina Yoon. Cast: Theresa Bome Kim, Taeho Kwak, MeeWha Alana Lee.

A documentary about the end of a young man’s musical project told through the anecdotes and recollections of everyone who helped along the way. “The Death of Art Slob,” directed by musician Amar Ahmad, is a poignant ode to suburban scenes, house shows, college towns, and the American enclaves whe...

Young revelers, Jean and Jacob, vow to stop their crazy lifestyle holding them back in life, but first they must live it up for one more night. An infectious short film about partying in your own world no matter what it looks like from the outside. Waking up hungover by a pool, two friends decide...

An isolated sick girl and a curious boy strike up a hidden relationship at a roadside motel. “Proxy,” directed by Eric Schuman, lands in unique territory — part unsettling mystery, part coming-of-age drama about loneliness and the desire for connection. Russ lives and works at a motel run by his ...

A goofy buddy comedy with a language of its own, uniquely disarming and oddly hilarious. As an expression of their friendship, two young roommates — Ronnie and Darnell — meet in their living room one night a week to give each other a hug. So explains Darnell via his “little radio show” recorded i...

A young woman becomes flustered when her boyfriend refuses to help prepare for an upcoming trip. Surreal moments begin to add up — Alex’s tooth falls out, an entire body of water lies just outside her window. Dauterman nails the feeling of a nightmare, say when your partner becomes inexplicably u...

Noah, a struggling writer who lives alone in his mother’s New York townhouse, receives a visit from Daniel, an old friend looking to start a new psychiatry practice. This darkly comedic short by Daniel Goldberg examines a floundering rich kid, riddled with anxiety and self-doubt, against his prom...

In Atlantic City on a lonely night, two strangers cross paths and share the evening together. A soulful 16mm portrait of two men and their unlikely connection, by director Chris Osborn, “True Blue” draws its characters perhaps as symbols of a faded American dream, but does so with complexity and ...

In a rapidly gentrifying dive bar, two men pick a fight. “Last Nite at Sam’s,” directed by Devon Manney, is an intense animated film that depicts a violent night spiraling out of control with vivid soundscapes and compositions. What starts as an ordinary evening — one patron picks a song from the...

A retired magician turned aquatic fish salesman is visited by an obsessed fan. Ben Gordon’s “Stigmata” is a bizarre, fever-dream drama witnessing a man’s persistent effort to learn a forbidden spell. Brad Christian closes up his fish and supplies store for the night, but there’s a knock at the do...

A struggling stand-up comedian decides to make a comedy sex tape in hopes of getting famous. This rapid-fire mockumentary — created by and starring Mary Beth Barone, Tea Hacic, and Megan Patsel — follows along as Mary Beth pitches her idea and sets out to produce the tape, trying to maintain its ...

After the death of their father, siblings Jeff and Amber hike to one of his favorite spots in the Tehachapi Mountains. A restrained piece about grief, in its various forms, set against the same gorgeous vistas that once provided their dad a prime train-watching spot. Starring indie heavyweights A...

A young man attempts to get to the bottom of his childhood memories of plywood in this amusingly mundane documentary short by Christian Kozlowski. From as far back as he can remember, Christian’s dad had always used plywood to build houses, and he assumes that he still does. This assumption goes ...

A man, a river, and a raccoon face off in this silent film by Parker Davis. Notable for its simplicity and earnestness, “Pity River,” finds a young man on a menial chore to remove a dead raccoon from near a river. The task is complicated when he accidentally drops the animal into the water, and i...

An introverted girl goes clubbing alone and wishes she could be less uncomfortable. Tiger Hornby’s “Double Club,” is an atmospheric portrait, made of zero words yet still close and intimate. The anonymous woman quietly enters a club, trying to fit in with other party-goers through the fog and pul...

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 ...

A long-haul trucker builds community and a new life on YouTube as @MsDivaTrucker43. Dana Reilly directs “Ms Diva Trucker,” a documentary portrait about the life of a female truck driver. Understated but expressive, the film captures a woman defined more by her independence than from her unusual l...

A man’s talent for playing a 1990’s video game makes him famous in the Los Angeles arcade community. Zac Weathers and Brooke Palmieri direct “Time Crisis,” a vivid documentary capsule of the physical arcade space following one of its most devout patrons. Recognized in the leaderboards as “E.E.,” ...