Melodia, a Venezuelan middle schooler struggles to fit into her new North Carolina home, she lives inside her novel that she is secretly writing in her phone on the way to school. Director/co-writer: Grant Conversano. Co-writer: Bridget Anderson. Lead Actor/ Co-writer: Isabela Rengifo.

At a dystopian grade school, a determined 11-year-old girl struggles during her final exams. Wylie Anderson directs “How to Cry on Command,” a hilarious satire looking at the requirements and consequences of pursuing stardom. At “Celebrity Preparatory for Girls,” there are classes on how to speak...

An American couple worries about the safety of a Parisian girl after a drunken night out. Jerzy Rose directs “Nobody Likes You As Much As I Do,” a relationship drama teeming with incisive exchanges, communication breakdowns, and arguments over youth and sexuality. After a lively evening that ends...

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...

While shopping at a hip boutique, an unassuming Black woman is forced to reckon with the judgement of a white employee. Aisha Evelyna directs and stars in “Alex,” a social issue drama that pinpoints layers of discrimination and hypocrisy underneath ‘friendly’ customer service. Sydney accompanies ...

On their first day living together, a young couple experiences ghosts from their past. “Houseplants,” from director Prashanth Kamalakanthan, is an elliptical drama that glimpses into the private life of Alma and Ron, a struggling couple on a vulnerable day. Over time, your partner changes and you...

Brandon Colvin’s excellent debut feature, "Frames," from 2012, takes off with two young late-high-schoolers, a boy (Holland Noël) and a girl (Maria Travis), who are friends but through the pretense of a camcorder-film project realize they’re probably in love. The girl is more sexual in body, pois...

A recently married woman helps her single friend shoot an introduction video for a dating service. Imogen McCluskey directs “Atomic Love,” a 1980s found-footage piece where honest truths between two friends reveal themselves. With her hot pink blazer and questionable perm, Aleea struggles to get ...

Local enthusiast accused of putting up cat stickers continues to create havoc for his former and current neighbors. “Cat Stickers 2,” the ludicrous follow-up to the already ludicrous “Cat Stickers 1,” doubles down with more absurdity! more stickers! more neighbor outrage! Director / Editor: Joe B...

During their first hookup, a new couple workshops a mommy kink. Sophia Smith directs “Mommy,” an awkward sex comedy about intimacy going off the rails. From the start, the encounter is uncomfortable — they fumble to get into position, and he is bothered by the presence of her dog. But it gets rea...

A girl sends a sexually explicit DM to her celebrity crush. In Kitty McVicar’s “I Swear to God I’m not Crazy,” a young woman from Worcester, Massachusetts attempts to craft a raunchy video through a series of peculiar role-played performances and an amusing narration. Piper Conley stands in front...

Local teens of Denver, Colorado lead viewers through a guide to all things Denver, Colorado. Written by and starring the comedy troupe, Phantasmagoria LLC, “Denver Tourism Tapes” is a hilariously far-out grab bag of tropes, parodies, existential comedy, lo-fi psychedelia, kids playtime, and light...

A young woman who paints her nightmares, her wily much-older cousin, and a small apartment-bound therapy group collide. | Directed by Ryan McGlade.

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...

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...

A surreal, scattershot story of fatherhood, the cycle of life, consumerism, and giving people what they ask for. “Bobby Fish,” directed by Peter Wagner, is a one-of-a-kind oddity bouncing between perspectives— from a father, to a son, to a fish, to an evil toy company — all held together with a u...

On his 25th birthday, Cary brings his friends to the desert and requests one gift: for them to list everything they hate about him. “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know,” directed by Neal Suresh Mulani, is a sharp-tongued comedy about insecure friendships and going to extreme lengths to uncover true f...