'I am going to have you read from a collection of my spam emails,' The director explains as she ushers actors from Craigslist one-by-one into an audition room. The actors and the director together attempt to breathe life into lifeless, manipulative, malicious, and nonsensical email dialogue in an...

A woman tries to convince her boyfriend to speak openly about his sexual fantasies. Erin Murray directs “I Don’t Need to Know,” a four minute conversation between an LA couple that quickly escalates with a simple question, ‘what kind of porn do you watch?’ After a large house-plant haul, the coup...

A lonesome woman with strong moral fiber meets a new man for a late night drink. “Bar Snakes,” directed by Alex Warren, is a boozy vignette that perfectly captures the flirtatious maneuverings of two tipsy souls. The woman (played by Kate Adams) is already drunk when the date starts; the man (pla...

When Nitin finds out that his first crush is moving to Orlando with her family, he considers a way to get her attention. | Directed by Amitabh Joshi (Tabha). Starring Satya Shaw, Avery Garcia, Anna Itty, Joe Garcia.

This glimpse into the everyday moments of ordinary people is a vivid portrayal of mundanity, vulnerability, and frustration. A series of vignettes captured, for the most part, in evocative one-takes. Directed by Brandon Winters.

A Russian immigrant looks for life beyond busking at the Brighton Beach boardwalk. Theo Belci’s “End of the Boardwalk” offers a momentary look at moving to a new place and the obstacles that come with acclimating. To stay afloat financially, the young woman busks on the Brighton Beach boardwalk w...

A high-schooler named Larry tries to embrace the harsh reality that he may never be one of the “Great Larrys.” Oszkar Nosek directs “A Reason to be Larry,” a surreal character study of a young man trying to conceptualize his persona. Larry struggles to find confidence toward his own name, especia...

A box-office clerk is forced to deal with a hot-tempered patron. David Cardoza’s “Life in the Cage” is a comedic vignette capturing a confrontation outside of a movie theater. Behind the glass, a box-office attendant reads a comic as a frantic movie-goer rushes to the window. The man, increasingl...

This film explores the metaphorical significance of the tampon: a phallic item inserted into the vagina that is introduced to pubescent women as sort of a rite-of-passage into taking control over their bodies. A film by Alexandra Neuman, “Tampon” presents strikingly simple drawings beautifully an...

A father in rural Pakistan comes to a realization during the morning routine with his family. Maazin Kamal directs “Morning Without Light,” a black and white observational narrative of a small family living in isolation from the modern world. The father starts his day early by rinsing off at a cr...

2014 NoBudge Award winner Jeremy Hersh (Best Screenplay, “Natives”) returns with another story of women in love confronting their maybe-irreconcilable differences. Where that earlier film expanded to embrace ideas about place, culture, and identity, what we get here is a marvel of concentration. ...

An unexpected visit from her super sends an anxious woman scrambling to hide evidence of her cat. “No Pets,” directed by and starring Billie Michael, takes a simple conceit and finds plenty of tension, awkwardness, and humor. Arriving to her apartment, the woman discovers that her building’s supe...

A young man is pressed to help his older brother rob a rural farmhouse. David Call’s “Coach” is a dramatic thriller following the tense moments leading to a point of no return. Parked at the bottom of the hill, Sean sits in the driver’s seat and hands his little brother a ski mask. The younger br...

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 found footage compilation of a young drifter’s Mini-DV adventures. Michael Santos’s “trash moth” offers a series of vignettes discovered from a young man’s handycam that becomes progressively darker. Felix makes friends with a group of hooligans in hopes they will give him a beer. Next, he has ...