A strange advertisement sends a young woman on a journey of memory loss and vampirism. “Oh! A Phantom All My Life,” directed by Ellena Eshraghi, is a coming-of-age reflection coded in darkness and fantasy. A young woman recounts the story her parents once told her—when she was a young child, she ...

A young man talks himself through a panic attack. In “Doomscrolling,” Santi MacLean layers multimedia documents and data moshes on top of a vulnerable outcry. With bulging eyes and spaghetti-like green hair, the young man speaks in the form of a 3D-animated figure. In a high pitch voice, the char...

Stalked by a sinister presence, a winemaker grows suspicious that her vineyard is being poisoned. “Buried,” directed by Nat Gee, is a 16mm drama where paranoia leaks into a woman’s laborious day-to-day duties. Eva sets forth into her vineyard as she prepares for an upcoming tasting event for pote...

A queer musician returns to her hometown to encounter the strange masculinity of the music scene. “Opener,” directed by Véra Haddad, is an observant comedy on the clichès of an indie rock venue and the awkwardness of social reunion. After spending time in Chicago, Sam is back where she started. A...

A man with shit for brains struggles to cope with his strange condition. “SHITHEAD”  directed by Riley Donigan, follows a young man on the brink of physical and psychological implosion. The opening sequence aptly foreshadows the portrait ahead. A log floats in the toilet while we overhear a phone...

A young man caught underneath the thumb of his crazed parents makes a break for freedom. Isabella Nemcik directs “Fever,” an absurd drama where a case of domestic imprisonment pushes a man to a skin-crawling breaking point. Ziggy’s parents, dolled with monstrous prosthetics, spoon-feed their son ...

An inept pig-man sets out to make the movie of a lifetime, but not without a few small setbacks. “Life Movie,” created by Nick Lane, follows a neurotic digital creator in an energetic tag-along through a highly surveilled New York. "Moe R. Paine" aka "Moe" is a mutant pig-man. With surveillance d...

A Gen-Z man child uses the powers of artificial intelligence to create his own movie where he wins the war and gets the girl...but at what cost? “In My Room,” directed by Michael McCurdy, is an experimental exploration of a man’s bizarre effort to escape into a new medium. The unnamed loner types...

A young man struggles against his demons in the age of social media and endless dopamine. Andi Lipo directs “Hedon,” a body-horror where masculine urges and porn addiction lead to a downward spiral. The young man gives Bella, his girlfriend, a ride to the airport. While she’s not looking, he scro...

A young man tries to cheer up his roommate by getting beer but a run-in with an ex-girlfriend complicates the picture. Matthew Koebele’s “The Right to Remain Silent” contains the melancholy and suppressed drama of an unexpected encounter. Paul looks for his watch while his roommate, Carter, reads...

A man tries to steal from his friends at game night and then things get infinitely worse. Alex Sovoda’s “Circumstantial Forgiveness” follows a frantic friend group as they erupt in outcry when the dirty laundry of two friends is laid out on the table. While the gang engages in a game of dice, Wil...

A young dancer tries to make rent while relying on the financial support of her sugar daddy. Through candid storytelling and docu-fictional modes, Abby Harri’s “Side Hustle” observes the intimacy in the life of a sex worker with a client. Eden, a contemporary dancer, starts her morning making vid...

An injured, unemployed, and irresponsible father fakes having cancer to pay for his broken ceiling. Max DeFalco directs “Anything Helps,” a high-octane comedy fueled by its frantic lead caught in a series of chaotic interactions. From his crummy Los Angeles apartment, Doug speaks to his son on th...

After three influencers spend a weekend living off tequila and tainted taco meat, their behavior starts to inexplicably change. Boni Mata directs “Bitches,” a satire weaving absurd drama into an influencer eco-system during the days that follow a comped vacation. On her Instagram story, Kayla giv...

On his 35th birthday, a struggling content creator pushes his life to the brink of destruction trying to go viral. Jacob Halpren’s “Seeking Engagement” satirizes influencer stardom culture and a man’s laughable entry point for collecting views. John, a relentless performer, accumulates most of hi...

Scrutinized for being single, a young woman living in Lagos finds a suitable admirer but a strange presence in her dreams makes things complicated. Wale Matuluko directs “True Affection,” a monochrome drama capturing the low-key gymnastics and social pressures of dating in the Nigerian city cente...

At the end of an eight-year relationship, a woman dies from boredom. “SALLY,” directed by Owen Ellis, is a comedy reflecting on expiring relationships and the effort to preserve them. Mark hasn’t been meeting Sally’s needs, leaving their relationship to shrivel and sending Sally into a brain dead...

A man sabotages an intimate holiday gathering when he attempts to gift his childhood friend’s fiancé something special. Michael Rees directs “Get-together-ers,” which offers Rees’ trademark comedy style hyperbolizing idiosyncratic behavior, however this time, taking an unexpected turn into metaph...

Through an autobiographical video essay, a dance artist muses on her transition from restaurant work to full-time teaching. Miriam Gabriel’s “Verbal Diarrhea” is a self-reflective journal entry about career shifts during a particularly manic period of the pandemic. We first find Miriam in the out...

In the relentless pursuit of productivity, a young woman undergoes a transformation that jeopardizes her humanity. Isabella Ivoš’s “Robotica” is a lowkey sci-fi that grapples with the demands of a highly competitive metropolitan space. Jeanne gets summoned into the office where she’s told over a ...

In a flashback, a woman is accused of over-narrativizing her life and makes that accusation into a narrative. Summer Benotwitz’s “Difficult Woman” is a two-minute snapshot of a couple amidst a peevish argument. In a Los Angeles bar, the couple (played by Lily Lady and Cameron Cowperthwait) meet f...