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NORMIE
Two girls weaponize the digital gaze to turn a stranger into content. Logan Fields’ “Normie” is a snappy scrutinization where shit-talking gets put into perspective in a Los Angeles park. Two girls, with Erewhon smoothie and Juul in hand, observe an innocently unbothered man as he waits for the b...
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Public Park
Movie + 1 extra
A man desperately fights for his place in the world by defeating a child in a game of basketball. “Public Park,” directed by Alosha Robinson, features Brian Fiddyment as a meandering man caught in a series of peculiar exchanges. Dan begins his day purchasing unlabeled shampoos and creams from an ...
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Dolphin Boy
Movie + 2 extras
A man finds a woman washed up on shore; when she reveals her identity, he goes to great lengths to become part of her world. “Dolphin Boy,” directed by Arielle Bordow and Tyler Zonies, is a lo-fi fantasy film—a snapshot of longing rendered with deadpan campiness and body-horror elements. While sm...
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Thank You
In the aftermath of an audition, a delusional actress takes her positive outlook to the extreme. Ava Hase’s “Thank You” explores a cycle of rationalization and overcompensation while discussing her performance with a casting agent. The audition has ended but the camera stays rolling. In a ramblin...
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Kar
Movie + 1 extra
An emerging filmmaker asks himself whether it's possible to make something meaningful in 10 minutes. “Kar,” directed by Nick Allen, is a self-reflexive film about trying, failing, and trying again to make a film. Under a looming cloud of anxiety, Nick gears up to make his road film about a bright...
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No Concept
Movie + 1 extra
A fight between a dismissive man and his unhinged girlfriend draws the attention of the man’s pestering sister. “No Concept,” directed by Vogue Giambri, accounts a high-octane, aggro afternoon of stomach pain and pettiness. Waiting in the front yard of his father’s New Jersey home in anticipation...
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Tomorrow, My God!
Movie + 1 extra
Four young friends go on a holiday in the French countryside and fall in love with each other. Andrea Studinger directs “Tomorrow, My God,” a candid observation filled with dry humor and lovely visuals of a friend group and their messy romantic feelings. On a visit to a vacation home, cousins Mat...
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Serve the Country
Movie + 1 extra
A fast-talking man claiming to be a former tennis prodigy navigates a series of skeptical encounters. “Serve the Country,” directed by Fabian Velasco and Milos Mitrovic, delivers both dark comedy and double meaning to the sport of tennis and the concept of stolen valor. Frantically strolling down...
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We Live Here Now
Movie + 1 extra
Abandoned by the roommate she'd been expecting to live with, a young woman finds herself stuck in an apartment she can’t afford. Justin Senkbile’s 16mm slice-of-life film, “We Live Here Now,” follows a newly arrived Chicago transplant caught adrift in wintry solitude. Carolyn wheels her single lu...
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Uncle Morris
An off-put man tries to make a heartfelt toast for his brother's baby shower but, instead, he completely unravels. Victor Tadashi Suarez and Max Azulay direct “Uncle Morris,” a dark comedy where cultish LA family rituals and a tiny crown of destiny are revealed through a confession. Doug and Tris...
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She Sings
Movie + 4 extras
When a woman retraces the steps of a recurring dream, it reveals a fractured sense of self. Lily Ekimian Ragheb and Ahmed T. Ragheb direct “She Sings,” an experiential account of immigration and the blurred sense of belonging that follows. From murmurs in Arabic to reflections in English, Aziza r...
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Palookaville
Movie + 1 extra
Things get turned upside down when a man wakes up believing he’s Joe Louis, the boxing legend. Theodore Collatos directs “Palookaville,” a New York dramedy that follows an unsettled man through a bizarre condition. JoJo begins his day at the deli and heads back to his sister’s Brooklyn apartment ...
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Turn on the Bright Lights
Movie + 1 extra
Seeking refuge from their anxieties and menial problems that haunt them at home, two girls from Miami take a last minute surfing trip to Nicaragua. In “Turn On The Bright Lights,” Juanita Umaña ruminates on the memory of a mid-20’s rendezvous. We get familiar with Missy and Layla through a young ...
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Personal Assistant
Desperate for work, a struggling artist takes on a personal assistant gig from Craigslist. Tynan DeLong’s “Personal Assistant” confines us at close-range to a claustrophobic series of interactions between a young woman and her exasperating employer. Sadie lands a job that drops her into the apart...
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Repatriados
Movie + 1 extra
After a food delivery worker is killed in a biking accident, three friends attempt to raise the funds to repatriate his body back to Mexico. Moises Bazbaz directs “Repatriados,” an on-the-ground look at a group of immigrants in New York City as they deal with the aftermath of a recent tragedy. On...
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Bronze Dog
Movie + 1 extra
A guy tries to get over a break up by making a documentary about it. “Bronze Dog,” directed by Michael Bernieri, pokes and plays with the idea of life imitating art, expanding in unpredictable directions. Steven is a dimwitted man, played by Eric Rahill, who buys into his self-conceived fiction d...
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Oh! A Phantom All My Life
Movie + 1 extra
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 ...
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Doomscrolling
Movie + 2 extras
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...
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Buried
Movie + 1 extra
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...
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Opener
Movie + 2 extras
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...
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SHITHEAD
Movie + 1 extra
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...
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Fever
Movie + 1 extra
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 ...
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Life Movie
Movie + 2 extras
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...
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Night Milk
A queer woman’s sleepover with her girlfriend resurfaces buried sexual traumas, blurring the lines between fantasy and pain. Tiger Hornby directs “Night Milk,” an experiential drama realizing the hallucinogenic disassociation between mind and body during sex and its internal epicenter. It’s the e...