A group of police cadets are mercilessly hazed as they suffer through the worst day of their training. Andrew T. Betzer directs “Important Police Shit,” a series of provocative vignettes tracking the physical and emotional abuse that cops-in-training endure, a captivating but painful glimpse insi...

A struggling actor suffering from an ear infection takes his pain out on the world. “Ear Ache” is an uncomfortably engrossing dark comedy directed by Alex Kavutskiy carried by a potent, on-the-edge performance from DeMorge Brown. Twice a year, Frederik Beltran can have a surgery on his ear that t...

Amidst a mandatory quarantine, a young woman living in isolation battles her growing paranoia and deteriorating mental health. Meg Case and Brad Porter direct “Wrath,” a craftily devised and executed homemade project, which in any other year would fall firmly in the sci-fi horror realm; in 2020, ...

A male stripper has an unusual experience on the job in Mary Dauterman’s “Unfinished Business.” From a script co-written by Jenny Donheiser, the film is an awkward comedy that uses 1980’s costuming and choreography to highlight its dingy tableaus and expressionless ladies. When he arrives to a mo...

A couple rebrands their struggling haunted house business amid the pandemic. “Spooky Town,” directed by and starring Omar Shaukat and Anna Suzuki, is a sign-of-the-times mockumentary that follows a hapless duo through badly executed attempts to frighten their customers. While they wait for their ...

Zablah, a demon baby boomer, seeks to convince a millennial to eat at Applebee’s. Ryan Betschart and Rachel Nakawatase direct “Zablah,” a gritty comic oddity shot on 16mm (using a film stock that looks almost like 8mm) that uses a clickbait headline as a springboard to tackle a generational divid...

A woman endures frequent nightmares of her own death while finding it impossible to determine what’s real. Directed by Lexx Truss, “Zarina” is potent horror, a disorienting trek into the deep recesses of the mind — terror is alleviated with momentary blips of relief only to return stronger. Zarin...

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, two friends on a FaceTime call experience a dispute with a neighbor. Entirely presented as a video screen capture, Tanner Jarman’s film becomes an inadvertent tour through the racist viral videos of the day as we follow a young black man walking down the st...

Lessa and Cass are young lovers in a small town who dream of moving to Florida in this impressionistic portrait directed by Monica Lek. “And She Hisses” is a pulsating snapshot of the beauty and recklessness of young love, a fantasy that could last forever or be gone tomorrow. Cass gets a job at ...

After a difficult break-up, Annie reckons with the imminent departure of another close friend who is moving away from their shared apartment and city. From a script she co-wrote with Hannah Rehak, Nina Slesinger directs “Downbeat,” an intelligent and emotionally astute portrait of friendship and ...

During an editorial fashion shoot, a callous director and client toy with their model. “A Woman Eats,” written by and starring Frances Li, shows a woman trying to “act natural” as she’s subjected to increasingly humiliating questions and intrusions into her personal life. Posed in a lush still li...

After a job interview, Main arrives home to a chaotic scene involving her little brother and a warlock-wannabe neighbor. Abigail Bruley directs “Main Absolves,” an enigmatic comedy about a young woman at odds with her family / life. She didn’t get the job that her parents thought was a done deal...

A platonic meet-cute at a bus stop whimsically spirals into a surprising connection between a makeup artist and a nun. In “Sisters,” written by Beth Hoyt & directed by Nicole Emanuele, nothing is quite what it seems and getting exactly what you wished for is not necessarily a good thing. Waiting ...

A woman tries to clean her apartment, but her unkempt lover won't let her. Sara Silva directs and stars in “Dirt,” an experimental portrait of a messy relationship built with layers of spontaneous energy and complex threads of dissatisfaction. The two women wake up on the couch to find a dirty ap...

On the Tulalip Reservation, a young man confronts loss as he attends the funeral of a childhood friend. “In Spirit,” written and produced by Jonathan Salmon and Nathan Williams, is a reflective character study on a Native American man reckoning with the trauma of his people and within himself. Ja...

A woman fantasizes about a romantic night at a bar, including a fling with her bartender. “Queendom,” directed by Nat Gee, is a lighthearted music video shot on 16mm and filled with colorful production design and costuming. A woman and a man make eyes, he makes her a drink and offers her a rose, ...

Marco cuts class to spend the afternoon with his boyfriend, Graham, in this tender portrait of young love and intimacy. Matthew Puccini’s “Dirty” is minimal but lush, a coming-of-age snapshot that tackles an uncomfortable first-time sexual experience with sensitivity and warmth. After ditching sc...

After a day of shoveling hay, a spiritual dilettante tries to project his beliefs onto an uninterested co-worker. Andrew Theodore Balasia and Roman Koval direct “Holy Cannoli!”, a two hander character study about life’s purpose and fulfilling your potential, as interpreted by the half-baked musin...

Locked down at home, Kent scrambles to make a last minute sign for his co-worker’s virtual surprise party. “Hey Yú (如魚得水),” directed by Athena Han, perfectly captures a common mode of our times — being distracted, overwhelmed, and failing to live up to other’s expectations. Living alone in Vancou...

Two brothers steal a car in Lisbon, Portugal and head for a lighthouse. Directed by George Daniell, “The Valley of the Cats,” is an inventive lo-fi comedy adventure, shot on 8mm tape, part road movie, part descent into madness. Dead Eye and Square Hands, as the brothers are known, make their way ...

An emotionally unstable outcast attempts to make a connection with three unsuspecting college students. “Angel of the Night,” directed by Nick Verdi, is a pitch black character study (darkly funny depending on your tolerance for aggressively anti-social, antagonizing behavior) that follows a 35-y...

In New York City, a man named Lenny looks after his mother who is experiencing memory loss and hallucinations. “I’ll Be Here For Awhile,” directed by Dylan and Dakota Pailes-Friedman, is an elliptical drama told with quietly evocative visuals about identity loss and the burdens shouldered by love...