Two chefs drive through the desert discussing invasive thoughts. “Fake Jazz,” directed by Kevin Luna, is a darkly funny conversation about uncomfortable (even gruesome) patterns of the mind. Wearing tall chefs’ hats (Luna wanted the hats to be taller even, but they couldn’t fit in the car), two co-workers try to get down the road without crashing their car. It shouldn’t be that hard, except for the fact that the younger chef, who is driving, has been consumed of late by horrific thoughts, including ‘what would it be like if I swerved the car into a ditch right now?’ The passenger chef is increasingly disturbed by the topic, wants to move on, or take over the wheel. We previously featured Luna with his 2019 short, “Five Minutes Before the End of The World,” which is more elaborate but explores a similar uneasy tone.

Director: Kevin Luna. Cast: Matthew Doyle, Brian Lee Hughes & Steele O'Neal. Writers: Kevin Luna & Brian Lee Hughes. DoP: Brandon Kelly. Sound design: Jonathan Dakers. Art direction: Brian Echon. Executive Producer: Matt Factor. Music: UFOFBI.