A band of ravers who reside and dance under the L.A River have their lives turned upside down when one of their own is chopped in half with a glow stick. “A Ballet,” directed by Zoe Katz, is a bonkers 5-minute no-fi extravaganza where everyone wears JNCOS (this is a sequel to Katz’ “A Very JNCOS ...

A lighthearted take on the Alphabet made in quarantine during the Coronavirus Pandemic. Guy Kozak directs “Alphabet,” which creates an appealing mood and atmosphere from a series of simple compositions, one for each letter, A-Z. There’s a lovely variety of visuals — some words are proper nouns, l...

Pak Anggir is a rice farmer in Bali living a modest, spiritually-connected existence, intent on passing along ancient Hindu traditions to his grandchildren. This calming documentary portrait directed by Ashleigh Goh Hua captures Anggir in his element, working the fields, blessing the offerings, a...

Infantrymen are waking up in full battle dress under the pines of a manicured mid-century subdivision. They mount the tarred roof of what might be an elementary school and return fire at an unseen enemy covered somewhere across the school’s front drive. A man on a riding mower throws the platoon ...

In Saint Cloud, Minnesota, former doughnut baker Pete Holt chases his own American Dream by designing and manufacturing a workout machine that keeps the body in continuous motion. Whether driven by optimism or delusion, Holt envisions a workout that stays fun for 21 minutes by changing body posit...

Katelyn and Halie just want to get high and watch Pixar movies but an invasive pizza delivery boy derails their Friday night. “Me & My Friend Just Want Our Pizza,” by directors Fernando Andrés and Tyler Rugh, is a stoner comedy about a casual evening that turns creepy. Like in their previous shor...

In her mid-twenties, Fanny moves back to her hometown to attend the local University but struggles to bond with other students and reckon with her past. This short dramatic feature from Norway is a beautifully-made character study about a young woman at a vulnerable time. During student orientati...

In a remote cabin in the redwood forest of Northern California, a Buddhist teacher and his son are thrown together after years of estrangement forced to make peace with life’s inevitabilities. “For the Coyotes” is a remarkable film about connection, pain and mortality. It was made by a two person...

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 spirit haunts an Airbnb. The titular ghost, herself a visitor to the home at one point (“a weekend trip upstate with the girls”) considers the spot a charming place to haunt and loves the company of new visitors. Dauterman specializes in sketch films made with sharp style and timing (see also “...

A young woman becomes flustered when her boyfriend refuses to help prepare for an upcoming trip. Surreal moments begin to add up — Alex’s tooth falls out, an entire body of water lies just outside her window. Dauterman nails the feeling of a nightmare, say when your partner becomes inexplicably u...

Told as a series of texts between two friends dreading their planned hang, “On My Way,” directed by Mary Dauterman, is a 90 second comedy about not wanting to leave the house. We watch in split screen as the two young women — one snacking and watching TV, the other lounging comfortably in bed — p...

A Singaporean boy and his grandmother spend some days alone together in this lovely, understated short film by director Stanley Xu Ruiyang. While the mother and father are hard at work to support their comfortable existence, the boy and his grandmother are left alone with feelings of neglect, por...

A group of young friends in Boston navigate their combustible youth, making moves towards romance, artistic expression, and outer space. A lo-fi jolt of cinematic playfulness, “Maya Forever” is constantly shifting, never tied down to believability or realism, always jump-cutting in and out and aw...

On Rockaway Beach, a young woman named Teresa borrows money from a teenage skateboarder in return a provocative kiss. She pulls a similar routine with another man working at a deli promising a sexual favor in exchange for keys to the register. These aren’t isolated incidents but a destructive pat...