A man traverses a series of pastoral landscapes to his childhood home where he finds his sister packing their parents' belongings. Brothers Dakota Mina Fox and Dylan Pailes-Friedman co-direct “Afternoon of Dying Trees,” a grainy meditation on delusional and dwindling memories. As Calvin moves thr...

A girl living in a half-physical, half-digital world, starts to hear her new neighbor through the wall. Jan Grabowski’s “Half-Dream” begins as a monochrome observation of a young woman in isolation but quickly escalates to a surreal out of body encounter. The character referred to as ‘The Girl’ l...

A man finds out that his lover's ex-boyfriend resembles his personal hero. Free Man Agyapong’s “Malcom Ex” is a darkly humorous look at navigating insecurities in a new relationship. A group of friends kick it on the beach. Guy and Nairobi have been seeing each other recently. With the rest of th...

A young man drives across the vast exteriors of Kansas in anticipation of a lover's rendezvous. Darron Carswell’s “Villa Mink” is a contained, slow-burn look at a young man’s night in solitude. Rudy Ford rides the interstate, taking a rest at a road-side motel where there’s the possibility of mee...

A knight in an accursed and shattered world tempts fate with a mysterious song. Albert Birney’s “Gruenfeld” boards a medieval quest where fantasy is suddenly met by horror. Told from the deep voice of an anonymous narrator, we observe the weathered knight, Sir Garreth, as he desperately searches ...

Two 10th grade BFF's have a sleepover where they contemplate the topics of love, God, queerness and loss. Santi MacLean’s “rip” meshes sensibilities of a teen sitcom with characters deeply immersed into a gen-Z vernacular. Through several camera POV’s, a Macbook webcam being the main, we watch Be...

A woman finds a way out of an abusive relationship. “Blue Light,” directed by Lucia Martinez Garcia, is an experimental portrait of a woman’s escape told through sci-fi elements. In the darkness, we overhear a fuming fall-out between a couple on their last leg. With an abrupt, and possibly violen...

Amidst strange encounters in her life and work, a Brazilian filmmaker living in Chicago is struck by a compelling question. João Rubio Rubinato and Lua Borges direct “Where’s South?” a 16mm film that ruminates on being far from home despite having footing somewhere else. When Helena arrives late ...

A young couple visiting New York gets into a fight in Times Square. Shae Sennett’s “Times Square Love Story” is an experimental observation of a dysfunctional couple trapped in the peculiar metropolitan Petri dish. Bickering about what to purchase, sore legs, and whatever else there is to argue o...

An overseas yogurt company causes a tumultuous rift between two roommates. “God Help Us,” directed by Julius Jefferson, is a piece of experimental horror comedy that accentuates a bizarre roommate conflict. After returning to their apartment to find a huge mess of yogurt cups littering the place ...

A grandson relieves himself of guilt. “Discharge,” directed by Aidan Macaluso, is a brisk dark comedy showing the phone call between a grandson and his grandmother, and the action that follows. With his grandma suffering from dementia, the young man lies about sending her gifts. It feels good in ...

A Russian immigrant looks for life beyond busking at the Brighton Beach boardwalk. Theo Belci’s “End of the Boardwalk” offers a momentary look at moving to a new place and the obstacles that come with acclimating. To stay afloat financially, the young woman busks on the Brighton Beach boardwalk w...

A found footage compilation of a young drifter’s Mini-DV adventures. Michael Santos’s “trash moth” offers a series of vignettes discovered from a young man’s handycam that becomes progressively darker. Felix makes friends with a group of hooligans in hopes they will give him a beer. Next, he has ...

A perpetually stoned pothead floats past life’s responsibilities on a cloud of smoke until accidentally smoking an ounce of K2 and descending into an existential rabbit-hole of increasing perplexity. Spencer Witmer directs “GINGER BOY and The Purpose of Life on Earth,” a rich, experimental charac...

After a ten year hiatus, two friends reunite to break a mysterious curse. Steph Twyford-Rigley’s “Teeth Tacs” is a playful lo-fi comedy that explores a female friendship stuck in a supernatural cycle. At a quaint beach-side home, Angela and Steph meet on the shore. Over their uniquely large bowls...

Deep in the American south, a girl living in a trailer park feels suffocated by her surroundings when her best friend reveals that she is pregnant. “Georgia,” directed by Maci Parker, is an experimental slice-of-life film that explores coming of age in a rural area. As her younger brother experim...

A wanted cybercriminal lays low at the Jersey Shore. Patrick Boehmcke directs “Jessie the Ghost,” a docu-fictional portrait following a young individual on the run. We meet Jessie meandering through Jersey Shore environments — getting a tall slushee at the gas station, hitting the boardwalk arcad...

A used condom lands on a sunflower and gives it sentience. Granville Davis directs “Plant Parenthood,” an endearingly bizarre comedy punctuated with “Sesame Street” like puppetry. We meet a struggling couple: Ronnie desperately wants children, but his wife, Margaret, seems to have moved on. An ex...

A group of soldiers are administered a mysterious psychoactive drug and put through rigorous physical and mental tests. Angus McMaster directs “Cold Runner,” a 30-minute drama where the psychological effects on four young men slowly unfolds into a subdued hysteria. At a discreet military facility...

Traveling the continental United States, two vagabond thieves rob from sick, twisted sexual deviants. Griffin Sauter directs “Mousetrap,” an experimental road film following two drifters as they traverse a crude American landscape. From warehouse to ghost town, the two partners front as a “critte...

An actor living on the edge of one of the most polluted zip codes in the United States prepares for a role. Kevin Steen directs “Daron, Daron Colbert,” an atmospheric portrait of a young man’s day-to-day life while he aspires to a career in acting. We’re introduced to Delray, a heavily polluted n...

A sight-restoring surgery leaves surreal distortions to a man’s vision. Efosa Osaghae directs “Locusts Beyond a Phantasia,” a fantasy-realist film where a photographer must distinguish between reality and illusion through his Polaroid camera. As he removes the blindfolds with the help of his surg...

A van-dwelling comic stalks an industrial zone at night. Calvin Lee Reeder writes and directs “Harbor Island,” a character study where a comedian, played by Josh Fadem, experiences solitude as he paces through a spot of desolation in the Pacific Northwest. In 2020, the Census Bureau reported a to...

A filmmaker compares his love life to the German fable. Ethan Fuirst directs and stars in “Rumpelstiltskin,” a self-reflective, docu-fictional piece that comedically considers a man’s romantic, eventually turned platonic, relationships. Through 16mm grain and before a spot-lit backdrop, Ethan, su...