A man lives in a restaurant where he also works as a waiter. Ian Faria and Edy Modica direct “Waiter Movie: The Short,” a hilarious and oddly endearing portrait of a New York waiter who chops it up with patrons just as well as he waits tables. We meet our old soul Frankie, played by Modica hersel...

An awkward New York teenager accompanies her more experienced friend to a boy’s home. Amanda Samimi directs “Tenderless,” a 16mm coming-of-age film that considers youthful city-living and meandering intimacies. Observing skaters on the blacktop and the overly-acquainted squirrels of Tompkins Squa...

Awkwardly making their way through New York City, two brothers prepare to audition for the same role in an upcoming movie. Nicholas Shaya directs and co-stars in “The Audition Tape,” a 20 minute, episodic comedy that showcases the rolling banter of two Iranian-American brothers who might not actu...

A distinctive piece of homemade filmmaking that’s awkwardly funny and intriguing. Arriving and departing on its own track, "Making Eyes" is a lo-fi film about locking eyes with a stranger on the NYC subway and falling in love. An office worker who gets by with his Mad Men impressions keeps seeing...

After being dumped under the Manhattan bridge in a cardboard box, a lost and bewildered man tries to get home to Long Island. A frenetic extravaganza of anything-goes street cinema, “Little Boy Maniac,” directed by David Cardoza, crams what could have been a feature-length film into thirty minute...

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...

Ada is an unlikeable competitive walker who makes a dress out of toilet paper and has an unfortunate run-in with a hose. Eleanore Pienta’s “Ada” is a lighthearted silent comedy following the unpredictable antics of a peculiar woman making her way through crowded New York City streets. As she walk...

A flailing Artist and her Muse host a photography exhibition attended by incensed critics and peers from their tainted art world past. “Tasteful Nudes,” directed by Sofia Dobrushin and Emma Rogers, is a playful satire combining mockumentary and performance art, taking aim at the self-obsessed, hi...

The employees of a cult-like biotech start-up test their product on themselves. “Aquaculture”, written and directed by Artemis Shaw, is a (slightly) sci-fi satire about the grandiose vision of a quietly eccentric entrepreneur; freely mixing absurdity and sincerity, it’s a strangely engrossing fil...

In New York City, a young woman reckons with being sexually assaulted by a stranger on the train. This powerful drama from director Adinah Dancyger, moves in small waves, accumulating resonance with each exchange. India Salvor Menuez plays Anna, a woman forced to navigate a harsh reality. In the ...

Lucy and David's 8 year relationship has survived a distance of 2700 miles, but the events of one night tests their decision to stay together. Director Allegra Oxborough has crafted a complex and remarkably realistic docu-fiction drama about a long-distance relationship, equal parts sensitive, bl...

A young woman impulsively travels to New York City alone, ignoring her mother's calls throughout the trip. Directed by Anahita Amirshahi. Cast: Ellena Eshraghi, Denton True, Gina Nicole Brown.

After the sudden loss of their mother, three suburban siblings struggle to move forward as witnessed by their dog, Leadbelly. This mumblecore drama from Chicago beautifully captures sibling relationships and grief while never resorting to exaggeration or over-simplification. Directors Anna Nilles...

Shelly is a peculiar young woman making a movie about a seahorse named Imogen. She picks up footage at the local aquarium and in her Brooklyn apartment while pursuing a deep sea diving certificate, so she can record the seahorses in their natural environment. We don’t quite trust the intentions o...

A young Boston man and his kinda girlfriend spend a couple nights together then take separate trips to New York. They sleep together, share forties and sing karaoke duets, but she always seems distant, on the verge of cutting him loose, all the more so when she's offered a summer job in Brooklyn ...

Two souls meet on the New York City subway and communicate with each other through telepathy. Gabriel Guzman directs “Speak in My Language,” a poetic portrait of a cosmic romance that seems fated to last forever. After meeting on the train and discovering they share the same ability to read each ...

In three New York City vignettes, a handful of characters engage (both actively and passively) with the soundtracks of their current lives. Ray Smiling directs “Play This at My Funeral,” a film that revolves around music and corresponding moments of humor or enthusiasm. A Times Square Spiderman f...

A heartbroken man comes to New York City to sell the rings from his seven failed engagements. Matt Nelsen directs “Seven Rings,” a perfectly awkward romantic comedy about the sad life of a gregarious man. Looking to move on from a string of failed romances, Jerry Pound tries to convince himself h...

On a bender through the clubs, poetry readings, hotel rooms, and bars of NYC, the self-proclaimed ‘Audrey Hepburn of the Lower East Side’ hops around in search of love, cigarettes, wine, or whatever else keeps the train moving. The edgy video blog, “A New York Muse,” directed by Nicole Crowley, t...

Two old friends reunite on the hottest day of summer in NYC. “Dom,” directed by Meryl Jones Williams (co-directed and story by Jane Stiles), is a sensuous mood piece — minimal but rich in feeling — following Beth through a complicated day spending time with a close friend she hasn’t seen in awhil...

Working as a babysitter for a melodramatic family, a woman looks for alone time as she prepares a Venus ritual. Directed by Jane Stiles and Meryl Jones, “The Love Spell” is a character study shot on 16mm that places its lovelorn subject in a last-minute scheduling predicament. Tucker is forced to...

A late-night conversation with an oracle launches a young Brooklyn woman on a quest to slay a vampire. Courtney Bush, Will Carington, and Jake Goicoechea present “Rejoice in the Lamb,” a horror-comedy hybrid where bits of spookiness surround a suspicious new addition to a friend group. Late in th...

The story of a drug-fueled weekend in a Brooklyn apartment propelled by grief and loyalty. Lee, reeling from the death of his mother, visits the home of his old friend, Monty. Given his present state of mind (and body), it’s not a pleasant visit, at least from the perspective of Monty’s well put ...

Jonny (Deragh Campbell) watches a toy frog swimming endlessly in a plastic tub. She then drops it in the East River and it mechanically swims away. A Snow Leopard paces back and forth behind a cage, as elegant and graceful as it is pathetically trapped. Sam (Kentucker Audley) sits with a baseball...