A Chinese manicurist in Miami attempts to describe feelings she doesn't have the words for. “Agua Viva,” written, directed and animated by Alexa Lim Haas, is a gorgeous, melancholic portrait of a stranger in a strange land. As she quietly goes about her day giving manicures and pedicures in a Flo...

A young man takes his love for lizards to the extreme. He legally changes his last name to Lizardi and then, camcorder in tow, goes in search of any lizard he can find and zoom in on. A crash-course in lizard awareness, he meets and chats it up with several townsfolk with something lizard-related...

A musician, a YouTuber, and a Tik Tok star battle their egos and depression in “Things That Happen,” an urgent new drama by Bobby McCoy. Filled with style and momentum, this disturbing depiction of young adults (or old kids) lost in a vapid and cruel media landscape tracks three young characters ...

In the aftermath of an assault, a woman tries to come to terms with the violation, or just get through her day. Director Naima Ramos-Chapman uses an unexpected dose of magical realism to express a poetic response to a loss of dignity. The quiet morning at first feels mundane, but as new details e...

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...

Afflicted by a mysterious case of hyper-empathy, a young woman stumbles across a group that claims to treat the disorder. “Empath,” directed by Alec Moeller, is an engrossing character study lifted by a powerhouse performance by Betsey Brown. Moving through everyday life is a minefield of emotion...

A faithfully recreated 1970s cigarettes advertisement unspools into a surreal satire on melodramatic marketing. “Ralph Styles Ultra,” by director Nic fforde, is an exquisitely-realized mockup complete with period-perfect performances, music, art design, costuming, and hair and make up. A debonair...

Playing a version of himself, director Whitmer (aka Whit) Thomas drifts through L.A., meeting up with a series of friends and alienating them in various ways. Both comedic and revealing, "Fast and Loose" is a casual hang but an incisive one. As a self-reflection of a particular sort of friend gro...