A documentary about the end of a young man’s musical project told through the anecdotes and recollections of everyone who helped along the way. “The Death of Art Slob,” directed by musician Amar Ahmad, is a poignant ode to suburban scenes, house shows, college towns, and the American enclaves whe...

An archived home movie about a baby who seems to be able to solve anything. Corey Podell, directing nearly 30 years ago, presents “Natalie Saves the Day,” created on a family camcorder in 1996 and finally edited in 2023. Shot almost entirely within the interiors and exteriors of a suburban home, ...

After an acquaintance gets signed to a major label, two townies try to cook up their own path to success. “Sharon 66,” directed by Jordan Tetewsky and Joshua Pikovsky, is a quietly funny, weirdo slice-of-life portrait of life in a small town for two mid 20’s underachievers. Benjy wanders around S...

Two sisters fight to save their digital utopia from demise. “Welcome to the Enclave,” directed by Sarah Lasley, is an inventive experimental animation framed as an absurdist crowdfunding video. The Enclave is a virtual street created by a woman named Moni, but at the moment she’s under attack fro...

A troubled teen has one last night out with friends before her life is changed forever. Maddy Rose Figueredo’s “Swan Song” follows college student Aubrey as she navigates the social gymnastics and vices of a hard-partying friend group. Feeling sick after drinking too much, Aubrey goes to the bath...

A high school senior in his final days of school must come to terms with the death of a friend. “Lay Me by the Shore,” directed by David Findlay, is a gorgeously photographed, impeccably crafted tone poem about bottled confusion, regret and shame. As graduation looms for Noah, he spends his days ...

A high-schooler named Larry tries to embrace the harsh reality that he may never be one of the “Great Larrys.” Oszkar Nosek directs “A Reason to be Larry,” a surreal character study of a young man trying to conceptualize his persona. Larry struggles to find confidence toward his own name, especia...

A harmless driving lesson quickly turns into a survival lesson on police encounters. “Ten & Two,” directed by Travis Wood, is a vignette about a mother and teenage son in the suburbs preparing for the inevitability of racial profiling. On a test drive, the son misses a stop sign and rattles the ...

Two Midwesterners take a panoramic tour of the gas stations, strip malls and fast food restaurants of their lives. An experimental documentary that turns ordinary, prepackaged American suburbia into a surreal haze, “Going to the Store,” directed by Andrew Lewis, approaches the familiar with such ...

On a visit to her family in America, a grandmother is left to find companionship with a pet fish as she slowly comes to terms with losing her independence. Annie Ning directs “Fishbowl,” a tender and observant portrait of aging and isolation, shouldered by a poignant performance from Xiangrun Jia...

While making a documentary about the female orgasm, a filmmaker tries to get her conservative parents to see her side of her own sexual explorations. Allison Bunce directs “Gas Money,” a provocatively funny dissection of repressive sexual standards and the resulting shame and emotional wreckage. ...

A once promising opera singer finds herself years later as a stay-at-home mom with two young boys. She’s overwhelmed and overworked and there’s a distant look in her eyes. Life (or one day) rolls on, hurtling down the track faster than she can keep up. Her kids are perpetually crying or demanding...

We’ve been following the Chicago filmmaker Bradley Bischoff for several years. His previous film, "Where the Buffalo Roam" (2013) was a subtly touching story of two brothers on their last night together in the suburbs. In "Nomad," the lead character is a little older, a little more established, b...

Twenty-four year old Brad commemorates what seems to be his last night in the suburbs alongside his older brother Tyler, who is on the brink of turning thirty and still living at home. The film extends past the poetic experimentation of Bischoff's previous work, "Eyelids" and "For My Mick Jagger,...

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...

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 ...

A meddling mother tries to help her 22-year-old son prepare for a job interview. Harris Gurny directs “Mustache,” a picture of suspended adolescence placed in a suburban bubble that’s awkwardly funny and lightly ominous (see flute score). At a strip mall store, Stuart tries on a suit but doesn’t ...

A sixteen year old boy with an intense desire for recognition seeks out a vicious criminal to prove his boundless grit. “The Hunger,” out of Oslo, Norway, is a suburban gothic tale of teenage vanity and misguided determination. Directed by Kenneth Karlstad, the film cultivates sensory overload at...

Fueled by the hope of escaping her dreary suburban life, a misunderstood teen entertains the increasingly sinister advances of an Internet acquaintance. A stylish and self-assured melange of high and low art, “The Follower” tracks the excitement and danger of a 16-old-year girl drifting away from...

Two lovers spend their days getting high off nitrous oxide and robbing from suburban houses until one of them starts to question their purpose. “Nangs,” directed by Sam Rogers, contours an age-old tale of reckless youth, following two young Australian women, Kathleen and Ola, through a haze of dr...