On his 25th birthday, Cary brings his friends to the desert and requests one gift: for them to list everything they hate about him. “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know,” directed by Neal Suresh Mulani, is a sharp-tongued comedy about insecure friendships and going to extreme lengths to uncover true f...

A high school freshman deals with the pressures of popularity when her best friend enters a new world of boys and alcohol. Jaelyn Ellis directs “Girlhood,” a coming-of-age snapshot on teenage social life and evolving friendships. Mia loves going to disco nights at the local roller rink, but her f...

A woman turning 30 returns home dejected from life not living up to expectations. Chanel Dupree directs “Next Stop,” a surrealistic dark comedy that renders a dream-like quality in its melange of annoyances. She repeats affirmations to herself (“my destiny is bright and full”) while she avoids te...

A campy queer, 1980's-esque dating show unravels into a dreamscape chaos of relationship expectations. The music video for “Codependency,” a song by comedian/musician Sofia Dobrushin, delivers catchy indie pop with colorful visuals, handmade set design, and choreographed dance routines. Dobrushi...

Across a freezing night, confused dropout Cooper Townsend tries to make it home. “Townsend’s Last Night,” directed by Rhys Scarabosio, is a chaotic, lo-fi fever dream about a young man who has lost his way. Left desperately clinging to his only refuge — scribbling lyrics in an old notebook — the ...

In this unsparing portrait of a contentious relationship between father and child, a young filmmaker explores family history through impromptu interviews and old photographs. A reflexive essay documentary, “Father, Can’t You See I’m Burning?”, directed by Grant Conversano, offers a penetrating st...

In this collection of anonymous stories shared by queer men, a connection is drawn between queer life and nature. “I Wish There Was a Guy Term for I Love You,” directed by Andy Motz, is an experimental documentary narrated with tales of first time flings and intimate meet-ups framed as a series o...

On the eve of Three Kings Day, a boy answers a forbidden phone call and begins to understand his place among family secrets. “Gift of the Magi,” directed by Casiano R. Hamer, is a 16mm portrait that weaves together a tapestry of family history, Biblical stories, painful absences, and the possibil...

Two men in bloody shirts watch a French film and chat about Cheese-Wiz as a shell-shocked woman tries to make sense of it all. “Be Leaving,” directed by Brandon Wilson, is a surreal avant-garde film oozing with uncertainty as it reveals surprising doses of humor. Via deadpan banter, the two men d...

While navigating a busy work day, a woman reflects on a profound personal decision. “Polished,” directed by Colleen Dodge, is a sensory vignette tracking a vulnerable woman through a difficult day in New York City. Jane attends to incessant needs from her job but she is mentally elsewhere. Trying...

An anxious teen responds to a Craigslist ad and strikes an unexpected connection with a stranger behind a sheet. “Personals,” directed by Sasha Argirov, is an engrossing drama that details a would-be sexual encounter and the corresponding awkwardness and vulnerability. The nervous young man enter...

A man is confronted by his violent past while living in a limbo of his own making. “The Seventh Circle,” directed by Alexandra Velasco, is a frenzied experimental horror film soaked in isolation and ambiguity. Whispering to himself in Spanish, a man called El Minotauro moves through a cavernous h...