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Spooky Town
A couple rebrands their struggling haunted house business amid the pandemic. “Spooky Town,” directed by and starring Omar Shaukat and Anna Suzuki, is a sign-of-the-times mockumentary that follows a hapless duo through badly executed attempts to frighten their customers. While they wait for their ...
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Zablah
Zablah, a demon baby boomer, seeks to convince a millennial to eat at Applebee’s. Ryan Betschart and Rachel Nakawatase direct “Zablah,” a gritty comic oddity shot on 16mm (using a film stock that looks almost like 8mm) that uses a clickbait headline as a springboard to tackle a generational divid...
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Zarina
A woman endures frequent nightmares of her own death while finding it impossible to determine what’s real. Directed by Lexx Truss, “Zarina” is potent horror, a disorienting trek into the deep recesses of the mind — terror is alleviated with momentary blips of relief only to return stronger. Zarin...
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Paradise
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, two friends on a FaceTime call experience a dispute with a neighbor. Entirely presented as a video screen capture, Tanner Jarman’s film becomes an inadvertent tour through the racist viral videos of the day as we follow a young black man walking down the st...
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And She Hisses
Lessa and Cass are young lovers in a small town who dream of moving to Florida in this impressionistic portrait directed by Monica Lek. “And She Hisses” is a pulsating snapshot of the beauty and recklessness of young love, a fantasy that could last forever or be gone tomorrow. Cass gets a job at ...
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Downbeat
After a difficult break-up, Annie reckons with the imminent departure of another close friend who is moving away from their shared apartment and city. From a script she co-wrote with Hannah Rehak, Nina Slesinger directs “Downbeat,” an intelligent and emotionally astute portrait of friendship and ...
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A Woman Eats
During an editorial fashion shoot, a callous director and client toy with their model. “A Woman Eats,” written by and starring Frances Li, shows a woman trying to “act natural” as she’s subjected to increasingly humiliating questions and intrusions into her personal life. Posed in a lush still li...
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Main Absolves
After a job interview, Main arrives home to a chaotic scene involving her little brother and a warlock-wannabe neighbor. Abigail Bruley directs “Main Absolves,” an enigmatic comedy about a young woman at odds with her family / life. She didn’t get the job that her parents thought was a done deal...
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Sisters!
A platonic meet-cute at a bus stop whimsically spirals into a surprising connection between a makeup artist and a nun. In “Sisters,” written by Beth Hoyt & directed by Nicole Emanuele, nothing is quite what it seems and getting exactly what you wished for is not necessarily a good thing. Waiting ...
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Love and Other Drugs // 3 Shorts by Whitley Watson
3 items
"Love and Other Drugs" - A spurned lover seeks revenge.
"Poly Cat" - A man struggles to not be the weakest link in his throuple.
"Wayne's Been a Real Good Influence" - A new relationship leads to big changes and a big announcement. -
Dirt
A woman tries to clean her apartment, but her unkempt lover won't let her. Sara Silva directs and stars in “Dirt,” an experimental portrait of a messy relationship built with layers of spontaneous energy and complex threads of dissatisfaction. The two women wake up on the couch to find a dirty ap...
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In Spirit
On the Tulalip Reservation, a young man confronts loss as he attends the funeral of a childhood friend. “In Spirit,” written and produced by Jonathan Salmon and Nathan Williams, is a reflective character study on a Native American man reckoning with the trauma of his people and within himself. Ja...
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QUEENDOM
A woman fantasizes about a romantic night at a bar, including a fling with her bartender. “Queendom,” directed by Nat Gee, is a lighthearted music video shot on 16mm and filled with colorful production design and costuming. A woman and a man make eyes, he makes her a drink and offers her a rose, ...
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Dirty
Marco cuts class to spend the afternoon with his boyfriend, Graham, in this tender portrait of young love and intimacy. Matthew Puccini’s “Dirty” is minimal but lush, a coming-of-age snapshot that tackles an uncomfortable first-time sexual experience with sensitivity and warmth. After ditching sc...
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Holy Cannoli!
After a day of shoveling hay, a spiritual dilettante tries to project his beliefs onto an uninterested co-worker. Andrew Theodore Balasia and Roman Koval direct “Holy Cannoli!”, a two hander character study about life’s purpose and fulfilling your potential, as interpreted by the half-baked musin...
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Hey Yú | 如魚得水
Locked down at home, Kent scrambles to make a last minute sign for his co-worker’s virtual surprise party. “Hey Yú (如魚得水),” directed by Athena Han, perfectly captures a common mode of our times — being distracted, overwhelmed, and failing to live up to other’s expectations. Living alone in Vancou...
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The Valley of the Cats
Two brothers steal a car in Lisbon, Portugal and head for a lighthouse. Directed by George Daniell, “The Valley of the Cats,” is an inventive lo-fi comedy adventure, shot on 8mm tape, part road movie, part descent into madness. Dead Eye and Square Hands, as the brothers are known, make their way ...
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Angel of the Night
An emotionally unstable outcast attempts to make a connection with three unsuspecting college students. “Angel of the Night,” directed by Nick Verdi, is a pitch black character study (darkly funny depending on your tolerance for aggressively anti-social, antagonizing behavior) that follows a 35-y...
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I'll Be Here For a While
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...
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Physical Thoughts
A dancer reflects on a recent injury in Anne Hollowday’s “Physical Thoughts.” A vivid portrait rendered with striking images and poetic narration, it’s a film about the limits of verbal expression (“we all have thoughts; we don’t share many of them”) and the possibilities of physical expression (...
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Persimmon Night
A mail-order bride on the way to meet her new husband searches for a restroom in Chinatown, where an unassuming young man outside of a sandwich shop offers his nearby apartment. “Persimmon Night,” directed by Scarlett Li, highlights a brief encounter between two strangers that opens up a window i...
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Nominated
An actor is forced to take a Lyft to the Emmys and becomes embroiled in his driver's personal life. John de Menil writes and directs “Nominated,” a tumultuous comedy that targets the elevated manner which we treat celebrities, and throws one — a perfectly coiffed man in a tuxedo ready for a night...
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LP
A Loss and Prevention officer faces a difficult moral decision in Alexander Etseyatse’s “LP.” An attempted theft leads to a tense back-room stand-off in this riveting drama, placing complex characters in an agonizing dilemma. While it stays grounded as a personal account, it also raises larger qu...
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Fairy Floss
Housemates and friends, Jacob and Savanna, interview a bevy of outlandish characters for a room in their shared house. “Fairy Floss,” directed by Harry Quinlan, is an eight part Australian comedy series (presented here in one piece) which delves into a day long ordeal to find a new roommate. The ...