When her granddaughter visits her in Rome, an elderly woman seeks closeness before the end of the visit. “Burraco,” directed by Isabella Tagliati, is a candid slice-of-life set in Italy where we observe a tender relationship between two women of different generations. Wanda excitedly anticipates ...

A used condom lands on a sunflower and gives it sentience. Granville Davis directs “Plant Parenthood,” an endearingly bizarre comedy punctuated with “Sesame Street” like puppetry. We meet a struggling couple: Ronnie desperately wants children, but his wife, Margaret, seems to have moved on. An ex...

Tired of everyone ignoring her, a filmmaker rides the London Underground from one end to the other. Julia Mervis directs “The Misery Line,” a quaint and comedic satirical documentary on modern commuter-culture and transit. Dressed in her sized-up suit and red tie, Mervis makes it clear that she w...

A 16-year-old makes an unusual request of his drug dealer classmate. Christian Meola directs “The Expanding Horizon,” a coming-of-age drama where a young man turns to peculiar measures in the hopes of making a connection. Sitting close to one another in their high school world history class, Jame...

Two young men based in Minneapolis spend the day foraging at a local park for mushrooms. “Mush Luv,” directed by N’namdi Andersen, is a short documentary offering a low-key glimpse into the world of mushrooming and the intimate experiences with nature that come with it. Tony and Ajani meander thr...

A group of soldiers are administered a mysterious psychoactive drug and put through rigorous physical and mental tests. Angus McMaster directs “Cold Runner,” a 30-minute drama where the psychological effects on four young men slowly unfolds into a subdued hysteria. At a discreet military facility...

Deep in the American south, a girl living in a trailer park feels suffocated by her surroundings when her best friend reveals that she is pregnant. “Georgia,” directed by Maci Parker, is an experimental slice-of-life film that explores coming of age in a rural area. As her younger brother experim...

A wanted cybercriminal lays low at the Jersey Shore. Patrick Boehmcke directs “Jessie the Ghost,” a docu-fictional portrait following a young individual on the run. We meet Jessie meandering through Jersey Shore environments — getting a tall slushee at the gas station, hitting the boardwalk arcad...

A young couple picks up a bench they found for free on Craigslist. Gus Reed directs “FREE bench MUST PICK UP TODAY,” a concise, unsettling drama about a church pew and the potentially dark forces behind it. The couple, played by Hunter Doohan and Davi Santos, scout furniture online for their new ...

A sight-restoring surgery leaves surreal distortions to a man’s vision. Efosa Osaghae directs “Locusts Beyond a Phantasia,” a fantasy-realist film where a photographer must distinguish between reality and illusion through his Polaroid camera. As he removes the blindfolds with the help of his surg...

After hearing a priest’s sermon, a man decides to focus all his energy on the first person he sees leaving church — a birder named Maude. Samuel Centore directs “Wise Words,” an eccentric comedy about a misguided effort to demonstrate compassion. After being convinced that he “must be there for a...

A young Jewish woman sleeps with a series of Catholic men and forgets the Mourner's Kaddish. Ava Burka writes, directs, and stars in “A-Men,” a fourth-wall-breaking dramatic comedy that explores the sexual escapism of its defiant character. We meet Esther as she explains her recent forays with Ja...

A woman and her ex-boyfriend reconnect at the vet after their dog gets sick, as a new boyfriend experiences jealousy. “WILK,” directed by Peg, is an experimental comedy with its own absurd cinematic language and esoteric scene-building. Joseph watches from the car as his girlfriend, Tallie, is co...

Traveling the continental United States, two vagabond thieves rob from sick, twisted sexual deviants. Griffin Sauter directs “Mousetrap,” an experimental road film following two drifters as they traverse a crude American landscape. From warehouse to ghost town, the two partners front as a “critte...

An actor living on the edge of one of the most polluted zip codes in the United States prepares for a role. Kevin Steen directs “Daron, Daron Colbert,” an atmospheric portrait of a young man’s day-to-day life while he aspires to a career in acting. We’re introduced to Delray, a heavily polluted n...

Two Nigerian cousins have a meditative evening and discuss the prospect of leaving New York. Adesola Thomas directs “Ola Ola,” a small-scale conversational piece that offers a tender specificity in the identities and relationship of its two characters. For Abisola, it starts as a quiet evening. W...

Two best friends wrestle with their masculinity as they attend what they thought was going to be a typical circuit party. Bill Benz’s “A Time for Men” is a social comedy that places two unsuspecting gay men in a hive of men's rights activism. With their QR Code flyers in hand, Todd and Nathan arr...

A van-dwelling comic stalks an industrial zone at night. Calvin Lee Reeder writes and directs “Harbor Island,” a character study where a comedian, played by Josh Fadem, experiences solitude as he paces through a spot of desolation in the Pacific Northwest. In 2020, the Census Bureau reported a to...

During the summer semester at a NYC arts school, boundaries begin to blur between an adjunct professor and the students in her filmmaking class. “Personal Documentary,” a long-form feature directed by Jinho Myung, is a real-time exploration of various modes of intimate filmmaking — both a discuss...