Three young actors, who also happen to be family friends, receive a last minute self-tape audition request for the same role. Ruby Ulla Jerins and Katie Prael direct “The Self Tape,” a comedy about the acting business that observes three friends scrambling to get a good take of a scene from a sup...

The chat-room of an online porn-forum transforms into a techno-feudal court. Dana Greenleaf directs “Areyouwinningson?,” where private chats and searches personify into a 3D cyberspace. Subjects of his kingdom, the users, come to a mysterious ruler, a forum admin, to seek their fetishistic desire...

Dawn has troublesome sex with her lover and childhood friend. Charlie Stuip directs “Sweethart,” an experimental narrative piece following a couple in their 20s as they encounter disconnects in the bedroom. When Dawn’s boyfriend, Mike, struggles to satisfy her desires for a rougher kind of sex, D...

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...

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, ...

For one night only, a raggedy group of circus performers are upended by a train crash and stranded in Walpole, Maine. In “Circus 196977,” a mysterious documentarian encounters the group in a large barn and tracks their medley of song and dance. The film features avant-garde dance sequences paired...

An esoteric philosopher and scientist from the 19th century is rediscovered and analyzed into oblivion by a series of scholars and researchers. A satirical documentary directed by Dylan Mars Greenberg, “Sir Isengord and the Theory of the Magnificent Spinning Quanto Quasi Table” operates as an any...

The first river returns to Earth on a holographic tour. Robert Sommerlad directs “River One,” the story of a post-natural future told through 2D animation and an ambient being’s narration. Announcing the grand return of a river, exhibited for the first time to a young generation, the film weaves ...

An archival exploration of a St. Louis housing project, Pruitt–Igoe, that tends to the dark spaces concealed in a collective past. Lorenzo Bradford’s “shadow work” is an experimental archival documentary where awashed materials are recycled and used to examine Black life and dispossession. Broken...

From the desktop screen of a 2004 computer, a child dissociates into conspiracy sites, malware, porn, and anon forums. ““(ಥ﹏ಥ) ✧_My parents are cia PSY0PS_!!!* ಠ_ಠ”,” directed by Haydon Mayer, takes us through deep corners of the world wide web and slowly away from reality. Greeting us in what se...

When User's world sim is compromised, a customer service AI walks him through a perplexing account recovery process. “Recovery,” directed by Nick Lane, blurs reality and the digital world through a hyperactive first person POV. After a failed log-in attempt, our User turns to assistance from an e...

An actress is challenged by an eccentric director when rehearsing a gruesome kill scene for his horror movie. Taryn Segal’s “Up and Coming” is a handheld satire that pokes fun at the expectations of performance and the day-to-day lives of actors. As Taryn lies on the floor of what looks like any ...

After abusing prescription medication to induce amnesia, a woman experiences childlike wonder, terror, beauty, and love. Directors Spencer Witmer and Brandi Lynn Divine present “Pair of Dice,” a MiniDV expedition through the ruins and chambers of Orlando and its surrounding area. The young woman,...

The screening event for a debut indie feature gets turbulent. Allie Viti and Zach Schiffman present “Blue Summer,” a purported document of the technical and natural disasters that occur during the screening of their first feature film. Amongst a sold-out audience of eager indie film watchers, eve...

A man becomes sad after making a huge mistake. PJ Evans writes and directs “Sad,” a satirical video essay that recollects the tragic loss of what could have been a lucrative investment. As PJ engages in a game of Mario Kart on his Nintendo 64, we hear his voice dismayed by a decision that altered...

Although money is tight, a former stadium headliner plans to skip another dive bar show in a small town. “The Rock Star,” directed by Niels Blumel, takes us to the American outskirts where we observe a slacked-out musician in his endeavor to feel desired. The rockstar, Babyface Jones, has no inte...

A lonely marijuana farmer begins having strange waking dreams and gaps in his memory. Abyn Reabe and Nico Tepper direct “Thrashing,” a stoner sci-fi satire built entirely in Grand Theft Auto V. Out of black, the malfunction term used in computer-science — “thrashing” — appears on screen with its ...

A middle-aged woman runs out of things to talk about with her therapist. Ryan Wagner directs “Oh Man Magdelena,” a surreal, VHS look at a woman and her therapist who reach peculiar breakthroughs during an oddly ominous session. Magdalena peers out the blinds of her therapist’s office. The interio...

A man with a broken arm looks for the perfect Christmas gift. David Cardoza and Griffin Conner direct “The Christmas Kid,” a festive character-study of a Manhattan gent told through run-and-gun photos and an affable voice over. It’s the morning of Christmas Eve and Gordon arises from bed in his N...

A journey through a sleepless night directed by and starring Anna Salinas. “Insomniac” is a stream-of-consciousness experimental film where a flood of disconnected images and thoughts flash through a tired mind. A voiceover introduces the primary concerns of the night - unpaid parking tickets, bi...

A man played by writer/comedian Randall Otis whispers into a microphone the sort of soothing thoughts white people love to hear: that black people don’t hate them, and don’t consider them racist. A funny and biting expose. Produced by Studio 181. Director: John Connor Hammond. Writer/Starring: Ra...

Travis scratches off lottery tickets everyday out of routine, never thinking about how scary it'd be to actually win. “Scratch Offs,” directed by Andrew Lewis, is an intriguing piece of slow cinema, notable for its deadpan depiction of a young man who appears to have just won a million dollars an...

An experimental dance film merging melancholy with silliness, “Fragile,” by director Kearston Hawkins-Johnson, follows a ballerina through unlikely spaces, reacting unpredictably. Masked with a paper bag, allowing anonymity and protection, the woman dances alone in an abandoned building, and then...

When a music agent comes calling with a potential gig, the proposal quickly goes south…by southwest. An insider jab at the indie music biz, “South X,” is a wholly accurate and sadly funny depiction of the life of a struggling musician. Directed by JP Olsen. Cast: Tomek Miernowski, Chris Morrissey.