An unexpected visit from her super sends an anxious woman scrambling to hide evidence of her cat. “No Pets,” directed by and starring Billie Michael, takes a simple conceit and finds plenty of tension, awkwardness, and humor…
*Online Premiere* Anxiously convinced his flu-like symptoms could be something much worse, a luckless Brooklynite searches for medical care. Byron Leon directs “Sickly,” a tense ride through New York City that was unbelievably made before the Covid-19 pandemic…
*Online Premiere* A couple discovers they don't know as much about each other as they thought while they move into a new apartment. Chidi Amadiume directs “Are We Here Yet?," an astutely observed and performed relationship drama that explores a host of issues related to sexual identity…
*Online Premiere* An American couple worries about the safety of a Parisian girl after a drunken night out. Jerzy Rose directs “Nobody Likes You As Much As I Do,” a relationship drama teeming with incisive exchanges, communication breakdowns, and arguments over youth and sexuality…
*Online Premiere* A troubled young woman's date at a Tiki bar reveals itself in disturbing ways. A pitch black tone piece by Wesley Wingo, “Date Night Look” paints a dire picture of desperate youth with flashes of glitchy soundscapes and elements of body horror…
An aspiring film director prepares for a play based on her complicated feelings toward her father. “An Athlete Wrestling a Python” is a Australian film by director Stephanie Jane Day, an incisive, darkly comedic character study on Julien…
Memories and fiction begin to overlap when a pair of ex-lovers play a couple in a film. Stanley Xu directs “Reprise,” a film that blurs the line between performance and reality. In front of the camera is a complicated relationship between two characters played by actors with a complicated history themselves…
Paulina lives and works in a small hotel in a northern Russian town with her friend Nadia when a mysterious guest arrives. “Rio,” directed by Zhenia Kazankina, is a quiet but vivid portrait of isolation that paints its wintry grey setting underneath pops of style and streaks of playfulness.
Brent struggles with the meaning of his girlfriend's suicide, which she acted out with her ex-boyfriend who she seemed to continue loving in secret. “Dearly Departed,” directed by Ester Song Kim, is a painfully dark comedy about being blindsided by someone you thought you knew…
*Online Premiere* Local racing legend Victor Elaine squares-off against his greatest rival, a man whose opposing philosophy on life sets up a battle of outlooks. “Duality Derby,” directed by Mark Richard Miller and Dave Franzese, is a lighthearted rumination on the duality of man…
*Online Premiere* Maggie invites friends, acquaintances and total strangers into her home for what they think is a party, but she has other plans in store. “Maggie So Low,” directed by Michael Borowiec and Sam Marine Borowiec, is an improvised comedy about toxic friendships and harebrained schemes…
In this instructional magic video gone awry, a young magician comes to terms with the difficult reality that doing coin tricks may not be enough. “Do You Want to Learn Magic?” directed by and starring the real-life magician, Chris Fanelli, is a free-roaming mixture of infomercial, personal history, and surreal narrative…
*Online Premiere* A woman who's not an artist attends an artist retreat. Allison Johnston directs “Artist Retreat,” a comedic character study and lighthearted satire written by and starring Sara Hennessey. The Maple Farm’s Mindful Women’s Artist Retreat is now in its second year…
*Online Premiere* On Halloween night, a woman dressed as a hot dog delivers marijuana to a series of weirdo customers. “Bite Me” is a night-in-the-life of a broke and aimless gig worker that’s based on director Jessi Rayom’s own experiences working at a L.A. weed dispensary…
A sad, stoic man trapped in a nightmare existence finds a strange book which seems to offer some relief. Anthony Oberbeck directs “Book,” a dark comedy about feeling lost and without purpose, and not only feeling that, but everyone in your life telling you that you definitely are…
After the death of her high school boyfriend Lou, Nicole returns home to New Jersey where she finds herself directing Lou’s unproduced screenplay. “The Ultimate (By Lou Fescano),” written and directed by Daniel Jaffe and co-written and starring Michelle Uranowitz, crafts a delicate balance of funny, incisive, edgy, and touching…
A screenwriter tries to pitch his project but must endure an egotistical producer and his elusive schedule. “Big Money Flicks” is an absurdist satire on the pains of trying to make a movie, the desperation, power plays, et al. It’s delivered with madcap energy and intentionally disorienting editing & sound design…
Two gay men struggle with depression in a ruined environment, and a botanical glassblower mourns his wife. “Flora Borealis,” directed by Casey Friedman, is a striking animated film that uses a post-apocalyptic setting to explore themes of destruction and perseverance…
*Online Premiere* A surreal, scattershot story of fatherhood, the cycle of life, consumerism, and giving people what they ask for. “Bobby Fish,” directed by Peter Wagner, is a one-of-a-kind oddity bouncing between perspectives…
The journey of a little girl with a vivid imagination is rendered in stop motion, miniatures, and 2D animation. A film by Hemali Vadalia, “Drift” is a lovely daydream about escaping a mundane day. From a box of arts and crafts, the girl finds a red balloon. She blows it up until it can carry her away…
*Online Premiere* A colorful animated tale of a one-eyed woman and the guilt she feels after destroying her home planet. “Starshine Mountain,” directed by Corrinne James, is a wonderfully imaginative fairy tale / creation myth that begins with a cataclysmic series of events…
Edy Modica recalls two embarrassing incidents from her past involving her parents. Using a simple paper cut-out animation style, both stories, “corn,” and “my style ;)” are revealing and filled with hilarious specificity…
*Online Premiere* In this striking avant-garde animation by Cassie Shao, we begin in a room where a group of four people sit around a table and reflect on the question, “who did it?” Focusing on the sensory and dreamlike, the film offers free-flowing vignettes that resist easy comprehension…
A young woman copes with heartbreak, blackheads, and bad therapy. Emily Ann Hoffman directs “Blackheads,” a study on relationships and gender roles, melding stop motion and 2D animation with a nuanced sense of realism…
A world decimated by a meteor tries to put itself back together. “Le Saucier,” directed by Eric Paschal Johnson and Liana Finck, is a lovely assemblage of hand-drawn illustrations which tells a story of the rediscovery of some of mankind’s finest achievements…
*Online Premiere* In a trash-filled city, a homeless woman's encounter with a fish takes an unexpected turn. Elly Stern directs “Waste Away,” a beautifully designed and executed stop-motion animated film, an allegory of motherhood in various forms…
*Online Premiere* A sad clown in an existential fever dream makes up this hand-inked frame by frame animated short by Gurleen Rai and F. Anthony Shepherd. “Get Up, Pierrot” is an expressionistic tone poem about identity, failure, and rebirth, as well as a meta commentary on audience perception…
*Online Premiere* A long-haul trucker builds community and a new life on YouTube as @MsDivaTrucker43. Dana Reilly directs “Ms Diva Trucker,” a documentary portrait about the life of a female truck driver. Understated but expressive, the film captures a woman defined more by her independence than from her unusual life path…
A dense fog in the San Fernando Valley cancels a meeting of UFO hunters and causes an unexpected tragedy in the nearby mountains. “Calabasas 1/26/20,” directed by Xavier Rotnofsky, becomes a documentary portrait of the impromptu gathering of mourners at a park near the helicopter crash of Kobe Bryant…
*Online Premiere* The humble beginnings of the photograph used as the default background of Windows XP, one of the most seen images of all time, becomes a playful rumination on culture, aesthetics, and impermanence…
A young man embarks on a self-documented quest to conquer fear, find beauty, and smoke his first cigarette. Ezra Ewen directs and stars in “First One (A Quest to Become More Beautiful),” a melding of absurdist documentary and satire…
*Online Premiere* A hybrid documentary about two trans men, who used to date in middle school, reconnecting 10 years later to develop a narrative film about their past. Brit Fryer and Noah Schamus direct “Across, Beyond, and Over,” a film made with warmth and vulnerability about the creative process and revisiting past selves…
In 1968, a young flight attendant bought 900 lbs of marijuana in Jamaica and tried to smuggle it out. A colorful, entertaining animated film by Matthew Salton, “Patty Are You Bringing Weed in From Jamica?” tells the real life story of the first woman weed smuggler in the U.S…
*Online Premiere* An intimate portrait and concert experience profiling Juan Wauters, the NYC mainstay underground musician from Uruguay. “Introducing… Juan Wauters,” directed by Sean Patrick O’Brien, matches the scrappy, lo-fi spirit of its subject as he expresses his thoughts on his life and music, and prepares for an upcoming show…
*Online Premiere* A Michigan man prepares for an annual ice fishing trip with a group of old friends. Pete Johnston directs and narrates “Ice Fishing In a Climate Crisis That Precedes a Global Pandemic,” a lighthearted personal documentary…
A time capsule portrait of life during the Covid-19 quarantine. “Everything’s Cancelled,” a film by Pham and Mitch deQuilettes, is a personal, off-the-cuff documentary about a group of people holed up in their homes (often shot through exterior windows), getting by however they can…
*Online Premiere* A behind-the-scenes documentary which follows a young cast and crew on a renegade movie-making adventure through Allston, MA. “Behind The Schemes: The Making of Gutterbug,” directed by Tyler Loring & TJ Freda, is a free roaming tour through the pop-up culture of an unusually chill film production…
In this lighthearted PSA, a narrator walks us through the process of shaking off daily doses of small-scale trauma. “Wiggle Your Worries Away,” directed by Tamar Levine, takes the format of a dated educational film and injects it with stylish production design and verve…
*Online Premiere* A stylish exploration of movement and attitude that reflects a spirited response to a chaotic world. “TriKE,” directed by Giselle Bonilla and performed by Brianna Mims, is an experimental portrait, wonderfully expressive and attuned to texture, color, and mood…
Two gay men struggle with depression in a ruined environment, and a botanical glassblower mourns his wife. “Flora Borealis,” directed by Casey Friedman, is a striking animated film that uses a post-apocalyptic setting to explore themes of destruction and perseverance…
*Online Premiere* When three friends take a road trip to an idyllic forest and drop acid, one is lured into a mystic web of hallucination and nightmare. Jimmy Joe Roche directs “Skin of Man,” an experimental horror film that creates vivid textures with avant-garde technique…
Out of the blue, a young man finds some mushrooms in the wild and casually takes a bite. Italian director Sami Schinaia directs “Nope!”, a psychedelic adventure rich in visuals and experimentation. Soon the man is joined by an equally open-minded young woman…
At a late night laundromat, a young woman questions her current life path. “Spin,” directed by Jorge G. Camarena, is a visually rich character portrait that merges an ordinary night with surreal turns…
In Johannesburg, South Africa, we follow two young factory workers through an ordinary day on and off the job. “Casual Workers,” directed by Keagan Afonso, is a free roaming portrait, a day in the life. Periods of work are followed by periods of rest and leisure…
*Online Premiere* A collection of vignettes involving people in everyday moments who are tethered to otherworldly beings. “Others,” directed by Grace Rex, is a study in mood and hidden meaning, a strange, experimental portrait mostly free of dialogue but thick in atmosphere…
Online Premiere. Three creatures travel great distances on a lonely pilgrimage. “Remission,” directed by John Charter, is a mixed-media experimental film loaded with stunning visuals and potent abstract imagery…
*Online Premiere* A young woman recalls her experience in two different relationships. Alexis T. Roberts directs “There’s a Glass House That I Want You To See,” a poetic exploration of love and separation. Within its elliptical, fragmentary form, Roberts’ film finds truthful moments in a range of scenes…
*Online Premiere* An avant-garde self portrait following a young woman through her daily life as her own muse. Jessie Rabideau directs and stars in “jean-luc rabideau” (co-directed by Leland Bankowski), which offers a rare combination of banality and free-spiritedness carried by Rabideau’s striking screen presence…
*Online Premiere* Matteo reckons with the disappearance of his older brother, Damascus, after his car turns up unexplainably abandoned. A poetic mood piece directed by J.P. Emodi, “Jason Richardson” follows the young man through a quietly tumultuous period as he grapples with memories of his brother…
*Online Premiere* At a mysterious job interview, a massively in-debt young man finds himself caught up in an unpredictable scheme with a Gen-X Upcycler. “They Fly By Night,” directed by Ross Kolton and Bill Tangradi, is a homespun crime comedy set in a fully fleshed-out world of vintage goods buying/selling…
*Online Premiere* Amidst a mandatory quarantine, a young woman living in isolation battles her growing paranoia and deteriorating mental health. Meg Case and Brad Porter direct “Wrath,” a craftily devised and executed homemade project, which in any other year would fall firmly in the sci-fi horror realm…
*Online Premiere* A behind-the-scenes documentary which follows a young cast and crew on a renegade movie-making adventure through Allston, MA. “Behind The Schemes: The Making of Gutterbug,” directed by Tyler Loring & TJ Freda, is a free roaming tour through the pop-up culture of an unusually chill film production…
*Special Screening* Kent is turning 50 and his plans for a fun birthday weekend with Sarah are upended when his friend Kev arrives to build him a wall. Joe Swanberg returns to his no-budget roots for “Build the Wall,” a low-key relationship comedy/drama set in the woods of Vermont…
*Online Premiere* A young man travels to Colorado with fourteen cases of beer in hopes of turning a profit at a Phish concert. Micah Van Hove and Jacob King direct “Super Heady,” a cinema verite portrait of jamband culture that flows from road movie into a surprisingly elaborate depiction of the Phish lot scene…
*Online Premiere* Two visiting New Yorkers are forced to stay in New Mexico while a serial killer dressed as a leopard stalks the city. “They Cry By Night,” by director Wes Sheridan, is a slow cinema mix of cultural essay and mumblecore character study of a friend group…
*Online Premiere* A young woman who paints her nightmares, her wily much-older cousin, and a small apartment-bound therapy group collide. Shot almost entirely in roving handheld closeups, “Larry Larissa Linda,” by director Ryan McGlade, is a boldly manic character study about three loosely connected eccentrics…
*Online Premiere* A musical comedy about a couple of (slightly older) con men in Texas whose plan goes haywire when they meet Maureen. “Shoot The Moon Right Between The Eyes,” directed by Graham L. Carter, is a lo-fi throwback, a love letter to the casually corny and old-fashioned…
In this lighthearted PSA, a narrator walks us through the process of shaking off daily doses of small-scale trauma. “Wiggle Your Worries Away,” directed by Tamar Levine, takes the format of a dated educational film and injects it with stylish production design and verve…
*Online Premiere* A long-haul trucker builds community and a new life on YouTube as @MsDivaTrucker43. Dana Reilly directs “Ms Diva Trucker,” a documentary portrait about the life of a female truck driver. Understated but expressive, the film captures a woman defined more by her independence than from her unusual life path…
An unexpected visit from her super sends an anxious woman scrambling to hide evidence of her cat. “No Pets,” directed by and starring Billie Michael, takes a simple conceit and finds plenty of tension, awkwardness, and humor…
*Online Premiere* A stylish exploration of movement and attitude that reflects a spirited response to a chaotic world. “TriKE,” directed by Giselle Bonilla and performed by Brianna Mims, is an experimental portrait, wonderfully expressive and attuned to texture, color, and mood…
*Online Premiere* Anxiously convinced his flu-like symptoms could be something much worse, a luckless Brooklynite searches for medical care. Byron Leon directs “Sickly,” a tense ride through New York City that was unbelievably made before the Covid-19 pandemic…
Welcome to the 6th Annual Repost of this beloved Thanksgiving tale 🍂 A house full of men with nothing to talk about. To boot, no one knows each other, or whose house they're in, or whether the football game they’re watching is being broadcast via Cable or Dish…
*Online Premiere* Local racing legend Victor Elaine squares-off against his greatest rival, a man whose opposing philosophy on life sets up a battle of outlooks. “Duality Derby,” directed by Mark Richard Miller and Dave Franzese, is a lighthearted rumination on the duality of man…
*Online Premiere* Maggie invites friends, acquaintances and total strangers into her home for what they think is a party, but she has other plans in store. “Maggie So Low,” directed by Michael Borowiec and Sam Marine Borowiec, is an improvised comedy about toxic friendships and harebrained schemes…
*Online Premiere* A couple discovers they don't know as much about each other as they thought while they move into a new apartment. Chidi Amadiume directs “Are We Here Yet?," an astutely observed and performed relationship drama that explores a host of issues related to sexual identity…
*Online Premiere* An American couple worries about the safety of a Parisian girl after a drunken night out. Jerzy Rose directs “Nobody Likes You As Much As I Do,” a relationship drama teeming with incisive exchanges, communication breakdowns, and arguments over youth and sexuality…
Welcome to the 6th Annual Repost of this beloved Thanksgiving tale 🍂 A house full of men with nothing to talk about. To boot, no one knows each other, or whose house they're in, or whether the football game they’re watching is being broadcast via Cable or Dish…