Emma Weinswig - 22, Noa Beckham-Chasnoff - 22, Anika Ramlo - 22, Malik Dowdy - 24 | CA, USA

“Fuckboy is a Superbad-inspired hangout comedy with a heart of gold starring three real-life friends who play versions of themselves and also, by the way, wrote the movie. This heightened slice-of-life is well-executed and authentic thanks to stellar performances, palpable chemistry, delightfully raunchy banter, and a meta dollop of diegetic camcorder footage. Like an aimless weekend day, the narrative wanders through a failed bender, a revenge plot against the titular fuckboy, and an impromptu skateboard heist… but none of that ends up being the central focus. Ultimately, we’re left with three goofballs earnestly pushing their adolescent friendships through the bumpy road towards young adulthood. And you can’t help but root for them.”

Growth Spurts

Paloma Lopez - 24 | USA

“Light on the plot but heavy on the vibes, Girls and the Party brilliantly captures the overwhelming internal drama that can occur in the subtlest of interactions. With dreamy 16mm cinematography and evocative sound design, Lopez puts an ordinary gendered social ritual under a microscope to coax out all the queer teenage angst within.”

Slice of Life

Kate McCarthy - 24 | CA, USA

“For a brightly-colored comedy about an awkward teenage girl, Look, Mira is startlingly unsentimental. Our protagonist Mira is the consummate loser, and her perpetual failure cannot even be tempered by the soothing fantasy that she is a good person who does the right thing. Featuring a vibrant ensemble of bit characters (including a memorable cameo from rising alt comedy star Grace Freud), the amount of world building McCarthy achieves in under 12 minutes is astounding. This Todd Solondz-esque dark comedy had me laughing, gasping, and cringing in equal measure.”

Growth Spurts

César Martínez Barba - 25 | NY, USA

“What happens after your worst nightmare comes true? For the subjects of Dial Home — Mexican-born, American-raised deportees working in call centers outsourced to Tijuana — the unimaginable horrors of being ripped from one’s home fade into the background of a new mundane. Without sensationalizing the subjects’ trauma or distancing itself from its subject with experts and data, Dial Home deftly and subtly illustrates the systemic effect of deportation on individual lives and an organic cultural response to a geopolitical conflict.”

Closing Night

Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan - 24, Hannah Schierbeek - 23 | Philippines

“This stunning drama about a family of mourners-for-hire is earnest and moving without ever veering into the saccharine or cliche. This film gives the viewer a lot to chew on as it skillfully unravels questions of authenticity, spirituality, and family. The gorgeous cinematography perfectly captures the film’s tone – striking, intense, beautiful, but just a little bit uncanny. These stunning visuals combined with the show stopping performances and lush sound design make this a movie not to be missed.”

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