July 2023 Selects and winners

A doctor running a Women's Behavioral Center struggles to keep her patient stable when her own mental well-being begins to deteriorate, or does it? This psychological thriller keeps you guessing in the mind of Olivia West.

A Particular Minute

Dir. Layla O'Shea

A widowed, and overly sanitary, restaurant owner struggles to drum up an apology after verbally attacking the new neighborhood flower shop owner after hearing her Spanish accent.

A Reason To

Dir. Sari Arambulo, Cole Bacani

Two years after Anna transferred universities, she reunites with her estranged best friend Harley, only to realize that they no longer have anything in common. They stumble upon a hazy memory, revealing a miscommunicated romance that taints the rest of their conversation and relationship. Anna realizes that their friendship has forever changed, but maybe that’s ok.

Angeles

Dir. Hannah Fay Folingo, Alexis Grace Adams

17 year old Isabel dreams of moving to Los Angeles to make music, but her plans for the future change when she finds out she’s pregnant. Without the support of her friends and family, she searches for guidance in all the wrong places and must ask herself: are some people meant to be ordinary?

Arlene

Dir. Jessica Anderson

In this heartfelt film, a new mother battles intrusive thoughts that arise during her postpartum journey. As she faces the challenges of motherhood, these intrusive thoughts persistently invade her mind, complicating her path. With the arrival of MA (Maternal Assistance), a replacement A.I. unit for her broken one, she realizes it's time to answer her friend's call for help. This pivotal moment prompts her to confront her struggles and seek support, leading her on a path of self-discovery and healing. Through this touching story, the film highlights the impact of intrusive thoughts on the new mother's life and emphasizes the importance of reaching out and finding solace in human connections.

Baby Talk

Dir. Grace Halpern, Ryan Benson

This French New Wave-inspired, multi-media, dark comedy follows a young woman on her journey to finding inner peace.

Bliss and Sad

Dir. Chenxing Yang

A young girl has been arranged a marriage by her parents without asking or seeing this man, but she realizes this whole marriage is actually a conspiracy.

Chair Force Revenge

Dir. Shannon Corbeil

Poking fun at military branch stereotypes and rivalries, CHAIR FORCE REVENGE pits an Airman against Army, Navy, and Marine Corps operators as she tries to force them to admit once and for all that the Air Force is the superior military branch.

Clear Day

Dir. Caitlin Woods

On her 30th birthday, a woman grappling with her new relationship is confronted by event that will change the couple’s lives forever.

Covid Book Club

Dir. Kim Furst

What's a post-menopausal girl supposed to do when her famous music producer husband publicly dumps her for a younger wanna-be punk rocker/ska singer named Gretl Grunge? DUH! A reality show, of course! Dori Britt wants to show the world she is FINE. But that's hard to do when she's holed up with her live-in housekeeper during a pandemic. So she starts a book club to show the world she's smart, social, and FUN! But things go awry when you combine, wine, cheese, cutlery, and "Karens".

Death Finds a Way

Dir. Mina Ashley Farahbod, Delaney Tobin

The child of the grim reaper tries to learn how to reap souls for the first time, but things don’t go as well as expected.

Dirt Don't Hurt

Dir. Orlando Torres

After seeing the red flags more clearer, BEEBO builds up the courage to finally leave her boyfriend, regaining control to her life & valuing her self worth within her own beautiful skin.

Dragonfly

Dir. Artur Radzko

Two women, "orphaned youth" and "old age without love," must coexist together in a forgotten place, full of hidden, accumulated energy, but will this situation force them to change?

Each Lovely Thing

Dir. Paloma Nozicka

In the midst of setting up for a mysterious party, a woman tries to stop her flighty younger sister from making a devastating choice.

Exposé

Dir. John Webb

A wine-soaked night leads to a twisted game of "Truth or Dare" that has Jack, Hank and Susan hiding a secret that could shatter their lives. Angie scrambles to uncover the devastating lie at the heart of her life. Can Angie's crazy game sabotage their night? Their marriages? Their lives?

Fire Born

Dir. Daniel Carsenty

Ruby, who lost her mother at birth to gun-violence, works as a rookie cop in LA. Drawing her gun to stop a robbery, she finds herself in the same situation as when she was born.

Gin Rummy

Dir. Suzanne Baird

3 best friends have been playing Gin Rummy every week for over 50 years. On this Gin Rummy night they have made other plans as a final bonding of the trio.

Good Grief

Dir. Ash Blodgett

In search of closure, a young woman attempts to spread her father's ashes on a remote sea cliff but an unexpected encounter leads her to the only person who might just understand her grief.

Good Times/Bad Times

Dir. Laura Medeiros

When a lovely, pixie dream girl decides to decorate her living room wall with souvenirs and pictures of all the best moments of her life, she hears a strange muffled sound coming from the inside of her closet - only to remind her of her dark secret.

HEART STUFF

Dir. Karen Lukesh

The stages of grief are explored when two best friends react to the news that one of them is terminal.

Hey Alexa

Dir. Rebecca Demeter

Alexa is helpful, she's funny, she's kind, she's a friend, who is she? A day in her life...with us.

In Shreds

Dir. Donna Magnani

In Shreds is a story of a middle aged woman's 40 year love with her husband, an old dress and the journey back to hope.

INSIDE

Dir. Jessica Silvetti

A young woman suffers a miscarriage and is accused of what is now considered a crime in this not-too-distant dystopian future. Forced into a community whose ideals are deeply divided, a violent fight erupts as accusations and intolerance grow.

Islandtrification

Dir. Lani Cupchoy

Islandtrification documents the journey of Kānaka Maoli families resisting predatory gentrification on Maui, Hawaii, which has a deep history of displacing locals due to economic development-agribusiness and remains the prime spot for the world elite to build their multimillion-dollar estates.

Kept

Dir. Jenny Kleiman, Alex Geschwind

Two best friends head to an Airbnb on a remote ranch to take a break from their recent tensions. Their troubled relationship makes them ignore unusual occurrences in the house, leading them to fight for their lives against the charming ranch owner and his late wife.

La Siguanaba

Dir. Jacqueline Ayala

"La Siguanaba" is about a young woman in love who finds her husband cheating on her. After her death, she vows to take revenge against any womanizer. She then begins haunting Mariano, a womanizer who could care less about a woman’s feelings. Similar to La Llorona, "La Siguanaba" is cursed to roam the earth forever always searching for her next victim.

Lady Invisible

Dir. Stephanie Erb

For women of a certain age, birthdays blow

Last Chance Moms

Dir. Mandy Fabian

Two best friends in their 40s, one pregnant and unexpectedly dumped by her man-child boyfriend, the other unable to get pregnant despite countless efforts, decide to raise a baby together.

Love Me Forever

Dir. Eliyannah Amirah Yisrael

The story is about an Island girl with her American boy friend experiencing culture shock, in this country considering she lived her whole life in a small island. But her heart focused on one quest. Could she find someone to love her forever?

Mid-Life Crisis: The New Hire

Dir. Alison Allwine, Kyle Lowe

What happens when Gen Z helps Gen X turn the tables on workplace norms?

Moirai, Thread of Life

Dir. Ina Conradi, Mark Joseph Chavez

Set in the distant future, a female astronaut in search of untouched lands finds herself gravitating toward a mysterious force in a strange cave. The viewer follows her through a journey of discovery and understanding as she gets pulled into another dimension, her ‘self’ entwined and connected with the larger fabric of the universe.

No Air for Angels

Dir. Erin Elizabeth

Laird goes to great lengths to bring her estranged father-in-law back into America in order to repair what’s left of her fragmented family and keep those she loves close. Fighting painful memories she holds onto a hopeful future even if it questions her own sanity and forces her to face irrevocable losses.

Not As We Do

Dir. Carolyn Klarecki

When a struggling new mother takes on the project of digitizing her family's home videos, she gets a troubling new perspective on her own upbringing.

Paths

Dir. Azhin Kawa

Saturday 7/15/2023 Block 3

In August 2014 Isis attacks the city of Shingal and the villages surrounding it, while Haider and 21 members of his family are escaping the terrorists, something happens that drastically changes the course of their lives. in a double narrative fractured storyline, Haider must choose a path.

Paula Murphy: Undaunted

Dir. Pam Miller

During the turbulent 60s, the quest for women’s rights was invigorated. In motorsports, where names like Andretti and Petty transcended the race track, a lone woman emerged from their shadow – her name was Paula Murphy. Fast, fearless, and versatile – auto racing had never seen anyone like Paula. Dubbed the “World’s Fastest Woman on Wheels” she was more than a speed demon. When she hit the throttle, attitudes toward women drivers changed forever.

Playground

Dir. Yaxing Lin

A Six Year Old Girl’s Adventure At An Adult Night Club.

Return

Dir. Kat Dubrow

An independence-craving teenager brings up her desire to move out to her controlling parents.

Romanova

Dir. Mark Kaercher

After a brutal attack destroys her unit, a wounded soldier makes a perilous journey through an unforgiving wilderness to end a war, aided by an enemy combatant she once scorned in the name of patriotism.

Seventeen

Dir. Geqi Li

In a small town in California, a seventeen-year-old Chinese girl named Jasmine gets pregnant. Jasmine wants to have this baby, but her 35-year-old mother, an only-fans pornstar, Yan, insists on making Jasmine have an abortion. They fight all the way to the hospital. Only to discover that even though they resent each other, they are still the solidest support for each other.

Sharing the Floor

Dir. Lily Brooks O'Briant

Sharing the Floor is the emotional journey of three teen girls who find support in one another while each copes with the stress, anger, pain, and isolation from having a parent who is an addict. The film explores how a parent’s addiction affects their children from the teen’s perspective and focuses on the journey from isolation and anger to acceptance and comfort when the girls realize they aren’t the only ones grappling with the fallout that each of their addict parents have left.

Someday

Dir. Georgina Leahy, Christopher Hewitson

SOMEDAY depicts the morning after a traumatic event as a man and woman have breakfast, with her trying to process what happened the night before while he remains oblivious.

Sunflower Care

Dir. Debi Yazbeck

A comedy about a cantankerous eighty-five year old who, after being dumped at a nursing home by her conniving daughter, must outwit the grim reaper, who has come to claim her.

Supermodel

Dir. Nicole Wensel

A scorned woman becomes increasingly image-obsessed, transforming from a demure photographer into a superficial social media influencer. An artistic contemplation on the modern obsession with one’s own image, beauty ideals and the male gaze on women’s bodies from the female perspective.

The Hive

Dir. Marco Esteban Delgado

Two orphaned siblings try to take down a hypnotizing VR platform and discover a surprising secret on the way.

The Nestling Messengers

Dir. Julianna Schuldt

A winged woman hides in her nest and cannot raise her wings to fly as she is haunted by the terrifying darkness surrounding her. When an injured stranger crashes onto her nest, she must open up to meet the challenge the stranger poses to her tenuous refuge.

The Other Side of Ranch

Dir. Cristi Rumpza

A server is confronted with the trauma of working in the service industry.

The Search

Dir. Clara Maranville

Four girls unplug in order to connect in this coming-of-age story that captures the delicate intricacies of teenage friendship.

THE UNCANNY

Dir. Clara Gabrielle

Friday 7/14/2023 Block 3

After a life shattering trauma, an art therapist seeks to escape her past by moving to new surroundings. As she attempts to focus on her fledgling career as a painter, she soon realizes you can't outrun memories.

Tradition

Dir. Sabrina Ariss

Saturday 7/15/2023 Block 3

Doting parents teach their young daughter the family Halloween tradition.

Up for Air

Dir. Chase Norman

A woman, who spends the majority of her days consumed by technology, pauses to take a moment to reflect inward.

Why I Dyed My Hair Red

Dir. Elise Carpenter

A girl experiences a psychotic break on her 21st birthday when she discovers the people closest to her have been scheming behind her back.

Yar (friend)

Dir. Fran Menchon