“This film is focused on a high school teenager who cannot handle the stresses of his day. After turning down plans with a girl, missing deadlines, dealing with the bully of his class, and being bombarded with endless loads of homework, he is pushed to the breaking point. Waking up in the middle of the […]

“It is about staying true to yourself and still belonging to your family. Specifically, IMYT is a story about a Muslim cop, a single father to a teenage ballerina, and how they both balance the unannounced surprise visit of the estranged grandfather from Pakistan. This coincides with the cop being asked by his boss to […]

“TOMBOY is a film about four incredible drummers who happen to be women. Told in cinematic, parallel narratives, this character-driven film explores how women make their way through a male-dominated industry and the pivotal crossroads they face across generations. Combining a treasure trove of unseen archival footage, intimate portraiture, moving interviews, and some serious drumming […]

“There is a poem called “The Silence of the Stars” by David Wagoner, about an encounter between the Bushmen of the Kalahari and a British man who cannot hear the stars singing.  The Bushmen are in a total state of disbelief. These men of the Kalahari, “who plant nothing, who have almost nothing to hunt, […]

“TEENAGE BADASS is movie about a fictional band named Stylo and the Murder Dogs. The story takes place in 2006 in Phoenix, Arizona. We follow a 19 year old drummer named Brad. He’s working as a house cleaner when he strikes gold and gets audition with the hottest singer/songwriter in town Kirk Stylo. Brad  jumps […]

“BLACKHEADS is an animated film about a woman coping with bad therapy, heartbreak, and blackheads. This film, to me, means self-reconciliation. It’s a journey towards independence, facing demons, and finding self-worth. And of course, perfecting a skincare regimen.” — Filmmaker Emily Ann Hoffman on BLACKHEADS which is an animated short playing at SxSW 2020 Film. […]

“This is a blue collar sci-fi film, a story about how a seismic shift in technology in an alternate present actually affects the underbelly of that boom, the workers themselves. The film imagines a world where quantum computing has taken over, and a booming gig economy has popped up in rural areas where all this […]

“LUCKY, to me, is a unique modern horror stalker/slasher by way of BLACK MIRROR or THE TWILIGHT ZONE. The more surreal the events of the film start to get, the more it starts to mirror our own world. It’s a very timely, relevant, & absurdly dark humored story that asks us, the audience, when do […]

“THE DILEMMA OF DESIRE has taken much of its inspiration from the ground- breaking essay Uses of the Erotic by feminist Audre Lorde.  In her essay, Lorde tells us that, the erotic is a force within all of us, including men. Women are warned against it all their lives by the male world, and so […]

“The film follows a band of juveniles embarking on a spree of breaking into houses and causing a ruckus!” Director Ashley Brandon on DIA DE LA MADRE which screens in the Documentary Shorts section of SxSW 2020 Film.  Welcome to the amazing SxSW and congratulations! Are you planning to attend SxSW? This will be my […]

“Emelia and Jeff are an open minded couple in their late 40’s celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary by venturing into the virtual reality world of ‘Vert’ together. Vert presents them with a character that is their ‘ideal self’ and what is supposed to be re-awakening for them as a couple becomes the unearthing of Jeff’s […]

“ARKANSAS is about fathers and sons and fatherless sons and the cyclical nature of violence and the American dream and feeling disenfranchised from modern society… plus a little drug dealing. And a love story.” Director Clark Duke on ARKANSAS which screens at the 2020 edition of SxSW Film.  Editor’s Note: While SxSW was officially cancelled […]

(Editor’s Note: For its Digital release in May 2021 from Mongrel, the movie has been retitled to INITIATION from DEMBANGER.) “DEMBANGER is SCREAM for the social media generation. It’s a college campus murder mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end. I like to call it a gateway horror movie: a scary movie […]

“It’s sort of like a gay CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, but with more heart. It’s about a gay guy in West Hollywood and his endless capacity for humiliation, a well intentioned thirty-something too in thrall to his compulsions to be the person he could be.” Show creator Ben Kawaller on THIS ISN’T ME which screens in […]

“A new preacher (Shea Whigham) rolls into a small town in rural Texas. Though he’s quiet and cagey, his sermons strike a chord with the congregation. But is he really who he says he is? The local police chief (Michael Shannon) aims to find out, especially after a body is discovered in the abandoned quarry […]