The Meet-Cute

Daydream Therapy is set to Nina Simone’s haunting rendition of “Pirate Jenny” and concludes with Archie Shepp’s “Things Have Got to Change.” Filmed in Burton Chace Park in Marina del Rey by activist-turned-filmmaker Bernard Nicolas as his first project at UCLA, this short film poetically envisions the fantasy life of a hotel worker whose daydreams provide an escape from workplace indignities. —Allyson Nadia Field

Ryan and Jennifer are opposites who definitely do not attract. At least that's what they always believed. When they met as twelve-year-olds, they disliked one another. When they met again as teenagers, they loathed each other. But when they meet in college, the uptight Ryan and the free-spirited Jennifer find that their differences bind them together and a rare friendship develops.

When, in a very strict Catholic school, a teacher enters a bathroom and surprises two students engaged in forbidden sexual practices, some of their classmates do not know whether to remain silent or rat out their own friends when questioned by school authorities.

Things become shrouded when The Loner discovers a dead body outside his home. His mind becomes a prison of contradiction, falsification and fear when a series of dreams push him to realize the truth.

In the late 1800s, a young girl traverses the rocky mountain wilderness to enact revenge upon the grizzly bear responsible for her father's death.

A hyper sensitive film student falls in love with an older woman.

While his marriage is falling apart, a cocky journalist is worried about environmental pollution.

Darren Aronofsky’s AFI short opens with angry slacker Dave sitting in a dreary, empty junkyard. Dave stares into space, sips beer, and beats the hell out of a cracked guitar. We quickly realize the emptiness of the dump parallels the emptiness of Dave’s life which consists of smoking weed, staring at television screens and watching school children. Dave’s friend Pete is shortly introduced, along with their friend, Ari, who despite calling her pals losers, doesn’t seem to accomplishing much herself. These three are going nowhere fast. They’re the amoebas of life… protozoa….

Supermarket Sweep

A sensationalist television show unravels the sordid story of Luciano Fernández and analyzes the possible motives that led him to murder a child. (Inspired by a real event that occurred in the forest of Verrières, Paris, on May 27th, 1964.)

A masseuse's journey to find the human touch.

Andi shares a deserted building with a group of fellow-squatters he considers his family. One day his sister turns up unexpectedly with her small son Levi, seeking refuge from her abusive boyfriend; she has nowhere else to turn. So Andi suddenly finds himself in the role of uncle, the squat is transformed into an alternative kindergarten, and the estranged pair become the siblings they once were.

The mother of ten-year-old Martina turns up late, just when the little girl is about to give up hope they might spend the afternoon together. As they have an amazing chemistry, she really wants to have her mum to herself, but all too soon she realises that her mother has not beaten her drug addiction and Martina finds herself in a hard situation yet again...

Libuše and her husband Jaromír have been together for a long time, perhaps too long. It seems their lives have become mired in a vicious circle of enervation, which neither of them wants to admit. The couple might have spent the rest of their days like this were it not for the arrival of a motivational package from an agency called The Sun…

Teresa is suffering from postnatal depression after the birth of her son. In an effort to find comfort elsewhere she temporarily moves back with her husband to her parents’ house. However, the young woman’s family home conjures up memories of a previous relationship and a past love that perhaps has yet to be extinguished.

In Vancouver, British Columbia, two teenagers attempt to create a feature length documentary about their lives. The main character James (played by himself) becomes obsessed with the project and is pushed into a more introverted, lonely existence. His best friend Quinn (played by himself) sets out to help him, but is met with the real answer as to why James is keeping himself inside: the rejection of what he thinks is the love of his life. The two of them go their separate ways, with James going deeper into a depression he’s not sure he can escape from.

Two kids research Nouvelle Vague for a school project.

A boy lives a fast-paced, free-roaming life with his friends on the streets of Dublin, which doesn’t always lead to good choices.

A road movie about three guys (two hitchhikers, one driver) and one woman.

Amal Taheri is the youngest daughter of a broken family. Seven years ago, Amal witnessed a domestic disturbance causing the imprisonment of her brother, Mo, and the abandonment of her father, Borna. Now, after his parole, Amal and her anxious mother, Raniya, attempt to welcome Mo back home. However, during Mo’s homecoming dinner, demons between each of the Taheri’s suddenly resurface. With tensions riding high, Amal must bridge the insurmountable gaps between her family members, all while wrestling with a secret that could shatter her familial bonds, forever.