Narrative Feature

A New York couple, Rachel (Emilia Clarke) and Alvy (Chiwetel Ejiofor) live in a not-so-distant future where technology provides ever-more convenient living. A rising tech company executive, Rachel lands a coveted spot at the Womb Center, which offers couples a convenient (and shareable) maternity by way of detachable artificial wombs, or pods. But Alvy, a botanist with an affection for nature, prefers a natural pregnancy. And yet, as Rachel’s AI therapist puts it, why is that “natural”? So begins the tech-paved path to parenthood.

Arriving in San Francisco at the age of two, just after the death of her mother in a car accident in 1973, Alysia Abbott is raised by her father Steve Abbott, a poet and activist who comes out as gay. As a teenager, she gradually discovers a world of artists and writers, but also the effects of the AIDS crisis when people around her contract the virus to which her father also falls victim.

In Attendance: Andrew Durham, Director.

The struggle between the strictures of religion and our own brute animal nature plays out amid the beautifully forbidding landscapes of remote Iceland in this stunning psychological epic from director Hlynur Pálmason. In the late nineteenth century, Danish priest Lucas (Elliott Crosset Hove) makes the perilous trek to Iceland’s southeastern coast with the intention of establishing a church. There, the arrogant man of God finds his resolve tested as he confronts the harsh terrain, temptations of the flesh, and the reality of being an intruder in an unforgiving land. What unfolds is a transfixing journey into the heart of colonial darkness attuned to both the majesty and terrifying power of the natural world.

An aimless 28 year-old Brooklynite lands in the hospital after drunkenly breaking her hip being stupid. An encounter with a cranky elderly Polish woman who speaks no English leads to a job caring for her. Neither likes it, but it’s time to grow up.

In Attendance: Alexandra Barreto, Producer

Shudderbugs is a psychological thriller about the strange ways we cope with loss, and the many sides of ourselves that engage in the struggle.

A crew of young environmental activists execute a daring mission to sabotage an oil pipeline in this taut and timely thriller that is part high-stakes heist, part radical exploration of the climate crisis

The Unknown Country starts when someone is lost, and something is found. A last minute invitation to her cousin Lainey’s wedding prompts Tana (Lily Gladstone) to pack up her grandmother’s Cadillac and journey from Minneapolis to Spearfish, South Dakota. This is just the beginning of Tana’s largely solitary quest – and a unique, captivating, heartwarming road movie. From the Midwest to the Texas-Mexico border, Tana navigates the complex, post-2016 election social climate, and a natural landscape that is increasingly surreal. Along the way, she bonds with non-actors who are unknown to her yet intrinsically familiar. These real people share the stories that bind them to each other and to the landscape that they have become a part of. At times at ease, and at times on edge on her journey as a woman traveling alone through this unfamiliar landscape, Tana endures the highs and lows of prolonged aimlessness. Her openness to unanticipated connection leads her to Isaac (Raymond Lee) who connects the paths Tana and her grandmother have carved.

Hot-tempered and fiercely independent, Julia (Julie Ledru) is a gearhead who thrives in hostile environments and turns every situation to her advantage. She has a talent for scamming condescending men who think it’s cute that she shows interest in their used motorbikes–and can’t fathom her riding away with gleeful abandon. Her obsession with the high-octane world of urban ‘Rodeos’ – illicit gatherings where riders show off their bikes and latest daring stunts – sparks a chance meeting with a volatile clique. Julia strives to prove herself to the ultra-masculine gang by performing cons and running errands for their incarcerated ring leader, Dom. She finds a surprising connection with Dom’s wife, Ophélie (Antonia Buresi) and son, a risky move that puts a target on her back. Julia is unsure who she can trust as the ultimate heist comes down the pike.

Leo Russo (Romano) lives a simple life in Queens, New York with his wife Angela (Laurie Metcalf), their shy but talented son “Sticks” (Jacob Ward), and Leo’s close-knit network of Italian-American relatives and neighborhood friends. Happy enough working at the family construction business alongside his father (Tony Lo Bianco) and younger brother (Sebastian Maniscalco), Leo lives each week for Sticks’ high-school basketball games, never missing a chance to cheer on his only child as he rules the court as a star athlete. When the high-school senior gets a surprising and life-changing opportunity to play basketball in college, Leo jumps at the chance to provide a plan for his future, away from the family construction business. But when sudden heartbreak threatens to derail Sticks, Leo goes to unexpected lengths to keep his son on this new path.