Ayanda and the Mechanic

(2015 , 112 min.)

Directed by: Sara Blecher

Screenwriter: Trish Malone

Producers: Terry Pheto, Busi Sizani, Robbie Thorpe

Cinematographer: Jonathan Kovel

Editor: Nicholas Costaras

Music: Tiago Correia-Paulo

Cast: Fulu Moguvhani, OC Ukeje, Nthati Moshesh, Kenneth Nkosi, Jafta Mamabolo, Thomas Gumede, Sihle Xaba, Venessa Cooke

In a vibrant and diverse Johannesburg community, 21-year-old Afro-hipster Ayanda has a knack for taking neglected pieces of furniture and “bringing them back to love.” Eight years after her father’s death, she is determined to revive his prized garage, which is in deep debt and in danger of being sold. Director Sara Blecher’s sophomore work crackles with infectious energy and style, capturing a vividly contemporary view of a South Africa where cooperation trumps xenophobia. This one-of-a-kind film melds gorgeous still-frame montages inspired by the possibilities of a modern African aesthetic and documentary-like techniques to explore its core theme: how do we let go of the things and people we love?

Atomic Heart

Madar-e Ghalb Atomi

(2014 , 97 min.)

Directed by: Ali Ahmadzadeh

Screenwriter: Ali Ahmadzadeh, Mani Baghbani

Producers: Amir Seyedzadeh

Cinematographer: Ashkan Ashkani

Editor: Ali Ahmadzadeh, Ehsan Vaseghi

Music: Sahand Mehdizadeh

Cast: Taraneh Alidoosti, Pegah Ahangarani, Mehrdad Sedighiyan, Reza Behboudi, Ehsan Amani, Mohammad Reza Golzar

Sometime around the witching hour, Arineh and Nobahar stumble out of a party giddy and spaced out. Donning brightly dyed hair covered just enough by their headscarves, the young women drive around Tehran, picking up their hipster buddy Kami along the way. In a moment of carefree distraction, they get into a car accident that pivots their night into a bizarre series of events, and the possibility of a parallel world. Symbolically lush with sharp dialogue about pop culture, the Western gaze and politics, Ali Ahmadzade’s sophomore directorial feat establishes him as a blazing new independent voice in Iranian cinema.

The Babushkas of Chernobyl

(2015 , 72 min.)

Directed by: Holly Morris, Anne Bogart

Screenwriter:

Producers: Holly Morris, Anne Bogart

Cinematographer: Japhet Weeks

Editor: Richard Howard, Mary Manhardt, Michael Taylor

Music: Rob Teehan

Cast: Valentyna Sochenok, Hanna Zavorotnya, Maria Shovkuta

For nearly 30 years a community of unlikely heroines have lived in Chernobyl’s post-nuclear disaster “dead zone.” Stylish and stubborn, these fascinating women have survived, and even thrived, on some of the most toxic land on Earth. They are the last survivors of a community who refused to leave their ancestral homes after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. But the babushkas aren’t the only risk-takers: scientists, bureaucrats and even young men called “Stalkers” (who break in illegally to pursue their video game-inspired fantasies) explore the dystopian Zone and seek out its radioactive grandmas. First-time filmmakers Anne Bogart and Holly Morris’ portrait of a community tells a remarkable tale about the pull of home, the healing power of shaping one’s own destiny and the subjective nature of risk.

No Más Bebés

(2015 , 79 min.)

Directed by: Renee Tajima-Peña

Screenwriter:

Producers: Virginia Espino, Renee Tajima-Peña

Cinematographer: Claudio Rocha

Editor: Johanna Demetrakas

Music: Bronwen Jones, Quetzal

Cast: Maria Hurtado, Consuelo Hermosillo, Antonia Hernandez, Bernard Rosenfeld

In 1960s and 70s Los Angeles, Mexican immigrant women allege they were coercively sterilized without their consent at LAC + USC Medical Center. Archival footage of the booming Chicano rights movement is juxtaposed with interviews in a long abandoned hospital. Interwoven are opinions from both sides of the landmark case Madrigal v. Quilligan. The women who brought the case to trial are represented by a young and fearless lawyer, Antonia Hernandez. Academy Award®-nominated director Renee Tajima-Peña (Who Killed Vincent Chin) saved this important case from becoming a forgotten footnote, facilitating a measure of closure and raising a timely topic amid the ongoing battles over reproductive rights and discriminatory practices.

In a Perfect World…

(2014 , 76 min.)

Directed by: Daphne McWilliams

Screenwriter:

Producers: Daphne McWilliams, Samuel D. Pollard, Brennan Rees, Mary Burns DeFuria

Cinematographer: Henry Adebonojo, Ana Dantas, Francis Augustine, Xavier Rodriguez

Editor: James Codoyannis

Music: Kathryn Bostic

Cast: John Cuevas, Eddie Cuevas, Damon Dash, Kevin Keenan, Ned Martin, Patrice McLeod, Chase Myles, Jason Lampkin, Craig Williams

Entering adulthood, Chase begins to feel the impact of his father’s inconsistent presence in his life. Curious about how boys negotiate the absence of their fathers and the kinds of relationships they forge with their mothers, Chase’s mother turns the camera on him. Daphne McWilliams’ directorial debut takes an astounding risk by grounding her sociological inquiry in the most vulnerable of all subjects: her teenage son, Chase. Revelatory, intimate interviews in this breakout documentary are structured with such grace and skill, they carry a transcendent universal perspective.

My Love, Don’t Cross That River

(2014 , 86 min.)

Directed by: Mo-Young Jin

Screenwriter: Mo-Young Jin

Producers: Kyungsoo Han

Cast: Byong-man Jo, Gye-Yeul Kang

Known in Korea as “the 100-year-old lovebirds,” 89-year-old Kang Kye-Yeol and 98-year-old Cho Byeong-man have been married for 76 years. Living in a rural, sleepy corner of the Gangwon province like characters from a fairy tale, they wear matching traditional Korean garments, play fight in the snow and hold hands while sleeping. Shot over 15 months by veteran documentary filmmaker Jin Mo-Young, the film chronicles the couple’s last days together as they sense their love and lives drawing to a close, providing a rare glimpse into an intimate marriage that has more than endured the test of time. This remarkable film broke Korean box office records, becoming the biggest Korean indie film of all time.

Las Malas Lenguas (Sweet and Vicious)

(2014 , 88 min. )

Directed by: Juan Paulo Laserna

Screenwriter: Juan Paulo Laserna, Juan Camilo Brigard

Producers: Juan Paulo Laserna

Cinematographer: Oscar Robles

Editor: Jared Simon

Music: Juan Manuel Vasquez, Santiago Amezquita

Cast:  Sara Montoya, Pedro Mejia, Matilde de los Milagros Londoño, Felix Antequera, Maryuri Sanchez

Manuela is the daughter of wealthy parents, their family a part of the Colombian elite. She appears to have every advantage in life but she’s completely unhappy and living a multitude of lies. She yearns to escape the patriarchal city but when she discovers she’s pregnant, her life and dreams begin to unravel. Can she regain control or is her life out of her hands?

Director Juan Paulo Laserna’s feature debut tells an understated cautionary tale pitched in an almost heightened reality with a notably stylized cinematic language.  Lead actress Sara Montoya delivers a breakout performance in a multilayered story rife with sharp and penetrating observations of the complicated world of the Colombian elite.

The Girl in the Book

(2014 , 88 min. )

Directed by: Marya Cohn

Screenwriter: Marya Cohn

Producers: Gina Resnick, Kyle Heller

Cinematographer: Trevor Forrest

Editor: Jessica Brunetto

Music: Fall on Your Sword, Will Bates

Cast: Emily Van Camp, Michael Nyqvist, David Call, Michael Cristofer, Talia Balsam, Ana Mulvoy-Ten

29-year-old assistant editor and aspiring writer Alice Harvey is funny, smart and emotionally self-destructive. Climbing the ranks at a notable publishing company, she struggles to write her own story, forever stymied by memories of her youthful relationship with her dad’s best friend, Milan.
 
After 15 years Milan and Alice’s paths cross once again, forcing them to confront events that have long gone unaddressed. Artfully intertwining scenes from Alice’s budding teen years and her unsettled adult life, Marya Cohn’s assured directorial debut explores the residual effects that past actions have on present realities in the story of a young woman seeking to reclaim her body, her voice and ultimately her power.

The Diary of a Teenage Girl

(2015 , 101 min. )

Directed by: Marielle Heller

Screenwriter: Marielle Heller

Producers: Miranda Bailey, Anne Carey, Bert Hamelinck, Madeline Samit

Cinematographer: Brandon Trost

Editor: Marie-Helene Dozo, Koen Timmerman

Music: Nate Heller

Cast:  Bel Powley, Alexander Skarsgard, Kristen Wiig, Christopher Meloni

Like most teenage girls, Minnie Goetze is longing for love, acceptance and a sense of purpose in the world. Minnie begins a complex love affair with her mother’s boyfriend, “the handsomest man in the world,” Monroe Rutherford. What follows is a sharp, funny and provocative account of one girl’s sexual and artistic awakening, without judgment.
 
Set in 1976 San Francisco, The Diary Of A Teenage Girl begins at the crossroads of the fading hippie movement and the dawn of punk rock. News commentary of the Patty Hearst trial echoes in the background, as Minnie’s young expressive eyes soak in a drug-laden city in transition— where teenage rebellion and adult responsibility clash in characters lost and longing. Minnie’s hard-partying mother and absent father have left her rudderless. She first finds solace in Monroe’s seductive smile, and then on the backstreets of the city by the bay. Animation serves a refuge from the confusing and unstable world around her. Minnie emerges defiant — taking command of her sexuality and drawing on her newfound creative talents to reveal truths in the kind of intimate and vivid detail that can only be found in the pages of a teenage girl’s diary.

Flock of Dudes

(2015 , 104 min. )

Directed by: Bob Castrone

Screenwriter: Bob Castrone, Jason Zumwalt, Brian Levin

Producers: Mark Manuel, Aaron Kaufman, Ted O’Neal, Brian Levin

Cinematographer: Yaron Levy

Editor: Lawrence Jordan

Music: Jonathan Zalben

Cast: Chris D’Elia, Hannah Simone, Bryan Greenberg, Eric Andre, Brett Gelman, Skylar Astin

Adam and his friends have the perfect set up:all night house parties, elaborate drinking games, and random hook-ups. The problem is, Adam and his friends are in their thirties. After yet another round of shenanigans, including getting evicted and discovering his ex-girlfriend is now dating a hot actor, Adam decides he needs to break up with his friends if he wants to grow up as a man.
 
Director Bob Castrone’s debut boasts an ensemble cast with impeccable comedic flow and the genuine rapport necessary for a story about co-dependent friends. One man’s journey to transcend his juvenile ways turns out to be as ridiculous and fun as expected, especially when it’s balanced with welcome moments of romance and reflection.

The Overnight

(2015 , 80 min. )

Directed by: Patrick Brice

Screenwriter: Patrick Brice

Producers: Mark Duplass, Jay Duplass, Adam Scott, Naomi Scott

Cinematographer: John Guleserian

Editor: Christopher Donlon

Music: Julian Wass

Cast:  Adam Scott, Judith Godrèche, Jason Schwartzman, Taylor Schilling

Alex, Emily, and their son RJ have recently moved to Los Angeles’ Eastside and are desperate to find their first new friends. After a chance meeting with an eccentric yet friendly father at the neighborhood park, they gladly agree to join family pizza night at his home. But as it gets late and the kids go to bed, the family “play date” becomes increasingly more revealing and unorthodox as the couples begin to open up. With exhilarating openness and gut-busting humor, writer/director Patrick Brice delves into the sexual frustration and insecurity that many married couples face. Showcasing a memorable ensemble cast including Jason Schwartzman, Adam Scott, and Taylor Schilling, The Overnight tells a complex story of overcoming self-doubt and connecting with our deepest desires.