Highlights from Filmmaker Magazine's 25 New Faces

Director: Multiple Dirs

2023 / 90min / DCP

Palm Sunday, dir. Wes Goodrich

A mordantly ironic parable of cultural assimilation set in an impressively evoked ’70s Deep South, Goodrich’s short follows a young Black Jamaican immigrant when, struck by a vision, he strives to be admitted to an all-white Baptist Church.

Run, dir. Alex Prager

Starring Katherine Waterston, the anxieties of modern life are realized with surreal, darkly comic panache in the latest short by visual artist and filmmaker Prager, who envisions a group of urbanites on the run from a gigantic metallic orb.

Alpha Kings, dir. Faye Tsakas and Enrique Pedráza-Botero

This precisely composed verite documentary short by Tsakas and Pedráza-Botero anchors itself in a rented mansion, where young Texan men find class mobility by practicing the art of humiliation through sexualized webcam sessions.

Lemon Tree, dir. Rachel Walden.

Shot on handheld 16mm, Walden’s debut short brings surprisingly raucous energy to an autumnal road trip that becomes a loss of innocence for a young boy when his father plunges into an alcohol-induced bender.

Side Hustle, dir. Abby Harri.

Casting director Harri showcases electric performances from two of her discoveries in this portrait of a sex worker whose artistic ambitions are juxtaposed with the economic anxiety resulting from a client’s financial troubles.

Dilating for Maximum Results, dir. Nyala Moon

In this spritely sketch, Moon's original comic voice offers instructions for a trans woman wants to hook up IRL with an online lover but must first get back into the habit of post-op vaginal dilating.