Month: October 2026

In Bad Tooth, an untreated toothache becomes a monstrous expression of shame, isolation, and self-neglect. Drawing on his own experience of pain he couldn’t afford to treat, writer-director M. Dara Alavi pairs body horror with dry humor, casting Joshua Burge as a struggling gig worker facing a nightmare born from his own body.

In A Nice Lady, a lonely New York artist opens her home to a young couple, setting off a tangled encounter between desire, ambition, and the need for connection. For producer Rachel Barclay, the appeal lay in placing an imperfect, unpredictable woman at the centre of the story. Speaking with IndieWrap, Barclay discusses collaborating with writer-director Jessie Weber Kass, bringing a programmer’s eye to producing, and the practical decisions that helped shape this intimate drama.

In Heading to the East, director Lisa Ranran Hu follows a young Asian couple on one final road trip to the desert oasis where they first fell in love. Screened at the 2026 LA Shorts International Film Festival, the short draws on Hu’s own experiences of separation to explore the fragile relationship between love, place, and memory. In our conversation, she discusses translating fading recollections into images, discovering unexpected possibilities in the landscape, and using performance, silence, and editing to capture the distance growing between two people.

In Liquor Bank, writer-director Marcellus Cox follows a former Marine whose relapse just before a year of sobriety leads to a difficult encounter with his sponsor. Inspired by Eddie Mohler’s real-life experiences, the short draws on extensive conversations with veterans and people in recovery, as well as Cox’s own relationship with alcohol. We spoke with the filmmaker about finding honesty in his characters, creating tension within a confined space, and the importance of letting others show up for us.