Starring: Leslie Odom Jr., Ellen Burstyn, Ann Dowd, Lidya Jewett, Olivia Marcum, Raphael Sbarge

Since the death of his pregnant wife in a Haitian earthquake 12 years ago, Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom, Jr.) has raised their daughter, Angela (Lidya Jewett) on his own. But when Angela and her friend Katherine (Olivia Marcum), disappear in the woods, only to return three days later with no memory of what happened to them, it unleashes a chain of events that will force Victor to confront the nadir of evil and, in his terror and desperation, seek out the only person alive who has witnessed anything like it before: Chris MacNeil.

Starring: Sandra Hüller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado-Graner, Jehnny Beth, Saadia Bentaïeb, Samuel Theis

For the past year, Sandra, her husband Samuel, and their eleven-year-old son Daniel have lived a secluded life in a remote town in the French Alps. When Samuel is found dead in the snow below their chalet, the police question whether he was murdered or committed suicide. Samuel’s suspicious death is presumed murder, and Sandra becomes the main suspect. What follows is not just an investigation into the circumstances of Samuel’s death but an unsettling psychological journey into the depths of Sandra and Samuel’s conflicted relationship.

NoBudge is happy to present ten new short films from a group of emerging indie filmmakers mostly based in New York. For this program, we focus primarily on young characters in quotidian struggles, or existential ones. They are anxious about how to spend tonight and not so sure about the rest of their lives either. Feeling alienated or overwhelmed, they are worried about money, looking for work or firmly enmeshed in terrible jobs, and bombarded by technology. Some are surreal while others are crushingly realistic. We begin with a double shot of experimental filmmaking before moving on to mostly comedy with a hint of drama, and a drop of animation. As a palate cleanser to the angst of young adulthood, we close the lineup at a seniors-only retreat at a Poconos resort where two 75-year-old friends look for love. Six of the films are NYC premieres and each director will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A and Afterparty.

NoBudge is an online platform spotlighting the best in low-budget indie filmmaking. “One of the best places to sample what’s happening in low-budget cinema worldwide,” says Glenn Kenny of The New York Times. Its mission is to provide a supportive home for emerging indie filmmakers working with limited resources and without major industry connections, and to be a trusted discovery platform.

ecologics
New York Premiere
Director Lauren Koo present.
A young narrator fixates on old office buildings and discarded ways of life, experiencing some form of nostalgia for something they never experienced.
(7 min)

This Could be Heaven
New York Premiere
Director Hope Green present.
Exploring a world in which magic is possible in places that were designed to be merely tolerated, a dollar store aisle becomes a chapel, and forgotten places become home.
(11 min)

xX_luv.kitten_Xx
Director Bobby McCoy present.
A struggling Twitch streamer hustles up quick cash and alienates her loved ones, stopping at nothing to get to an influencer meetup at Buffalo Wild Wings.
(14 min)

Up and Coming
Director Taryn Segal present.
An actress is challenged by an eccentric director when rehearsing a gruesome kill scene for his horror movie.
(10 min)

Semen Retention for a Better Tomorrow
Director Alexandra Neuman present.
A feminine being reflects on a dispiriting sexual experience in this claymation musical reckoning with the patriarchy and the climate crisis.
(6 min)

Friyay
New York Premiere
Director Katie Colosimo present.
Ellie doesn’t feel like going out even though it’s Friday night. A series of insignificant conversations make her question – is she okay?
(15 min)

Sweet Green
New York Premiere
Director Phillip Vernon present.
A couple on the rocks hopes a simple night out at the movies will smooth things over, but things get dicey when they’re hungry and running late.
(11 min)

Recovery
New York Premiere
Director Nick Lane present.
When User’s world sim is compromised, a customer service AI walks him through a perplexing account recovery process.
(3 min)

Flail
New York Premiere
Director Ben Gauthier present.
An addled farce for the attention economy, the film follows a distracted personal assistant as she frantically prepares for her boss’s birthday party.
(13 min)

The Singles Retreat
Director Jo Firestone present.
Two 75-year-old friends attending a seniors-only singles retreat in the Poconos have hopes of meeting some nice gentlemen.
(17 min)

Starring: Noah Galvin, Molly Gordon, Ben Platt, Jimmy Tatro, Patti Harrison, Nathan Lee Graham

Tony Award winner Ben Platt and Molly Gordon star in the new original comedy Theater Camp as Amos and Rebecca-Diane — lifelong best friends and drama instructors at a rundown camp in upstate New York. When clueless tech-bro Troy (Jimmy Tatro) arrives to run the property (into the ground), Amos, Rebecca-Diane and production manager Glenn (Noah Galvin) band together with the staff and students to stage a masterpiece, and keep their beloved summer camp afloat.

Starring: Charles Bronson, Deborah Raffin, Ed Lauter, Martin Balsam, Gavan O’Herlihy

“This isn’t a neighborhood… it’s a war.”

The city is in chaos: leather and chain clad punks terrorize the saintly residents, smashing into apartments with reckless abandon, making it impossible to walk the sidewalks in peace. Lucky for them Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) has come back to New York City, and the police chief has given him a not-subtle nudge to rectify the situation as he is uniquely qualified to do.

Like a conservative fantasy with cartoonishly brutal, soulless villains, Death Wish 3 often has the tone of a comedy as Kersey, gun in one hand, ice cream cone in another, offs baddies like lanternflies. As the stakes get higher the weapons get bigger, with a dizzyingly violent climax – 20 minutes of relentless flames and bloodshed.

Starring: Adam Driver, Penélope Cruz, Shailene Woodley, Gabriel Leone, Sarah Gadon, Patrick Dempsey

A biopic of automotive mogul Enzo Ferrari, whose family redefined the idea of the high-powered Italian sports car and practically spawned the concept of Formula One racing.

Starring: Steve Westerheit, Connie Speer, Richard Perrin, Benton Jennings, Sarah Paxton

The fraternity brothers at Delta Epsilon Delta are your typical red-blooded American party animals, that is except for Edgar Allen Lovecraft. He’s locked up in his room trying to cure death and finds a serum that works on the severed head of a recently deceased comedian. When a mafia hood steals the serum to use on his murdered squeeze, her reanimated corpse goes on a campus killing spree – let the corny puns and one-punch decapitations fly!

Reanimator Academy was produced down and dirty for the booming video store rental market by legendary producer David DeCoteau (Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama) and directed by the equally renowned Bret McCormick (The Abomination), under what is possibly the best pseudonym ever used in a film. This silly send-up of Lovecraftian lore and cinematic tropes will leave you feeling as hungover and headless as a three-kegger blowout.

Hosted by Matt Desiderio of Horror Boobs with free giveaways of Blu-rays, DVDs and collectibles. Followed by an after party in Lo-Res where Desiderio will DJ an all-vinyl set.

Starring: Steve Wang, Troy Fromin, Johnnie Saiko, Les Claypool III, ‘Evil’ Ted Smith

When their village is threatened by an ancient dark lord known as The Bamboo Man, a master thief and his two sidekicks steal a map and set off on a quest to find the only superpower in the land big enough to save their home and rid the world of evil. But these Rascals will have to kick, punch and fart their way through every ninja, monster and mutant in sight before they can restore peace.

A frantic, eccentric and loving homage to Asian cinema in all its forms, Kung Fu Rascals is part old school chop socky movie, Kaiju flick and Power Rangers episode rolled into one. The directorial debut from legendary Hollywood special effects artist Steve Wang (The Monster Squad, Predator, The Guyver, Drive), this Super 8 epic showcases both his monster make-up mastery and sharp action movie sensibilities.

Hosted by Matt Desiderio of Horror Boobs with free giveaways of Blu-rays, DVDs and collectibles. Followed by an after party in Lo-Res where Desiderio will DJ an all-vinyl set.

Starring: Thom Myers, Laura Ellis, Robert Bradeen, Glen Coburn, Pat Paulsen

In rural Texas, several farmers are transformed into bloodthirsty, chatty zombie killers when a mysterious mist from outer space infects the earth. A young couple must warn townsfolk and try to escape before inept government officials drop a bomb and nuke them all out of existence.

Glen Coburn’s hilarious, gag-and-gore filled homage to 1950s horror and sci-fi classics has remained a fan favorite for nearly four decades since its VHS debut in video stores across the country. And it remains one of the best, most successful examples of low budget regional filmmaking and 1980s gross out horror comedy.

Hosted by Matt Desiderio of Horror Boobs with free giveaways of Blu-rays, DVDs and collectibles. Followed by an after party in Lo-Res where Desiderio will DJ an all-vinyl set.

Starring: Rudy Ray Moore, Mark Glover, Nick Stodden, Rebecca Rose, Jenni Geigel

A new deadly drug named ‘Rapture’ has taken over the streets of New York City, and a pair of cops have been tasked with finding its source. Little do they know that the drug was created by an army of demons that live under NYC, who have also just conjured the Antichrist. Now the cops must rescue the spawn of Satan and get it across town to Pastor Williams (Rudy Ray Moore) in order to baptize and exorcise the baby beast.

Perhaps the most dense and extravagant effort from prolific SOV madman Todd Sheets, Violent New Breed features multiple plotlines, countless characters and a juicy helping of his trademark gore that all twist together into a unique stew of satanic panic horror and summer tentpole ambition on a camping tent budget.

Hosted by Matt Desiderio of Horror Boobs with free giveaways of Blu-rays, DVDs and collectibles. Followed by an after party in Lo-Res where Desiderio will DJ an all-vinyl set.