Starring: Kristie Etzhold, Joycelyne Lew, Matthew Borlengi, Gary Levinson, Marya Grant, Michael Liberty

In the seedy underbelly of L.A., a coven of bloodthirsty prostitutes lures horny johns to their doom—stripping flesh and draining blood in a ritual of sex and satanic sacrifice. When a pair of college girls are seduced into the sisterhood, the streets run red with guts and gonads in this zero-budget blast of brain-rotting SOV madness.

Cannibal Hookers is a raw, blood-soaked slab of Los Angeles back-alley horror that wallows in the sleaze and DIY drone of that city’s late 1980s landscape and attitude. Director Donald Farmer leans hard into this no-budget chaos, packing every frame with as much nudity, gore and gutter trash as he can squeeze into the viewfinder. And while the film creeps between its satanic rituals and grindhouse slaughter, it never once slows down for logic or restraint. This is pure VHS-era filth—cheap, trashy, and utterly deranged.

Starring: Harry Myles, Joe Browne, Nick Norman, George Tripos, Diana Byrne

Blasted to bits in the line of duty, narcotics agent Tom Wilde is reborn as a bulletproof cyborg and sent straight back on the job (sound familiar?). His mission: storm the drug-soaked jungles of the Golden Triangle and rescue an undercover agent from the grip of Mr. Young — a sadistic cartel boss who wields black magic and commands a horde of hopping vampires, thugs and other undead killers.

A collision of bargain-bin sci-fi, action, kung fu and supernatural sleaze, stitched together with zero regard for any continuity or logic. Often erroneously credited to director Godfrey Ho, Robo Vampire shamelessly rips off RoboCop and drops him into a world of hopping vampires, ghostly rituals, and endless explosions. The results are a gloriously incoherent brain glitch that plays like a 1980s greatest hits reel of bootleg VHS clips. Every scene feels like it was shot for a different movie, yet somehow, someway it all adds up to a truly astonishing and unforgettable experience.

NoBudge is happy to present a program of nine short films from a group of emerging indie filmmakers mostly based in New York. A mix of drama, comedy, and experimental filmmaking, the lineup explores a range of styles and subject matters from quiet character studies to wildly eccentric visions. Eight of the films are NYC or Brooklyn premieres and all filmmakers 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.

Melonheads
New York premiere
Director Joohee Park in person.
Two friends meet in the park and pretend to live their lives together.
(15 min)

Fever
New York premiere
Director Isabella Nemcik in person.
Ziggy, a 20-year-old freak, is squirming underneath the thumb of his abusive, crazed parents. Screaming for an out, he makes a break for freedom.
(13 min)

Oh! A Phantom All My Life
New York premiere
Director Ellena Eshraghi in person.
A strange advertisement sends Ellena on a journey of memory loss and vampirism.
(10 min)

Almost Fantasy
Brooklyn premiere
Director Nancy Chidi in person.
After four months of traveling, a young woman returns to her hometown of Los Angeles and catches up on her mail.
(5 min)

The Right to Remain Silent
New York premiere
Director Matthew Koebele in person.
A guilty Mets fan tries to cheer his roommate up by going to buy a couple of beers, on the way encountering a complicated ex from both his, and his roommates past.
(6 min)

Repatriados
Brooklyn premiere
Director Moises Bazbaz in person.
Immigrant food delivery drivers Saul, Adrian and Cesar must work together raising money to repatriate a colleague who passed away in an accident.
(13 min)

Dead Serious
Directors Myriam Schroeter and Lizi Latimer in person.
A mother surprises her kids with a trip to the place she wants to be buried. The kids disagree with her decision.
(13 min)

Circumstantial Forgiveness
Brooklyn premiere
Director Alex Sovoda in person.
A friend starts stealing from others at a game night, and then makes matters infinitely worse.
(18 min)

Opener
New York premiere
Director Véra Haddad in person.
A queer musician returns to her semi-rural hometown and navigates the masculinity of its music scene.
(12 min)

Starring: Ghalia Lacroix, Amel Hedjili, Hend Sabri

Part of the Arab Women in the Arts Showcase. To make an additional $10 donation to Arab Film & Media Institute, select the “Event + Donation” ticket on the checkout screen.

Set in 1960s Tunisia as the country is emerging from the yoke of colonialism, this film focuses on Alia (Ghalia Lacroix), a singer who visits the palace where her mother, Khedija (Amel Hedhili), was once employed. The journey triggers unpleasant recollections about the way her mother was treated by male members of the privileged class. In a series of flashbacks, Alia looks back on her adolescent self (Hend Sabri) and begins to piece together key details about her murky family history.

Starring: Eric Roberts, Phillip Rhee, Chris Penn, Edan Gross, Ralf Moeller, Meg Foster, Sonny Landham, Wayne Newton

In a Las Vegas set underground fighting ring called The Colosseum, rich sickos cheer as men break each other’s bones and erupt blood. Having triumphed in martial arts competitions, the three friends Tommy (Phillip Rhee), Alex (an extremely fit Eric Roberts) and Travis (Chris Penn) have settled nearby, where they run a studio. Travis, seeking the adrenaline rush of hand to hand combat, challenges the presiding champion of the club, Brakus (Ralf Moeller) who shows no mercy and gladly obeys his audiences’ calls to snuff out his opponent. Seeking revenge, Tommy and Alex undergo rigorous training before they face off against Brakus.

The best of the four part series, Best of the Best II is an ultra-violent action-packed ride that includes Wayne Newton as the club emcee and Sonny Landham as an alcoholic adoptive brother who pulls it together to help our heroes. If you have yet to experience the pleasures of these movies, now is your chance to get in the ring!

JG Thirlwell will perform a live score to the legendary Harry Smith film Heaven and Earth Magic, a 1962 avant-garde stop-motion animation. Its surreal imagery, drawn from cutups of 19th century catalogs, has a mystical and hypnotic quality that has entranced viewers for decades.

This will be a solo performance by Thirlwell in immersive four channel sound, performed on keyboards with computer / sample programs and theremin. The score was commissioned by L’Etrange Film Festival in Paris and premiered there in 2024. This is the first performance in North America.

The evening will open with a rare screening of Thirlwell’s 11-minute film Sonder, which was commissioned by the Frekvens Film Symposium in Gotland, Sweden in 2018.

“Watching silly cat videos is good for you.” — The Wall Street Journal

The world’s #1 cat video festival is back with screenings in theaters across the USA and around the world starting August 2025!

Oscilloscope Laboratories presents CatVideoFest 2025, a compilation of the latest and best cat videos culled from countless hours of unique submissions and sourced animations, music videos, and classic internet powerhouses.

Each year, across the country, local theaters partner with nearby cat-focused charities, animal welfare associations and shelters alike — a portion of ticket proceeds from every show goes directly to local cats in need. Proceeds from Nitehawk shows will go to Sean Casey Animal Shelter.

Starring: Marlon Wayans, Tyriq Withers, Julia Fox, Tim Heidecker, Jim Jefferies, Naomi Grossman, Don Benjamin, Indira G. Wilson

Him centers on a promising young football player (Tyriq Withers), invited to train at the isolated compound of a dynasty team’s aging QB1. The legendary quarterback (Marlon Wayans) takes his protégé on a blood-chilling journey into the inner sanctum of fame, power and pursuit of excellence at any cost.

Starring: Margaret Qualley, Chris Evans, Aubrey Plaza, Charlie Day, Billy Eichner

Small-town private investigator Honey O’Donahue probes a series of strange deaths that are tied to a mysterious church.