Starring: Stephanie Hsu, David Denman, Ashley Park, Annie Mumolo, Sherry Cola, Sabrina Wu, Desmond Chiam

The hilarious and unapologetically explicit story of identity and self-discovery centers on four unlikely friends who embark on a once-in-a-lifetime international adventure. When Audrey’s (Ashley Park) business trip to Asia goes sideways, she enlists the aid of Lolo (Sherry Cola), her irreverent, childhood best friend who also happens to be a hot mess; Kat (Stephanie Hsu), her college friend turned Chinese soap star; and Deadeye (Sabrina Wu), Lolo’s eccentric cousin. Their no-holds-barred, epic experience becomes a journey of bonding, friendship, belonging, and wild debauchery that reveals the universal truth of what it means to know and love who you are.

Starring: Tom Selleck, Cynthia Rhodes, Gene Simmons, Kirstie Alley, Stan Shaw

With humans reliant on robots for day-to-day tasks – anything from working corn fields to taking care of their kids – some are bound to go out of control. A special police force is put in place to take care of the rogue bots, and Jack Ramsay (Tom Selleck) is among their best, despite his fear of heights and trauma from a past event. But when the robots start to seem more homicidal than usual, Ramsay must contend with the diabolical Dr. Charles Luther (Gene Simmons, effectively menacing), who is programming them to kill.

One of a handful of films written and directed by Michael Crichton, Runaway is a fun thriller with wild moments. Witness the intimidation of what appears to be a fax machine armed with a gun!

NoBudge is happy to present new work from a group of emerging indie filmmakers mostly based in New York. These eight short films tackle a variety of themes related to the worlds of online sex, art dealing, LARPing, and activism. They tend towards the dramatic but offer moments of off-kilter humor and social commentary. Some are provocative while others are unexpectedly moving. Four of the films are NYC or Brooklyn premieres and each director will be in attendance for a post-film 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.

Waifu
Director Alexis Gil present.
A young woman becomes enamored with a waifu sex doll online and aims to transform herself into a sentient copy.
(10 min)

Areyouwinningson?
Director Dana Greenleaf present.
The chat-room of an online porn-forum transforms into a techno-feudal court.
(10 min)

Hangtime
New York Premiere
Director Chester Vincent Toye present.
An eager young artist receives a disturbing introduction to the art world during the delivery of a controversial sculpture.
(11 min)

AmeriGirl
Director Samina Saifee present.
Struggling to fit in at a sleepaway camp with a group of white girls, 11-year-old Aaliyah Khan tries to befriend a new arrival.
(10 min)

Never Fuggedaboutit
Brooklyn premiere
Director Dustin Waldman present.
Amid the high anxiety of post-9/11 NYC, a struggling post-production house is hired to remove a shot of the Twin Towers from the intro to a hit TV show.
(12 min)

Close the Gap
Director Alex Bliss present.
During the BLM protests of 2020, a white protester loses his head while trying to corral a group of fellow demonstrators.
(9 min)

Sad LARP
New York Premiere
Director Marissa Goldman present.
In this experimental documentary, a comedian’s break-up leads her to a surprising journey with a community of LARPers.
(19 min)

A Folded Ocean
Brooklyn premiere
Director Ben Brewer present.
A couple gets lost in each other.
(12 min)

Starring: Alyssa Milano / Abigail Adams, Virginia Madsen / Coach Judy, Gina Torres / Violeta Gonzalez, Milana Vayntrub / Vasectopia Saleswoman, Jennifer Holland / Sienna, Sean Gunn / John Adams, Molly C. Quinn / The Actress, Jason George / Officer Hall, Jackie Tohn / April-May June

The Future of Film is Female presents a special screening of GIVE ME AN A, an anthology film responding to the overturning of Roe V Wade. Q&A with filmmakers. Introduction by Chelsea Williams-Diggs, New York Abortion Access Fund‘s Interim Executive Director. To make an additional $10 donation to New York Abortion Access Fund, select the “Event + Donation” ticket on the checkout screen.

Seventeen films. Seventeen filmmakers. One Supreme Court ruling. A countless number of women. From satire to horror to science fiction, Give Me an A is a unified vision in the form of an anthology film that tells the world how they feel about the overturning of Roe V Wade.

Natasha Halevi (BEAUTY JUICE)
Bonnie Discepolo (GRANDMA’S HOUSE)
Erica Mary Wright (RED NOTICE)
Meg Swertlow (NEXT 2 YOU)
Danin Jacquay (FATALE COLLECTIVE: BLEED)
Sarah Kopkin (THE AUDITION)
Hannah Alline (DOOM PATROL, CHERRY)
Kelly Nygaard (DROWNING)
Valerie Finkel (WAKING LIFE)
Avital Ash (BARRY)
Loren Escandón (CASA GRANDE)
Caitlin Hargraves (MI CASA)
Mary C. Russell (UNHINGED)
Monica Moore-Suriyage (LA CIGUAPA SIEMPRE)
Francesca Maldonado (DOWNFALLS HIGH)
Megan Rosati (TWO SENTENCE HORROR STORIES)

Starring: Dorothy Mackaill, Donald Cook, Ralf Harolde, Victor Varconi, Ivan F. Simpson

Co-hosted by filmmaker/programmer Caroline Golum

In this wild pre-code from director William A. Wellman, Gilda (Dorothy Mackaill) flees to an island after thinking she has killed a former client when she knocks him out with a bottle and accidentally sets the place ablaze. The island is a haven for criminals, and Gilda is intent on behaving for the sake of her sailor fiancé who has forgiven her of all past indiscretions. But when boredom creeps in she joins the reprobates for smokes and drinks, all the while dodging their advances. Sleazy Mr. Bruno, a corrupt local lawman, proves harder to deflect, so when he corners her with an ultimatum, she makes a bold choice.

35mm print courtesy Library of Congress

Starring: Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Chang Chen

Lai (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) and his boyfriend, Ho (Leslie Cheung), arrive in Argentina from Hong Kong, seeking a better life. Their highly contentious relationship turns abusive and results in numerous break-ups and reconciliations. When Lai befriends another man, Chang (Chen Chang), he sees the futility of continuing with the promiscuous Ho. Chang, however, is on his own personal journey and, ultimately, both Lai and Ho find themselves far from home and desperately lonely.

Starring: Leon Lai Ming, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Charlie Young, Michelle Reis, Karen Mok

Lost souls reach out for human connection amidst the glimmering night world of Hong Kong in Wong Kar Wai’s hallucinatory, neon-soaked nocturne. Originally conceived as a segment of Chungking Express only to spin off on its own woozy axis, this hyper-cool head rush plays like the dark, moody flip side to Wong’s breakout feature as it charts the subtly interlacing fates of a handful of urban loners, including a coolly detached hitman (Leon Lai) looking to go straight, his business partner (Michelle Reis) who secretly yearns for him, and a mute delinquent (Takeshi Kaneshiro) who wreaks mischief by night. Swinging between hardboiled noir and slapstick lunacy with giddy abandon, Fallen Angels is both a dizzying, dazzling city symphony and a poignant meditation on love, loss, and longing in a metropolis that never sleeps.

Starring: Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable, Montgomery Clift, Eli Wallach

While filing for a divorce, beautiful ex-stripper Roslyn Taber (Marilyn Monroe) ends up meeting aging cowboy-turned-gambler Gay Langland (Clark Gable) and former World War II aviator Guido Racanelli (Eli Wallach). The two men instantly become infatuated with Roslyn and, on a whim, the three decide to move into Guido’s half-finished desert home together. When grizzled ex-rodeo rider Perce Howland (Montgomery Clift) arrives, the unlikely foursome strike up a business capturing wild horses.

Starring: Mckenna Grace, Taraji P. Henson, Marsai Martin, Christian Convery, Ron Pardo, Lil Rel Howery

When a magical meteor crash lands in Adventure City, it gives the PAW Patrol pups superpowers, transforming them into The MIGHTY PUPS! For Skye, the smallest member of the team, her new powers are a dream come true. But things take a turn for the worse when the pups’ archrival Humdinger breaks out of jail and teams up with Victoria Vance, a meteor-obsessed mad scientist, to steal the superpowers and turn themselves into supervillains. With the fate of Adventure City hanging in the balance, the Mighty Pups have to stop the supervillains before it’s too late, and Skye will need to learn that even the smallest pup can make the biggest difference.

Starring: LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Chase W. Dillon

A woman and her son enlist a motley crew of so-called spiritual experts to help rid their home of supernatural squatters.