An eclectic mix of eleven new short films made by emerging indie filmmakers, who will be present for a Q&A and afterparty. This month’s edition is mostly narrative work (with a few experimental oddballs thrown in for good measure), a mix of comedy and drama. NoBudge comedy favorites, like Doron Max Hagay and Tynan DeLong, will be balanced out with some heavy character-study dramas from filmmakers like Sontenish Myers and David Call.

NoBudge is an online movies club that presents a hand-picked selection of new indie movies daily. “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 helping audiences find their new favorite movies and filmmakers.

The Movies: 

On Showbiz
Director Ryan McGlade present.
A young waste incinerator employee meets with his show business mentor.
(7 minutes) 

Be Yourself Be Confidence
Directors Devan Joseph and Jason Gaines present.
A voicemail from Jay’s Papa sparks intimate thoughts of self-empowerment.
(3 minutes)

Birthday
Director Tynan DeLong present.
Two grown men compete to be the most childish at a friend’s birthday party.
(8 minutes)

How to Build Your Human
Director Jasmine De Silva present.
This satirical infomercial from the Beauty Standard Corporation (BSC) offers a glimpse into the world of “fixing” humans.
(3 minutes)

Stock
Directed by Jeff Loveness.
A stock footage photographer falls in love with a floss model.
(11 minutes)

This is Alice
Director Lauren Rothery present.
A portrait of Alice, her joys, anxieties, the way she looks when she’s a little drunk.
(3 minutes)

Aquaculture
Director Artemis Shaw present.
The employees of a cult-like biotech start-up test their product on themselves.
(11 minutes)

Chandler
Director Julia Kennelly present.
Feeling ignored on an important day, a 12-year-old girl seeks attention from an unexpected source.
(9 minutes)

Cross My Heart
Director Sontenish Myers present.
An American teenage girl visits her family in Jamaica and discovers a secret that changes the way she views them.
(14 minutes)

Cole
Director David Call present.
Recovering from a traumatic brain injury, a US combat veteran attempts to find a job in the civilian world.
(10 minutes)

Company
Director Doron Max Hagay present.
A woman invites an old acquaintance to live with her after a devastating loss.
(13 minutes)

Starring: Hugh Grant, Ben Whishaw, Hugh Bonneville

Paddington is happily settled with the Brown family in Windsor Gardens, where he has become a popular member of the community, spreading joy and marmalade wherever he goes. While searching for the perfect present for his beloved Aunt Lucy’s hundredth birthday, Paddington spots a unique pop-up book in Mr. Gruber’s antique shop, and embarks upon a series of odd jobs to buy it. But when the book is stolen, it’s up to Paddington and the Browns to unmask the thief.

Starring: Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu, Herbert Knaup

Lola receives a phone call from her boyfriend Manni. He lost 100,000 DM in a subway train that belongs to a very bad guy. Lola has 20 min to raise this amount and meet Manni. Otherwise, he will rob a store to get the money. Three different alternatives may happen depending on some minor event along Lola’s run.

Starring: Adepero Oduye, Kim Wayans, Charles Parnell, Aasha Davis, Sahra Mellesse, Pernell Walker

Alike is a 17-year-old African-American woman who lives with her parents Audrey and Arthur and younger sister Sharonda in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood. Alike is quietly but firmly embracing her identity as a lesbian. With the sometimes boisterous support of her best friend, out lesbian Laura, Alike is especially eager to find a girlfriend. At home, her parents’ marriage is strained and there is further tension in the household whenever Alike’s development becomes a topic of discussion. Pressed by her mother into making the acquaintance of a colleague’s daughter, Bina, Alike finds Bina to be unexpectedly refreshing to socialize with. Wondering how much she can confide in her family, Alike strives to get through adolescence with grace, humor, and tenacity – sometimes succeeding, sometimes not, but always moving forward.

Starring: Jennifer Tilly, Gina Gershon, Joe Pantoliano, Christopher Meloni

To make an additional $10 donation to Advocates for Trans Equality, select the “Event + Donation” ticket on the checkout screen.

Encore Performance!

Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly nearly set the screen on fire in this clever, female-powered twist on the standard Mob caper film. Gershon is Corky, an ex-con renovating the apartment next door to where Tilly’s Violet lives. Violet is the moll of psychotic gangster Caesar (Joe Pantoliano), who uses the apartment as an occasional location for meetings and beatings, and also uses Violet as an occasional plaything for his Mob cronies. Violet is attracted to the super-sexy Corky, and the two begin an intense affair. Corky hatches a plot to escape with $2 million that Caesar is planning to give to a Mob boss, and the mayhem escalates from there.

Starring: Pauline Lorillard, Vimala Pons, Diane Rouxel

Starring: Sanaa Lathan, Omar Epps, Glenndon Chatman

In 1981 in L.A., Monica moves in next door to Quincy. They’re 11, and both want to play in the NBA, just like Quincy’s dad. Their love-hate relationship lasts into high school, with Monica’s edge and Quincy’s top-dog attitude separating them, except when Quincy’s parents argue and he climbs through Monica’s window to sleep on the floor. As high school ends, they come together as a couple, but within a year, with both of them playing ball at USC, Quincy’s relationship with his father takes an ugly turn, and it leads to a break up with Monica. Some years later, their pro careers at a crossroads, they meet again. It’s time for a final game of one-on-one with high stakes.

Starring: Nick Robinson, Jennifer Garner, Josh Duhamel

Starring: Julia Roberts, Hugh Grant, Richard McCabe, Rhys Ifans

Every man’s dream comes true for William Thacker, an unsuccessful Notting Hill bookstore owner, when Anna Scott, the world’s most beautiful woman and best-liked actress, enters his shop. A little later, he still can’t believe it himself, William runs into her again – this time spilling orange juice over her. Anna accepts his offer to change in his nearby apartment, and thanks him with a kiss, which seems to surprise her even more than him. Eventually, Anna and William get to know each other better over the months, but being together with the world’s most wanted woman is not easy – neither around your closest friends, nor in front of the all-devouring press.

Starring: Katherine Waterston, Michael Shannon, Luke Evans, Michiel Huisman, Mary Kay Place

One year after the mysterious death of her Belgian actor husband, American photographer Katherine (Katherine Waterston) returns to Brussels, a city filled with memories of the life she’s tried to leave behind. Their marriage was rocky, but Katherine’s return to the city forces her to finally confront her grief as she packs up the flat they once shared. In doing so, though, she discovers a web of secrets that propel her to probe the circumstances of her husband’s last days. Following in his footsteps, Katherine plunges into Brussels’s underground club scene, where she encounters a mysterious woman and a secret group of friends. At the same time, she meets Edward, a fellow American, who offers the possibility of a new future as she comes to terms with her troubled past.

Writer-director Meredith Danluck’s feature debut is shot in sleek, seductive widescreen by cinematographer Christopher Blauvelt (The Bling Ring, Certain Women). Mixing elements from film noir, American-abroad dramas, and ’80s erotic thrillers, State Like Sleep is a cool, dreamlike experience. — Jason Gutierrez, Tribeca Film Festival 2018