Charm

2001

Underground filmmakers Sarah Reed and Sadie Shaw make their feature-length debut with this brooding horror flick. Frustrated by the apathy all around her, a discontented young woman named Rosie lashes out with increasing violence in order to provoke a reaction from the deadness in her world. Using surreal imagery, this visually compelling film also explores the themes of alienation, isolation and the destructive nature of relationships.

2.1 Average Rating

Different Cinema: Vol. 3

2009

This celebration of independent filmmaking and experimental techniques features nine films showcased in the acclaimed Festival des Cinémas Différents de Paris, including Marguerite Duras's Césarée and Xavier Baert's Empreinte. Shot in a variety of formats and an impressive range of styles, the films in this anthology also include Robert Todd's Cabinet, Isabelle Blanche's Ideal and Masha Godovannaya's Untitled No. 1.

2.0 Average Rating

Our Burden Is Light

2000

Foo Fighters bassist Nate Mendel co-stars with Denise Coates, Nathan Webb, Jessica Ballard and Jack Rooney in this inspiring love story about an edgy female artist named Karen who, after her mother's recent suicide, is feeling bereft, drowning in a sea of grief. All that changes when she meets Kyle -- a musician who's sold out by writing jingles -- under tragic circumstances that fail to squelch their burgeoning friendship.

2.0 Average Rating

An Existential Affair

2004

During the 1990s, a highly sexual affair -- nearly 10 years in duration -- between two strangers, Petra and Johnny, begins behind the closed doors of a hotel room in Los Angeles. But when they decide to venture beyond the confines of the room, their desire wanes and reality intrudes. Can they shift their relationship to a more prosaic level that real life demands? Stars Alex A. Quinn, Martin Landau, Sean Delgado and Gretchen Becker.

2.0 Average Rating

Wait Up Harriet

2006

In the wake of his wife's sudden death, a grieving firefighter nearly gives up on living. But with the arrival of his wife's spiritual mentor and the encouragement of his own 12-year-old son, he begins to believe in love again. His progress is thrown off track, however, when he discovers some previously unknown truths about his wife's past. Filmmaker Angus Benfield also stars in this independent drama he co-directed with Hanna Eichler.

2.0 Average Rating

The Last Kennedy

2004

In this disquieting indie thriller, Rev. Franklin Kennedy (Lynn Merrill), a black man on the brink of winning the U.S. presidency, is gunned down on the eve of the election. At the nexus of the assassination are political pawns Walter Lee Fitzgerald (Richard Culver) and his wife, Linda (Darla Rothman) -- who have unwittingly fallen victim to the CIA's psychological machinations. Teddi Haynes plays the slain candidate's daughter.

2.0 Average Rating

Helen

2008

When a girl named Joy goes missing, Helen, who lives in a care home, is recruited to stand in for her in a police reconstruction of her final moments. Soon, Helen is taken in by Joy's parents and begins a relationship with Joy's boyfriend.

2.0 Average Rating

Brushfires

2004

Weaving the same set of characters into one suspenseful tale, seven female directors create a mesmerizing original film based on Jessica Wilbur's poem "Brushfires." The individual segments -- "Smoke," "Mirror," "Paint Yrself," "Cancerous Circus," "Girl," "The Wind Spreads" and "Into a Cloud" -- follow timid artist Cat and her volatile roommate, Melissa; the emotionally unhinged Dakota; and down-on-his-luck janitor Lenny.

2.0 Average Rating

Dogs: The Rise and Fall of an All Girl Bookie Joint

1996

Four twenty-something women crammed into a small Manhattan apartment have dead-end jobs (or no jobs), useless boyfriends and overdue rent. They discover cash and self-esteem, however, when they set up an illegal bookie joint in their kitchen. Now that the gals can pay their bills, they begin to dream big in this film starring Pam Columbus, Pam Gray, Melody Beal, Eve Annenberg, Leo Marks and Toby Huss.

2.0 Average Rating

Tweeked

2001

Director Beth Dewey's disturbing film looks unflinchingly at a friendship under fire from within and without. After their drug-addicted friend (Jay Diola) kills himself, Carrie (Darling Narita) and Michelle (Ali Raymer) go on a massive bender, assaulting the drug dealer who fed their troubled friend's habit and then going on the lam to avoid revenge of the highest order. But can they dodge the bullet forever?

2.0 Average Rating

Standing on Fishes

1999

This indie comedy stars Bradford Tatum as Caleb, a talented sculptor who's given an atypical project by renowned filmmaker Richard Verk (Kelsey Grammer) -- to construct a model of a woman's private parts. Turned off by the job's derogatory nature, Caleb must get over his aversion in order to pay bills. Meanwhile, Caleb's friend Jason (Jason Priestly) learns that a girl he's dating is pregnant and plans to have an abortion without consulting him.

2.0 Average Rating

Ride the Wake

2009

Still reeling from her mother's sudden death, wakeboarder Jessica Evans (Jenny Ladner) can't possibly concentrate on an upcoming tournament that could take her into the big time. That is, until a cute snowboarder (Erik Valdez) asks her to teach him everything she knows. With a budding relationship to occupy her time, Jessica's thinking a lot more positively. But she still hasn't dealt with her biggest fear: proving herself against the guys.

2.0 Average Rating

Common Senses

2005

Recently released from prison and shunned by family and friends, Erin (Holly Montgomery-Webb) is a kleptomaniac struggling to straighten out her life. She reconnects with her childhood friend Luis (Luis A. Perez), now a Chicago street hustler, but their friendship is tested by issues of trust when a child they befriended goes missing. Five award-winning Chicago filmmakers each wrote and directed a chapter of this intriguing drama.

2.0 Average Rating

Clubland

1999

Jimmy Tuckett shines as the lead singer of a Los Angeles-based rock 'n' roll band whose path to success is obscured by indifferent club owners, drugs, jealousy and scads of groupies. Lori Petty plays the band's resident troublemaker, ingesting drugs and swilling booze so prodigiously that she seems hell-bent on living up to the old rock maxim about "living fast and dying young."

2.0 Average Rating

She Likes Girls

2007

This lesbian-themed compilation collects six sapphic tales ranging from the tender love story to hard-hitting coming-out portrayals. "The Piper" is a modern fairy tale, while "Sarang Song" is a period piece about a Black Power activist trying to hold her relationship together. Also included are "Shugar Shank," a stylish tomboy-meets-girl story; "Cosa Bella" starring Stephanie Szostak (The Devil Wears Prada); "This Boy"; and "The Uninvited."

2.0 Average Rating

Cosmopolitan

2003

Bollywood veteran Roshan Seth stars in this offbeat romantic comedy as Indian immigrant Gopal, whose serene New Jersey life suddenly disintegrates when both his wife and daughter decide to depart and begin new lives.

2.0 Average Rating