These ten films will compete for the Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Actor, and Best Actress.
Abundant Acreage Available and Saturday Church
Abundant Acreage Available
(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Angus MacLachlan; Writer: Angus MacLachlan; Stars: Amy Ryan, Terry Kinney, Max Gail, Steve Coulter, Francis Guinan)
Two siblings coping with grief find their lives disrupted by the arrival of three brothers who have a surprising connection to their farm.
World premiere
Aardvark
(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Brian Shoaf; Writer: Brian Shoaf; Stars: Zachary Quinto, Jenny Slate, Sheila Vand, Jon Hamm, Tonya Pinkins, Dale Soules, Marin Ireland, Peter Grosz, Jacinto Taras Riddick, Stephen Schnetzer, Noah Robbins, Brigid Ryan, James Joseph O'Neil, Michael Oberholtzer, Alex Kramer)
While battling her own anxieties, therapist Emily spends her time listening to other people’s problems. Her professional and personal worlds collide when Emily’s newest patient Josh walks through her door. Mentally ill and experiencing hallucinations, Josh harbours complex feelings for his estranged brother, Craig. Things begin to get interesting when Emily falls for Craig.
World premiere
Blame
(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Quinn Shephard; Writer: Quinn Shephard; Stars: Tate Donovan, Quinn Shephard, Chris Messina, Trieste Kelly Dunn, Geneva Carr, Owen Campbell, Sarah Mezzanotte, Marcia DeBonis, Tessa Albertson, Nadia Alexander, Luke Slattery, Larry Mitchell, Michael Jefferson, Elizabeth Ann Howell, Sherilyn James)
Abigail is an outcast who seeks solace in fantasy worlds. When high school drama teacher Jeremy casts her in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Abigail’s confidence blooms. But soon her relationship with Jeremy begins to move beyond innocent flirtation, and it in turn fuels a classmate's vengeful jealousy that quickly spirals out of control and brings about a chain of events that draws parallels to Salem.
World premiere
The Endless
(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead; Writer: Justin Benson; Stars: Callie Hernandez, Tate Ellington, Lew Temple, Emily Montague, Justin Benson, James Jordan, Ric Sarabia, Kira Powell, Aaron Moorhead, Shane Brady, Peter Cilella, Vinny Curran, David Lawson Jr., Glen Roberts)
Years after escaping a cult as teenagers, brothers Aaron and Justin return to their former home after receiving a mysterious message. While Aaron is quickly drawn back into the fold, Justin remains uneasy.
World premiere
Flower
(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Max Winkler; Writer: Alex McAulay, Alex McAulay, Matt Spicer, Matt Spicer, Max Winkler, Max Winkler; Stars: Zoey Deutch, Adam Scott, Kathryn Hahn, Dylan Gelula, Eric Edelstein, Tim Heidecker, Joey Morgan, Maya Eshet, Eduardo Lezcano, Emily Dorsett, Joel Hebner, Nawras Alzubaidy, Vincent Washington, Alison White, Michelle Tedesco)
Rebellious and quick-witted, 17-year-old firecracker Erica Vandross kills time with her friends gawking at older men in bowling alleys and sexually scheming guys out of their money. However, her biggest scheme is still to come when her mother asks her boyfriend and his troubled, fresh-out-of-rehab son to move in with them.
World premiere
Keep The Change and The Endless
Keep The Change
(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Rachel Israel; Writer: Rachel Israel; Stars: Samantha Elisofon, Brandon Polansky, Will Deaver, Nicky Gottlieb, Jessica Walter, Christina Brucato, Johnathan Tchaikovsky, And Palladino, Evander Duck Jr., Sondra James, Jennifer Brito, Tommy Beardmore, Alex Emanuel, Tibor Feldman, Macy Cassera, Anna Suzuki, Kurt Enger, Charlton Lamar, James Brickhouse)
The unlikely love story of two people who meet in a support group.
World premiere
Love After Love
(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Russell Harbaugh; Writer: Russell Harbaugh, Eric Mendelsohn; Stars: Chris O'Dowd, Andie MacDowell, Juliet Rylance, Dree Hemingway, James Adomian, Matt Salinger, Gareth Williams, Francesca Faridany, Michael Devine, Mark C. Fullhardt, Larry Gevirtz, Paige Sciarrino, Tom Galantich, Romy Byrne, Ryan Clark)
The world of a mother and her two adult sons feels emotionally untethered following the death of their family’s patriarch.
World premiere
One Percent More Humid
(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Liz W Garcia; Writer: Liz W Garcia; Stars: Juno Temple, Julia Garner, Alessandro Nivola, Olivia Luccardi, Mamoudou Athie, Bettina Skye, Jack DiFalco, Philip Ettinger, Reynaldo Piniella, Nick Austin, Louisa Ward, Lorenzo Beronilla, Wayne Pyle, Thelma O'Leary, Dave Dyshuk)
Two childhood friends come home from college for a hot New England summer. As they attempt to enjoy parties and skinny-dipping and the usual vacation hijinks, a shared trauma in their past becomes increasingly difficult to suppress.
World premiere
Saturday Church
(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Damon Cardasis; Writer: Damon Cardasis; Stars: Regina Taylor, Margot Bingham, Peter Y. Kim, Evander Duck Jr., José Báez, Mj Rodriguez, Jaylin Fletcher, Marquis Rodriguez, Jarrett Austin Brown, Luka Kain, Alexia Garcia, Indya Moore)
A teenager explores issues around gender identity and sexuality in a seemingly hostile world, finding support from a church group.
World premiere
Thirst Street
(Country: US, France; Year: 2017; Director: Nathan Silver; Writer: Nathan Silver, C Mason Wells; Stars: Lindsay Burdge, Lola Bessis, Damien Bonnard, Alice de Lencquesaing, Esther Garrel, Jacques Nolot, Valerie Laury, Françoise Lebrun, Isabelle Ungaro, Christophe Tek, Laure Hennequart, Lubna Playoust, Christophe Favre, Christophe Dimitri Réveille, Cindy Silver)
Grieving over a lover’s suicide, flight attendant Gina loses her grip on reality after falling for a suave Parisian bartender.
World premiere