United States
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Cam can cook bacon, but he can't seem to bring any home. A comedy about measuring up, Dependent's Day stands tall in portraying the millennial midlife crisis. An aspiring actor and part-time babysitter, Cam feels the pressure to provide from everyone around him: his successful fashion designer girlfriend, her friends, her parents, even his own friends. Can Cam be independent? That's the question. His lazy attempts at finding a job are his stabs at an answer. Though we all aspire for instant success and independence, it takes more than high hopes. Sometimes you need a little nudge.
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"Four young men leave boyhood behind, shedding more than just their clothes and inhibitions." Writer and Director Daniel Armando (When I'm with You, Cinequest 2015) reveals drama behind the closed doors of a burlesque porn studio. Shy Manuel and gay, adult video star Max travel to New York City for a video shoot. Manuel's older brother, Jorge, dances away the emotional toll of an abusive relationship while Fabian, a young Puerto Rican, hiding his homosexuality, navigates the world of a first-time father.
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Family is an institution. Sometimes, you gotta break out. Candy injects the "fun" in her dysfunctional life. When your brother is found at the neighbor's naked and drunk, you're stuck with a caveman of a boyfriend, you have a dickhead boss, and the madness of everyday life competes with your mother's need to appear "normal," you have to peek between the cracks to find the warm rays of hope. But, maybe normalcy is just a construct for other people. And, maybe breaking out of the institution is more important than fitting in.
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A special delivery...romance under the stars. Cameron is a nighttime courier with a heart of gold and a secret. Dusk to dawn, he makes deliveries all over the Los Angeles area. A skilled chef, he's saving for his own food truck, but he's too busy taking care of other people to put his own dreams first. When his next pickup turns out to be Jasmine, the attractive, headstrong daughter of a client, the ensuing sparks light up the night sky. Will this chance encounter be just another delivery, or will it change his life forever? - Pia Chamberlain
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They found their voice amidst unlikely odds. Cobb's Comedy Club grew to be the "it" spot of San Francisco's fledgling comedy scene, helping discover young comedians such as Dana Carvey, Bob Saget, Paula Poundstone, Ellen DeGeneres, Bobcat Goldthwait, Bill Maher, and Robin Williams. When fire nearly destroyed all but the spirit of Cobb's, owner Tom Sawyer gave his all to restore the beloved venue.
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A lesson in life and comedy. Struggling standup comedian Buddy Solitaire has a new audience.
Hypochondriacs, nervous wrecks, and bipolar adults fill the seats, and Buddy is their teacher. It's a tough crowd from the get go, and no one believes Buddy is the right man for the job. As one man puts it, "I've seen suicide bombers that are funnier than you." But, maybe this is Buddy's chance to discover who he really is...that is, if he doesn't succumb to his own anxieties first.
Brandon J. Sornberger, Sally Kirkland, Dominque Razon, Shaun Clay, Leann Lei
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Is our modern media brainwashing America? That is the question Jen Senko asks while examining how her fathers and her views of their country diverge. Growing up, Jen remembered her dad being a devout family man and a loving father who cared for everything and everyone. But the more the media told her father how America had changed for the worse, the angrier he became. Listen to professors, writers, and ordinary citizens who comment on the construct of our media and how, instead of finding solutions to issues, they sensationalize and breed fear.
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Beautiful landscapes disappear in the rear-view mirror as the intimacy of a marriage is called into question. With the sweep of a stylistic brush, director George D'Amato paints a masterpiece of vanishing intimacy in the heart of the unspoiled American desert. Married couple Harper and Paul spend some desperately needed one-on-one time on their cross-country road tripbut there's a third wheel. The intruder arrives in the form of cold-hearted, modern technology. As the sun shines down on her, wind whipping her hair, Harper remains glued to her phone.
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Sometimes filmmaking is murder...literally. Mitchell Altieri (The Hamiltons, Cinequest 2006) channels the filmmakers of the '70s and '80s in this homage to splatter exploitation films. Two brothers, desperate to break into the world of television and film, decide to enter a horror movie contest. And what could be more horrifying than the elusive snuff film? Of course, they won't actually kill someone on cameraall they're going to do is kidnap an actress, torture her, and make her think she's going to die. What could possibly go wrong?
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James Franco, Ed Harris, Amber Heard, Jim Parrack, Cynthia Nixon, and Christian Slater star in a powerful and honest tale about coming to terms with one's past and how our past doesn't necessarily define who we are. Based on the bestselling memoir by Stephen Elliott, The Adderall Diaries is the riveting story of how an Adderall-dependent author's (Franco) obsession with a murder case leads him to face his past. Given thorough access to the case, Stephen's fascination also leads him to strike up a romantic connection with Lana (Heard).