Callback

Max arrives home to find that his boyfriend has booked a callback. All hell breaks loose.

The Incomer

NEXT Innovator Award

On a remote Scottish isle, siblings Isla and Sandy hunt birds and talk to mythical beings while fighting off outsiders. Their lives change when Daniel, an awkward official, arrives to relocate them.

Aanikoobijigan [ancestor/great-grandparent/great-grandchild]

The Audience Award: NEXT presented by Adobe

Trapped in museum archives, Ancestors bend time and space to find their way home. History, spirituality, and the law collide as tribal repatriation specialists fight to return and rebury Indigenous human remains, offering a revealing look at the still-pervasive worldviews that justified collecting them in the first place.

Balloon Animals

Two grocery store employees have an unexpected, helium-fueled encounter with a late-night customer.

Night Nurse

As a series of perverse scam calls unsettles an idyllic retirement community, a starry-eyed nurse becomes entangled with her mysterious patient.

Birdie

In 1970, a 16-year-old Nigerian refugee in Virginia tries to keep her family together when a newcomer draws her sister away.

Soft Boil

Lulu takes a job as a nanny only to discover that her new boss isn’t who she expected.

DON’T TELL MAMA

A Montenegrin father takes his teenage daughter on an unforgettable dinner date.

Albatross

Maria, burdened with caregiving for her sick husband, gets invited to a party.

The Creature of Darkness

Darkness settles over Little Egypt. Brielle, Karri, and Nunu wander among the limestone outcrops and sandstone spires. In a cave that hid freedom seekers along the Underground Railroad, their uncle shares a story of a creature that stirs at night.

FreeLance

A young filmmaker documents his journey toward his first movie as he moves in with a friend group of ambitious creatives, all trying to support one another’s dreams in an oversaturated market. This inexperienced crew of 20-somethings takes on unorthodox jobs to build their brand and pay rent.