Films you'll love (and more!)

From heartfelt dramas to spine-chilling horror, laugh-out-loud comedies to thought-provoking narratives, this month’s lineup of films has something for every cinephile.

- Taylor K. Shaw-Omachonu, Senior Outreach Lead, Film

PROJECTS WE LOVE

Untitled Woody McClain RomCom

BY WOODEN GATE PRODUCTIONS

A romantic dramedy about identity, betrayal, and modern love, told through the world of podcasting.

THE DECEDENT - Feature finishing funds

BY ANDREW BOWSER

A found footage horror feature that follows a young mortician working alone with the corpse of a serial killer.

The Geechee Witch: A Boo Hag Story

BY FAIRFAX PICTURES

A psychological horror thriller rooted in Gullah Geechee folklore that explores the terrifying legend of the Boo Hag as it haunts a close-knit community.

FOIBLES: Raw, Ridiculous, Real

BY RYAN OKSENBERG

A brutally honest and hilarious satire which dives into the absurd extremes of co-dependency and addiction with wit, bite, and humanity.

BIG BEAR

BY PATRICK McDONALD

A sharp comedy about friendship, group chats, and a vacation gone wrong, for fans of Starkid, Dropout, and Smosh.

Little Stories, Big Echoes

BY DAWN RICHARD

On the 20th anniversary of Katrina, an animated short about climate disaster and how girls are the heroes of their own stories.

Fallen Fruit

BY CHRIS MOLINA

A semi-autobiographical film returning home after a breakup and confronting the past amid a historic hurricane.

Growing Pains

BY CATHERINE ARGYROPLE

A real and raw coming-of-age drama feature film about identity, sexuality, and the aftermath of surviving cancer.

COMMUNITY PICK

Blake Ridder is an award-winning filmmaker, actor, and writer with more than 70 short films and three feature films to his name. He's best known for crafting dark thrillers that blend striking visual storytelling with gripping, character-driven tension. Check out his Kickstarter project for his latest thriller, SPILL.

Guyver: Genesis

"From anime to live-action, it’s exactly how I imagined. Their team is working with some of the best in the industry, like flying out Asao Goto from Japan to join the project and head the costume designs for the creatures. They’re working with multiple prosthetic, make-up, and prop artists to bring this vision to life. It truly is a labor of love with an entire team of talented people supporting it. I’ve personally worked with some of the members of this project, that helped make my own feature film, SPILL and have confidence that we’re in for a wild ride!"

GET CONNECTED

Reeling 2025: The 43rd Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival

September 21 at 6:45pm in Chicago

Kickstarter creator Mario Garza will be showing his feature film Censurada.

Alliance of Women Directors' (AWD) BACK TO SET

September 26-27 in Los Angeles

Female filmmakers! BACK TO SET: Working Directors Intensive is a two-day in-person symposium created by AWD to bring together a vibrant, cross-sector community of filmmakers for craft-focused, career-advancing programming.

XLFEST RECAP

At this year’s XLFest, Taylor sat down with Power Book II: Ghost star Woody McClain to talk about his romantic comedy feature and why he’s turning to Kickstarter to launch it. Their conversation highlighted the power of crowdfunding to give filmmakers creative control and build a community around their stories. Check out Woody's project here →