At the cusp of her Quinceañera, Pacurí must decide where her loyalties lie: with her devoted family or her wealthy friends. “Pacurí,” directed by Gustavo René, is a coming-of-age drama about a Paraguayan-American teenager expressing independence while her family fixates on a culturally important ceremony. Pacurí’s family doesn’t have much money but they’ve been able to put aside a chunk of savings for her upcoming Quinceañera (her mother plans the party, to Pacurí’s disapproval: the flowers are too pink, the dress is too fluffy). Pacurí resists the ceremony (“I’m already 15”), perhaps out of a desire to fit in with her friends at school, mostly white and wealthy. One day, she’s tasked by a friend to buy weed for the friend group chilling at the beach that night, and she must find a way to come up with $60, though her family can’t afford to give her an allowance. It’s a film about cultural identity, class, assimilation, and rebellion, all portrayed with a light touch. René has a firm grasp on the material — this is loosely based on his family’s experience — and gets a wonderfully expressive performance from Gaby Medina.
wormgirl dances.
wormgirl was inspired by the time-bending isolation that came out of lockdown. with nothing to do and no one to see, the scope of the day shrank from a full life of work commitments and relationships to a lonely, worm-like crawl. wormgirl shows the highs and lows of worming: th...
Lessa and Cass are young lovers in a small town who dream of moving to Florida in this impressionistic portrait directed by Monica Lek. “And She Hisses” is a pulsating snapshot of the beauty and recklessness of young love, a fantasy that could last forever or be gone tomorrow. Cass gets a job at ...
Nick’s existential pondering is interrupted by the arrival of his girlfriend’s new intern and muse. Samuel Centore directs “Tyler Works at the Gas Station,” a stylish dry comedy about a family unit of cultured young creatives which places its sharply drawn characters in an appealing fashion magaz...
