American Film Institute Conservatory

A man on a terrorist mission struggles with his decision on a crowded subway after he meets an innocent child. A déjà vu moment connects him to his haunting past and urges him to question the complex notion of the enemy. What if he had a shift in perspective and saw the world as a better place?

In 1970s Los Angeles, rebellious queer teen Margaret gets thrown out of yet another foster placement and finds herself in the company of a mysterious social worker who's tasked with finding her a new home before the break of dawn. At odds and forced to travel the city together, Margaret realizes that running may not be her only option.

When a Latina transwoman in East LA is on the verge of losing her daughter to child services, she begins to unravel as she is forced to confront her buried traumas and fears.

Thirteen-year-old Olivia, a biracial girl from an inner-city neighborhood, commutes to an elite private school where she struggles to fit in. At home, her mother urges her to present a version of herself that will be accepted— safe. But when Olivia forms a friendship with a bold, free-spirited girl from her neighborhood, she begins to glimpse another way of being, questioning the image she's been taught to uphold. Torn between who she is and who she’s expected to become, Olivia takes a quiet, courageous step toward self-acceptance.

Amidst his wife’s flourishing career, a once hotshot director turned stay-at-home dad becomes convinced his hands are inexplicably shrinking. In a desperate search to re-enlarge his hands, he risks his family and sanity.

When her son’s life is put at risk, a hard-of-hearing mother must decide how to seek help for her bipolar husband in order to keep her family safe.

Marion and her husband host a private dinner for four. One of the guests turns out to be a woman she had an affair with during the Second World War.

A farcical comedy about ex-bullfighter, Felipe Fernando de la Fernand, a once extraordinary figure now trapped in an ordinary world. He gets a job as a parking attendant to stage one final bullfight… triggering a past he’s yet to reckon with.

When a manual scavenger cannot continue her work, her 11-year-old daughter picks up where the mother left off.

A thirteen-year-old science prodigy journeys into her grandma's deteriorating mind to save one precious memory they have together.

A young man, Kobby Ankrah, attends his new nephew's Ghanaian baby naming ceremony with a plan to steal the money collected on his behalf from family and friends in order to run away and keep a deep secret hidden from them.

1945: after the death of his father, Ken escapes Japanese American internment camp to find his Caucasian mother who lives in town. Things become complicated, however, when Kens little brother, Jo, joins him at the last minute.

After hours at a mobile repair shop, a routine fix takes a strange turn.

Eight-year-old Elvis’ world begins to sink when his mother marries an immigrant stranger for money.

Imagine for a moment, you're a child again. You find a note from your mother. It reads, she won't be coming home tonight. Would you call up all your friends and throw a party? Would you break all the rules and stay up past your bedtime. Wouldn't you feel the least bit excited? Not for David and Dee who are ages 9 and 7.

After unfortunate circumstances, Manny, an aspiring musician, must decide between becoming the sole guardian of his uncle's daughter, Marisol, and pursuing his band’s tour of the U.S.

Haunted every night by monsters of unknown origin, an isolated woman finds a stranger in the woods and struggles between her safety and her sexual desires.

In 1972, the ever-smiling mother of a family band struggles to keep the family's TV variety show and wholesome image going when her estranged husband doesn’t turn up to the season finale taping.

At arts summer camp, Basia, a reserved 13-year old girl, struggles to connect with other kids. She feels seen for the first time when an equally reserved 19-year-old camp counselor takes her under his wing. When a late night encounter with him leads Basia to lie to impress her roommate, she must reckon with the consequences of her exploration.

In 2071, after a third world war, a matriarchal, mute community has emerged, built from a collapsed one left in ruins by patriarchal extremists of the past. Resourceful, community-focused and principle-driven, Greta has kept things together with codes of ritual and collective respect. One day, her son returns from the war.