New York University (NYU)

Zack Homer takes over managing the barbershop after Joe is killed for trying to rip off his "investor", Mr. Lovejoy. All Zack wants to do is run a traditional barbershop giving traditional haircuts, but modern styles have passed him by and business is slow. One evening, Mr. Lovejoy shows up to offer Zack the same deal he gave to Joe. It could turn his business around, but what will he have to give in return?

Lee’s award-winning thesis film for NYU parallels a young man running from the Mafia and a young woman hiding from the INS, and its blend of the comic and the melodramatic sets the tone for the first feature films to follow. The title refers to Manhattan’s Canal Street, which separates Chinatown from Little Italy.

Prom nears and things seem to be spiraling out of control for the typically composed Isatu. In this coming of age story, West African tradition conflicts with American idealism as Isatu is forced to reassess her idea of the perfect dress.

A colorful comedy about an irritating trip to the grocery store.

Against the simmering anxieties of post-Roe America, a Chinese-American teenager and her boyfriend attempt to buy the morning-after pill in a small town where reproductive rights are contested and quietly policed.

As three boys set out one autumn Saturday to scrounge up some wood for a go-cart, the youngest tries again and again to be accepted as an equal by his older brother but to no avail, until they come to a certain grassy hill

Set in Harlem in 1947, this film is the story of Grandpa Kansas and his jazz band that set out to become world famous only to be thwarted by jealousy and envy - leaving behind shattered dreams and deep regrets. Though made at NYU, this film was produced under Walt Disney / Hollywood Pictures Discretionary Fund Program, and has won the top prize in multiple film competitions by respected institutions, including The Black American Cinema Society, Black Filmmaker Hall of Fame, and the Atlanta / Image Film Festival.

Nancy Savoca’s second student film follows two twelve-year olds, Bobby (Joey D’Arelli) and Denise (Kelly Cinnante) who run away to Hollywood. They land at an open mic night in a New Jersey bar where Bobby’s aunt and uncle (once aspiring actors) lay out the realities of life as a working actor. The film was inspired by performers Savoca met while making her first student film, most notably William DaPrato. Filled with wry humor and quiet revelations about the pursuit of artistic dreams, Bad Timing also features Marianne Leone and the on-screen debut of future Academy Award winner Chris Cooper.

A stop-motion film, written, animated, & directed by Dan Blank.

A short that explores only three minutes of real time in a convenience store through four different perspectives and three different languages.

Dramatizes the kidnapping of a young white boy by a black teenager after an attempted robbery in a Florida supermarket. Filmed from the perspective of the child.

Two soldiers are lost in a snowy forest, one of whom steps on a land mine that will not go off unless he steps off it.

A young white woman leaving a nightclub alone drops her cigarette lighter on the street. When a young black man follows her and attempts to return it, she panics and assumes he is attacking her. The ensuing chase threatens to erupt into violence.

A teenage girl named Frankie (or Pink) returns home back to her family after spending a year in a detention facility. But however, her old relationships don't seem to be with her anymore.

People are seen waiting for various things, ranging from a train to a phone call from the Pope.

A young boy has a terrible encounter with a strange man while fishing in the woods. From the award winning story by Stephen King.

Through the streets and boroughs of New York, Jimmy, a bicycle messenger from the Albatross Courier Company is out to deliver a package "on time". Braving the perilous city streets there's nothing Jimmy can't handle...or is there? This 1987 comedy classic short shown worldwide marked the debut of Director/Screenwriter Ari Taub and captured the spirit of low-budget filmmaking in New York City.

Describes the intimate and external journey of a young man who struggles to confront his sadomasochistic obsessions. While on a remote Canadian island, he is violently haunted by dreamlike images from his childhood and an affair with a radiologist who he supposes is trying to peer inside. The origin of the complex psychic panorama of the protagonist is homosexual violence. X-Ray received a full grant from the American Film Institute.

Animated adaptation of the Edgar Allen Poe 1839 short story The Fall of the House of Usher, a work of Gothic fiction that includes themes of madness, family, isolation, and metaphysical identities.

Ten aliens in human host bodies learn how to be men.