Brent Baird’s A Night with Nathan is a heartfelt and darkly funny exploration of masculinity, loneliness, and unlikely friendship, wrapped in the skin of a one-crazy-night buddy dramedy. With its microbudget charm and impressive performances, the film surprises with moments of emotional weight and sincere character development, even when it stumbles in pacing or polish. The story centers on Stan, a washed-up womanizer and alcoholic who's been kicked out of his house and relegated to sleeping in his truck.

The Comic Shop, directed by Jonathan L. Bowen and co-written with Scott Reed, aims to be a quiet, character-driven meditation on second chances, artistic rediscovery, and the enduring power of community spaces—specifically those nostalgic, fluorescent-lit comic shops that feel like home to so many. Set in a fading Las Vegas strip mall, the film follows Mike D’Angelo, a once-promising illustrator now struggling to keep his comic store afloat after the pandemic forces him to lay off his only employee and best friend, Alex. On the surface, the premise is universal: who hasn’t looked back on their past ambitions and wondered, “What if?” When Brandon walks into Mike’s life, he becomes the unexpected catalyst for creative renewal.