It’s hard to go anywhere online these days without hearing something concerning artificial intelligence. I remember hearing years ago about the horrendous potential of deepfakes and what it could mean for the world at large, but mostly viewing it as a tool to harm celebrities and world figures. The documentary Another Body tells the story of multiple young, everyday women who were forever affected by deepfakes and AI when they suddenly realized their faces were being used to create fake pornography. But directors Sophie Compton and Reuben Hamlyn use an interesting trick to protect their subjects’ identities: they use pseudonyms and deepfaked faces any time they appear on screen. It’s an obvious way to be able to tell these women’s’ stories while keeping their personal lives and reputations intact, but Compton and Hamlyn never exactly clarify that the filmmakers had the consent of the actors whose faces they were utilizing, making for a kind of ironic undercurrent to their messaging. Nevertheless, the documentary begins to dive into toxic internet culture and the perils of womanhood inherent in today’s world before abruptly ending. One would have liked to see Another Body explore this aspect of deepfakes more, but it remains an enlightening, personal look at an aspect of internet culture that needs more attention.

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Take the indie attitude and catchy music of John Carney’s films, and the dreamer aesthetic of A Star is Born, and you have Thomas Torrey’s Long December. The film follows musician Gabe Lovell (real-life musician and member of the band Jude Moses Stephen Williams), as he tries to make his way back into the music scene after falling out of it. Torrey, who also wrote the screenplay, doesn’t stick to the melodrama that’s often found in films of this genre. Yes, Gabe has a wife and newborn child, but she’s more supportive than a hindrance on his ambitions. Yet she’s realistic to stress the importance of a steady paycheck to support their family. Williams also wrote the original songs for the film, lending another layer of authenticity to it all. Inspirational musician films can be pre-packaged and shiny, too often resting on their subjects’ music, but Long December ultimately succeeds because of everyone’s investment in making an emotionally honest film first and foremost.

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Writer-director-actor Johanna Putnam’s Shudderbugs is an exercise in minimalism, often to its benefit and occasionally to its detriment. Putnam plays Samantha, a young woman visiting her recently deceased mother’s home. Through sparse dialogue and sparse action, the film portrays Samantha’s guilt and existential fears now that her mother has passed, adding a bit of a mystery angle as she attempts to understand the cause of her mother’s death. Putnam’s stylistic flourishes add a level of intrigue that would be missing if they were absent from the film. Consider the occasional appearances of bugs and insects throughout Samantha’s mother’s home, a constant but subtle reminder of the death and decay of a loved one’s memory. The narrative may not be the most propulsive of the festival, but Putnam shows enough promise in front of and behind the camera to show she’s a rising talent worth considering.

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