A collection of some of the most fun, strange, bizarre, and challenging films submitted to the festival this year.

Wayward Canadian, Matthew, crushed by the isolation of being new to Berlin, turns his sexual desires toward Matthias that spiral into a dark fixation of assumed identity. Soon, this obsessive power struggle between the two, careens toward brutal passion and violence in a bid for dominance. M/M is a film of unique contrasts. Hot queer bodies entangled together, but against the drab, heavy grey sky of Berlin. Extreme explorations of identity and desire, but with an underlying familiarity. Surreal, but completely grounded in truth and naturalistic vibes. Pulsing techno that draws you in and washes over you. Director Drew Lint and his team have created something unbelievably fresh here - a film that must be experienced to be understood. Description courtesy Slamdance Film Festival

Arshad always knew he was different. Soon after emigrating from Pakistan to Canada with his family, Arshad realized he was gay. Merging clips from Bollywood films, animation, and home movies that capture awkward teen phases as well as significant life revelations, Arshad narrates his own cathartic journey, alongside his entire family’s. With charming lyricism and a dash of good humor, director Arshad Khan shares a deeply personal story of self-discovery and familial reconciliation, as he explores the challenges that can threaten the bonds between children and their parents. ABU is an intimately open and dazzling visual memoir about the complex dynamic the filmmaker has with his father, who was at once extremely modern and also rigidly traditional and unaccepting of his son’s true self.