Celebrating the complex interior lives and loves of Black queer people across a spectrum of experiences, Dreams in Nightmares is expertly helmed by sophomore director Shatara Michelle Ford (Test Pattern) and authentically and honestly portrayed by a cast of majority queer and trans Black actors. Lyrical and rich, the film_ _invites us to imagine how we heal best, what is gained by saying yes, and what we lose when we deny our truths.

Struggling after multiple layoffs and haunted by dream messages from the ancestors that aren’t yet clear, Z (Denée Benton) jumps into the prickly, comfortable, deeply- loving bonds of two of her oldest friends for a short New York vacation. When they realize their missing fourth, Kel, hasn’t been heard from in months, the three set off on a spontaneous cross-country road trip/rescue mission, with a trope-defying Black queer bent. As they travel further than they anticipated in search of Kel, the trio confront personal demons and messengers, interpersonal audacity, and their own choices that increase — or sacrifice — their Black, queer, artistic joy.