Julia Pott’s animated short, “Howard” tells the story of love gone cold. We spoke to Julia about hope, heartbreak and animal metaphors.

We spoke to Kaia Rose, one half of the directing team behind “Looking Forward to Yesterday”, a film which shifts between tragic and life-affirming and raises more questions than it offers answers. We spoke to Kaia about the process they went through in making the film and what it can help us to understand about love and relationships.

We met the Blaine Brothers; the filmmakers responsible for the hilarious “0507”, a sketch about the unforeseen perils of modern technology which will commence our “Hope and Heartbreak” series of shorts.

We spoke to Michael Mohan, the director of what is arguably the evening’s raunchiest film, “Ex-Sex”, about how he managed to keep the film’s sex scene suitably erotic yet refreshingly cliche-free and the impact of what we discovered is a scrabble board inspired aesthetic.

On July 20th, the acclaimed Lebanese film “Caramel”, directed by Nadine Labaki, will screen in Long Island City, Queens. This bittersweet comedy about women, love, friendship, and life in Beirut will be presented entirely for free. Come out to Socrates Sculpture Park with a blanket and ice cream, and get ready to treat yourself to a warm touch of caramel.

On July 21st, EPIX Movie Free-For-All continues with J.J. Abrams “Star Trek”. This 2009 continuation of the Star Trek franchise, traversing alternate realities and utilizing incredible special effects, will take fans and film-enthusiasts on an adventure with the Starship Enterprise team as they battle for the safety of the Federation. Best of all, EPIX brings the film to you outdoors, under the stars, and completely for free.

We spoke to codirector Tom Isler about love and relationships and how the two can be reconciled with life in a city like ours.

Coney Island Flicks On The Beach, presented by EPIX, continues with a screening of the animated film “Rango.”

Jarred Altermann’s film Convento is a fascinating, somewhat bizarre experience which transports the audience to a place where life can be manipulated, reimagined and reanimated.

This week, the EPIX Movie Free-For-All takes us through adventures both fantastic and dangerous–and its completely free, so the risk is well worth taking.