As the summer blockbuster season kicks into overdrive, we are about to embark upon an epic cinematic journey that will show us the sights, sounds, and emotion of moving pictures. But in addition to established directors and actors working on their latest projects, this odyssey through cinema will also be filled with emerging voices ready to make a name for themselves with moving dramas, terrifying horror films, and surrealist comedies that explore the lengths of our imaginations.

Below we will break down some upcoming movies and the directors who are either making their feature film debut or most visible project yet...

Celine Song – Past Lives

Celine Strong’s directorial debut, PAST LIVES, follows Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), two childhood friends whose close bond was upended when the former left their native South Korea for the United States. Now adults, the pair reconnect in New York City and contemplate their lives while also trying to reconcile their past and what could have been. But that’s not the only complicating factor in this upcoming A24 release, as Nora has a life and husband (John Magaro) in her new home.

PAST LIVES opens June 2nd

Julio Torres – Problemista

Actor, comedian, and writer Julio Torres will add director to his list of titles when his directorial debut PROBLEMISTA opens in theatres later this summer. In the movie, Torres plays Alejandro, an immigrant who has a month to find someone to cosign his visa or he will be deported. After taking a job with a firecracker of a woman, Elizabeth (Tilda Swinton), the young artist thinks he’s found his ticket to stay. Well, that’s at least what he thinks at first in the latest surrealist comedy film from A24.

PROBLEMIST opens August 4th

Vuk Lungulov-Klotz – Mutt

Vuk Lungulov-Klotz will soon give the world something to talk about with his feature film directorial debut, MUTT. The movie follows Feña (Lío Mehiel), a trans man, as he attempts to rekindle a trio of relationships that have fallen by the wayside in the years since he transitioned from a woman. Over the course of a single day, Feña will attempt to patch things up with his ex-boyfriend, John (Cole Doman), his father Pablo (Alejandro Goic), and his estranged younger half-sister, Zoe (MiMi Ryder), which is easier said than done.

Laurel Parmet – The Starling Girl

Laurel Parmet, whose credits include a pair of short films up to this point, makes her feature film directorial debut with THE STARLING GIRL, a thrilling drama about a young girl finding herself and her place in her fundamentalist Christian community in rural Kentucky. If life were not already hard enough for Jem Starling (Eliza Scanlen), the 17-year-old girl at the heart of the movie’s story, it’s made all the more complicated when she starts spending time with Owen Taylor (Lewis Pullman), a youth pastor who has recently returned from the mission work with a new point of view and set of desires.

THE STARLING GIRL is playing now.

Danny and Michael Philippou – Talk To Me

Australian YouTube creators Danny and Michael Philippou, who rose to fame with their RackaRacka Channel over the course of the past decade, will make their feature film directorial debut with the upcoming supernatural horror film titled TALK TO ME. The movie follows a group of teenagers who have come up with the perfect way to scare the pants off their friends and house parties: using an embalmed hand to conjure spirits. But when one of the friends, Mia (Sophie Wilde), pushes things farther than ever before, the group realizes they’ve made a grave mistake, one that unleashes a horde of evil and violent spirits unlike anyone has ever seen before.

 TALK TO ME opens July 28th

These films will be making their way to your local AMC Theatres location throughout the year.

Make sure to check back with AMC Scene for more on these movies as well as movies featuring African American excellence on the big screen from actors and directors, and hidden gems set to release in the coming weeks and months.