Joe Swanberg is one of several directors in the program who is not a first–time feature filmmaker. He has made two previous movies – Kissing on the Mouth and LOL. His third film is a triumph of ensemble (and largely improvised) acting. Greta Gerwig, Kent Osborne, Mark Duplass, and Andrew Bujalski (the latter two are accomplished independent screenwriters and filmmakers in their own right) turn in stunningly relaxed and poised performances. Swanberg’s film demonstrates a dramatic truth many Hollywood films would benefit from. By minimizing external actions, events, and plot, and building scenes around a series of leisurely, extended conversations, Hannah Takes the Stairs makes time and space for emotional revelations. The interactions between the characters coruscate with shifting, subtle flickers of feeling that a more plot–heavy narrative would only have obscured, blurred, or rushed.