Tom, an overweight young man, takes refuge at his grandmother’s cabin in rural Protection, Illinois, in an attempt to bury the years of being bullied and feeling rejected. While in town, he meets a precocious blind girl named Lilly, who shows him how to be accepted and loved. Tender, funny and dramatic, Empty Space is a micro-budget cinematic treasure showing characters not often depicted onscreen as leads, in a unique coming of age story. -Chris Metzler