Nate von Zumwalt

It may be a while before a clear victor emerges in the enduring battle between the advent of video-on-demand and the timeless tradition of moviegoing, but the former’s convenience is only becoming more difficult to trump.

A pair of Sundance-supported films make their digital premieres today through the Sundance Institute Artist Services initiative, which provides Institute artists with exclusive opportunities for creative self-distribution, marketing, and financing solutions for their work.

First up is Andrew Berends’ taut documentary Delta Boys, recipient of a 2008 Sundance Institute Documentary Film Grant. Berends explores an escalating conflict in the oil rich Niger Delta where impoverished local militants struggle to bank off the wealth of their own land and subsequently attempt to sabotage the operations of foreign corporations.

Watch the trailer below or click here to purchase the film in its entirety

Also making its digital premiere is Madeleine Olnek’s Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same, which played in the Midnight section at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and makes charming use of a ‘50s sci-fi aesthetic in a tale of three lesbian space aliens on a quest for Earthling love. Click here to watch Codependent now.

Check out these other Sundance-supported films coming to a variety of on-demand platforms this month.

Price Check, Oct. 11

Susan (Parker Posey) is an overzealous new boss helming the pricing department of a supermarket chain. Pete (Eric Mabius), a former “cool guy,” finds himself caught in a pleasant but prosaic existence since leaving the music industry and getting married. When he becomes the target of Susan’s professional endeavors and personal desires, his entire world is flipped on its head. Director Michael Walker’s incisive new film captures the peculiar nuances of office relationships and corporate politics, guided by Posey’s and Mabius’ brilliant on-screen chemistry.

The Invisible War, Oct. 23

Kirby Dick’s 2012 Audience Award winner confronts one of the most disturbing and under-publicized injustices in America today: an epidemic of rape in the U.S. armed forces. An estimated 30% of servicewomen are sexually assaulted during their enlistment, with a majority of the cases never resulting in prosecution or conviction. Dick’s unwavering documentary makes use of explicit accounts from the victims themselves as it bluntly exposes the facts behind this insidious cycle of crime and governmental negligence.

The Comedy, Oct. 24

A strident commentary on a generation of entitled white American 20-somethings, or simply a sardonic portrayal of the elitist and pioneering hipsters of Williamsburg, New York? Director Rick Alverson has stayed largely mum in response to inquiries about the ironically titled Brooklyn-set drama, but we strongly advise you to figure this one out for yourself.

Safety Not Guaranteed, Oct. 30

Deferring to Festival Director John Cooper’s notes on the “based on real events” film: “Three magazine employees are sent to investigate a personal advertisement placed in the newspaper: guy seeking partner for time travel. They venture to the coast and set up a haphazard surveillance. Darius (Aubrey Plaza) is recruited as the shill; her dry wit and cynical nature are perfectly suited to trap this enigmatic oddball, Kenneth (Mark Duplass), and get a good story. But it is she who first sees past the paranoid loner façade to the compelling person inside. The drawback? This still doesn’t rule out the possibility that he just might be crazy.”