Romance is a dish best served original, and the Tribeca Film Festival, this year offering a glut of dark and brooding films, also has a few slightly more heartwarming options on the menu:

In Your Eyes
The plot of In Your Eyes is simple enough, but when Joss Whedon is writing, simple is most certainly a good thing: what if two people on opposite sides of the country started hearing each other’s voices in their heads? Touching upon that dreamspace just before wakefulness, this smart, crisp and clean romance with a touch of Whedon-esque fantasy is a winning mix. Zoe Kazan (the best part—by far—of Happythankyoumoreplease) is the secretly more evocative alternative to Zooey Deschanel, and Michael Stahl-David (Cloverfield) is equally as engrossing, not only due to his insanely handsome face.

Chef
Jon Favreau is a pretty cool guy. With Chef, the actor-writer-director (of Iron Man fame, for example) succeeds in turning an essentially conflict-free story into an engaging, fun romp. While it’s a bit outrageous to see the likes of Favreau canoodling with Sofia Vergara (at probably her most gorgeous), he is absolutely charming in the lead role of chef Carl Casper, who lets passion get the best of him and must then pick up the pieces. The centerpiece of the film is Casper’s relationship with his adorable and rather well adjusted son Percy, played by talented young actor Emjay Anthony. The precocious kid teaches his father about the ways of communication in 2014, notably Twitter, and the results are hilarious. Featuring Sacrjo, the busiest actress this side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe—and btw a cameo by Robert Downey Jr. makes this a veritable Marvel reunion—as well as the great John Leguizamo, Chef is a guaranteed delicious good time.

Something Must Break
While not exactly heartwarming, Something Must Break is a portrait of people so fiercely themselves, so free and reckless, the ensuing love they share is something that will sooner or later give way. Saga Becker is hypnotic as Sebastian, a young man at the precipice of a blazing transformation, who meets and is struck by Andreas, a carefree party kid. The boys roam through Stockholm, and as Sebastian inches toward becoming Ellie, the brash and independent female inside him, the pair face their fears both separately and together. The film is beautifully photographed, with textures of skin and light that leave a lasting impression, but trans love story Something Must Break is also groundbreaking in its quiet and effective way, presenting the relationship between two wildly evolved individuals.