A tender story about finding love even amid utter decay. Having its US Premiere in the Animated Shorts Competition at SxSW Online, we speak with director Bára Anna Stejskalová and Producer Jakub Koštál from LOVE IS JUST A DEATH AWAY. Welcome to SxSW and congratulations! Is this your first SxSW experience? Bára: Yes, it is! […]
SxSW 2021 Short Subject Interviews
SxSW 2021 Interview – COMEUPPANCE director Meredith Smith
After the mysterious death of his father in a house fire, Aaron and his mother, Beatrice, go on a retreat with their extended family where Aaron’s longtime bully cousin, Richard, awaits. As the day drags on, Richard’s incessant torment causes Aaron to finally snap. Screening in the Texas High School Shorts section of SxSW 2021 […]
SxSW 2021 Interview – REKLAW director Polaris Banks
Lott has devoted the remaining years of his life to personally pardoning criminals by destroying crime scene evidence. Driven by his faith in the healing power of unconditional forgiveness, Lott and his uniquely talented team of outcasts troll the streets waiting to intercept the right 911 call. Nearby, Melissa wakes after drugging herself in a […]
SxSW 2021 Interview – LEARNING TAGALOG WITH KAYLA director Kayla Abuda Galang
Learning Tagalog with Kayla is a daydream of a language learning lesson where the teacher’s allowed to get a little candid and personal with you for a few minutes. Having its World Premiere in Texas Shorts at SxSW Online, we speak with Kayla Abuda Galang about her short LEARNING TAGALOG WITH KAYLA. I hear you […]
SxSW 2021 Interview – OUR BED IS GREEN director Maggie Brennan
OUR BED IS GREEN follows a young woman named Cecily who goes to Realm, a virtual reality facility that is quite transparent about the erotic potential of its services. Wall to wall, Realm is lined with tempting previews from its menu of stock experiences. But it also offers something more: with the help of powerful […]
SxSW 2021 Interview – THE CRIMINALS director Serhat Karasslan
In a small Turkish town, a young couple is trying to rent a room in a hotel to spend a romantic evening but they are rejected from all hotels because they do not have a marriage certificate. They find a way to get a room, but the situation gets out of control. Screening in the […]
SxSW 2021 Interview – NUEVO RICO director Kristian Mercado Figueroa
NUEVO RICO is a story about a brother and sister who stumble on a celestial secret that propels them into fame, where they have to navigate staying a family and not be torn apart by the music industry. We used boundary pushing visuals to show how systemic capitalism can devour all bonds. The root of […]
SxSW 2021 Interview – BRUISER director Miles Warren
BRUISER is about a young boy named Darious who sees his father get into a massive fist fight in a bowling alley, and how he deals with seeing his father be so suddenly violent and aggressive, along with how this affects Darious’ search for the limitations of his own manhood. Having its Texas Premiere in […]
SxSW 2021 Interview – FEMME directors Sam H. Freeman & Ng Choon Ping
“Jordan is a femme gay man—a label he wears proudly. But every time he steps out of the house with his lipstick on, he remembers his dad’s stark warning: the world will always be a dangerous place for a boy like him. After suffering heartbreak at a nightclub, Jordan meets Wes, a drug-dealer, out on […]
SxSW 2021 Interview – PLANT HEIST directors Chelsi & Gabriel DeCuba
When a wildlife officer receives a tip about suspicious packages being sent to Asia he further investigates and exposes a black market operating out of local California post offices. What exactly is being smuggled? Plants. Dudleya Farinosa to be exact. This small unassuming plant carries a hefty bounty on its head internationally, where a single […]
SxSW 2021 Interview – THE MOOGAI director Jon Bell
THE MOOGAI is an Australian Aboriginal psychological horror about a young couple who have to face a malevolent spirit that wants to take their newborn baby. The themes deal with Australia’s “Stolen Generations”, as well as the ways in which trauma jumps from parent to child and lastly Post Natal Depression. In the tradition of […]
SxSW 2021 Interview – STUFFED creators Theo Rhys and Joss Holden-Rea
STUFFED is a musical about a taxidermist who wants to ‘stuff’ a human and the human she finds online who wants to be ‘stuffed’. It’s like one of those grim rumours you might have been freaked out by as a kid, or heard about happening on the dark web. Something you can’t unhear. Maybe un-surprisingly […]
SxSW 2021 Interview – THE MOHEL director Charles Wahl
After celebrating the birth of their first child, James and Lola are faced with family expectations and financial strain as they fly in a Mohel to perform their son’s Brit Milah – The circumcision ceremony. Having its World Premiere at SxSW Online in the Narrative Shorts Competition, we speak with director Charles Wahl on THE […]
SxSW 2021 Interview – JOANNE IS DEAD director Brian Sacca
It’s easy to dismiss the ramblings of the dementia-riddled elderly as nonsense. But what if there is a deadly truth behind those words? Having its World Premiere at SxSW Online 2021 in the Midnight Shorts section, we talk to filmmaker Brian Sacca on JOANNE IS DEAD. I hear you are back at SxSW this year! […]
SxSW 2021 Interview – THE THING THAT ATE THE BIRDS directors Sophie Mair & Dan Gitsham
On the North Yorkshire Moors, Abel, Head Gamekeeper, discovers the thing that is eating his grouse. Having its North American Premiere in the MIdnight Shorts section, we speak with the team behind THE THING THAT ATE THE BIRDS! How did you first hear about SxSW and wishing to send the short into the festival? SXSW […]