“BIRDS is a mosaic of moments in the lives of teenagers during the heat of Texas summer. The film grapples with human fragility in the pursuit of many of life’s greatest endeavors— love, friendship, adventure, and finding beauty.” — Filmmaker Katherine Propper on BIRDS which is screening in the shorts section of SxSW 2022.
Welcome to SxSW and congratulations! Is this your first SxSW experience?
This is my first time at SXSW with a film! I am so excited to premiere in my hometown, where the film was shot. This short is truly a love letter to the city of Austin, featuring a cast of mostly Austin high schoolers.
How did you first hear about SxSW and wishing to send your project into the festival?
I’ve lived in Austin the past 6 years and have known about SXSW just from being in this city!
Tell me about the idea behind your project and getting it made!
This short was my thesis film at the University of Texas at Austin. I wanted to make this film, in part, to explore my creative process. My last short film involved a local community of young people who I spent time with and worked with to make a film about their world. Birds expands on that approach more deeply. This film is more improvised, more off-the-cuff and observational, blurring the lines of doc and narrative in a way that was new for me.
Who are some of your creative inspirations? Any particular filmmaking talent or movie that inspired you for this project?
I love Harmony Korine’s film GUMMO and Richard Linklater’s epic ode to Austin in SLACKER.
How did you put this together from a technical viewpoint? What sort of cameras/lenses did you use and/or did you have any creative challenges in making it?
We shot the film on a hefty Alexa Classic with some vintage 35mm Superspeeds. It was a pretty heavy camera body, but the lenses were lightweight, which helped us shoot mostly handheld in the heat of Austin summer!
If you had one piece of advice to offer someone to get their start as a creator or filmmaker in the industry, what would you suggest?
It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
And finally, what is your favourite short film of all time?
THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES.
This film and many others like it will be showing at South By Southwest taking place March 11-20. For more information point your browser to www.sxsw.com!