SXSW '26: Short Film Round-Up Part One - Burps, Orgasms, & Hikes!
While the feature film component of the SXSW Film & TV Festival may be what the event is best known for, the short film section offers a robust look at new voices in filmmaking. Here are some of the shorts that screened as part of this year’s festival.
Eructation
Courtesy of "Eructation"
Eructation is probably the fanciest word for a burp, a distinctly improper bodily function that adults spend years trying to convince children to control. Adulthood comes with a certain amount of freedom, though, and Kaylee has decided to exercise her right as an adult to hone her belching skills. Directed by Victoria Trow, Eructation is part of the Documentary Short Competition and follows Kaylee’s quest to gain the world record for the loudest female burp.
Eructation, which picked up the Special Jury Award at the festival, is a beautifully constructed piece of documentary filmmaking. Trow’s years in advertising are on display here, and while Eructation is a documentary, it has a sense of style that’s immediately eye-catching. Manicured but not false, the look of Eructation is one of its strongest suits. Part of the design comes from Trow, but most of it is from Kaylee. They shot it in her home, and the color palette Trow developed was based on Kaylee’s personal aesthetic. Couple that with Kaylee’s exquisitely illustrated burp diaries, and Eructation makes burping more beautiful than it has any right to be.
Beyond the belch, Eructation is chasing the feeling of being good at something. It’s celebrating the work, research, and practice that go into training to be the best. Sure, being the best at burping is maybe a little different than being the best in a sport or something, but the dedication is the same. And nothing can prepare you for the sound of that finale burp.
Achiever
Credit: Charlie Traisman and Sarah Whelden
“Grit, endurance, and meticulous organization” explain how Alexa (Katherine Romans) has achieved everything in her life, and an orgasm will be no different. Since starting antidepressants, Alexa has been unable to orgasm, but she simply sees it as a problem to solve. She makes a spreadsheet, creates a multi-step plan, and starts having sex, but it becomes clear that this might be one issue that a to-do list can’t solve.
The tone of Achiever is a delicate balance of humor and introspection. The plight of positive mental healthcare at the expense of sexual pleasure is something a lot of people have experienced, but few talk about. Written by Claire McFadden and based on an idea from director Charlie Traisman and star/producer Romans, Achiever is as charming as it is honest. There’s a tonal shift midway through the film when Alexa meets Garth (David Brown), a man who likes to watch instead of engage in sexual acts. It’s through their meeting and conversation that Alexa realizes how futile it is to have a list or a plan when it comes to orgasms. It’s messier than that, more unexpected, and far more linked to a different definition of intimacy than she realized. A rare exercise in absurdist comedy and the weight of intimacy, Achiever confidently achieves what it sets out to do.
Best Friends with the Devil
Courtesy of SXSW
As a kid, friendship is everything, but as you get older, these relationships are often replaced by romantic connections. Some see friendships as lesser relationships than then ones that are romantic, but friends often exist long before a coupling and, perhaps, long after. Writer, director, and star Hugo De Sousa seeks to put platonic connections at the forefront in Best Friends with the Devil. It’s not necessarily a love letter to friends, but more a realistic look at how difficult it is to realize that you’re not as close with someone as you thought you were.
De Sousa shifts between dark comedy and thriller in Best Friends with the Devil. Lola (Ellyn Jameson) has found herself on a secluded hike in a park with a stranger (De Sousa) who says he saw Lola’s missing friend Amy on this trail. Sarah Whelden’s camera avoids showing the audience the stranger’s face for a prolonged period of time. It reminds the audience that Lola doesn’t know this person and that she makes dangerous choices in the name of her friend. But what if Lola is also a stranger to Amy? What if this man in the woods and Lola know Amy equally well? Perhaps that’s more unsettling than any secrets they uncover in the woods. Best Friends with the Devil is a taut little thriller of a short that makes the audience wonder who is actually the devil.
Gender Studies
Courtesy of SXSW
Jamie Kiernan O'Brien’s Gender Studies premiered at Sundance earlier this year before having its Texas premiere as part of the Narrative Short Competition at SXSW. It’s a film about envy and the way it manifests itself in relationships between women. Maisie (Jake Junkins) is a trans college student who’s obsessed with and fascinated by her classmate Rachel (Fannie Massarsky). Maisie’s fixation with Rachel leads her to try to seduce the class TA (Austin Cassel).
We’ve all had a Rachel in our lives. Someone we look up to, are jealous of, and maybe a little in love with. Gender Studies is an intimate look at what this sort of compulsive fascination can do to a young woman. How the desire to be someone else can change the understanding of oneself. Junkins’ quiet performance as Maisie is commanding in its observational nature. So much of the film is Maisie watching Rachel, taking in her every move, trying them on for herself. Our personalities are formed by people we’re drawn to, and as we begin to take shape in adulthood there are pieces of the Rachels of our lives that linger. Gender Studies looks at the reality of young womanhood through interpersonal fascinations that take hold.
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