SXSW Film Festival Collection
We could not be more excited for the 28th annual SXSW Film Festival beginning next week (March 16 – 20). In anticipation of this cross-industry conference, we’ve hand selected the highest-caliber independent shorts featured at SXSW in the last decade. 
LIFE IN MINIATURE (2018; Dir: Ellen Evans) 
A scrumptious bite-size short, Life in Miniature details the work of miniaturists, Kath Holden and Margaret Shaw. These eclectic artists assemble provisional objects found in daily life (ironing boards, frying ovens, scooters) amidst the industry’s overflow of gaudy period miniatures (Victorian palaces, gold-crusted chairs, mahogany clocks). It’s ordinary miniatures for ordinary people. The short combines beautiful wide-shots and immaculate close-ups to harness the feat of meticulous design and tiny splendor. It is a testament to following one’s innermost passions, no matter the scale — or size. “Life in Miniature” was featured in Sundance, AFI Docs, and SWSW. It has won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Short Short at Aspen ShortsFest and the IMDB New Filmmaker Award-Film Bath.
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LA CULPA (2018; Dir: Moisés Aisemberg) 
Right from the first shot, Culpa (or Guilt) burns with suspense as a timid young boy, Diego, gets cruelly reprimanded by his father. Discomfort builds through silent moments, lingering gazes, and a deftly constructed plot as we untangle the root of the scolding. The calculated buildup arouses anxiety: Diego hops on an ATV, almost falls off a racing horse, and smokes cigarettes all at the whims of his bigger, thrill-seeking friend. As Diego curtails disaster, tiny releases are the antidote, an exhalation, up until our breath stops in the final, disturbing climax of chaos. What happens to Diego rips us to shreds. His silence throughout the film only amplifies his confession, which is ultimately rejected by his enraged father. Director Moisés Aisemberg reveals the deep wells of misplaced guilt and the atrocious abuse of children. Watch now to learn what happens to Diego in Culpa. “Culpa” had its worldwide premiere at SXSW in 2018. It was the official selection for 8 festivals (including HollyShorts and GIFF). It won the award for Best of The Year at the 2019 Booooooom TV Awards.
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PLASTIC BAG (2009; Dir. Ramin Bahrani) 
Plastic is the villain in the saga of climate change. In the epic tale, Plastic Bag, Ramin Bahrani inverts this sentiment to confront the true antihero of nature: human beings. A plastic bag is the main character and narrator on an existential quest to find it’s ‘beloved’ maker (voiced over by Werner Herzog). It ends up at the Pacific Trash Vortex, the graveyard for garbage in the North Pacific Ocean. Bahrani’s films empower the weak and powerless – from The White Tiger, Chop Shop, to 99 Homes. This short succeeds in this way by humanizing a flimsy brown bag who is lost and lonely. Mournful music and the Herzog’s earnest narration toys furiously with our emotions. We feel a wave of empathy for the deserted bag, gnawing at our pre-programmed hatred of plastic. Mr. Plastic Bag searches for love, belonging, and ultimately for a death that will never come to a non-degradable. The ultimate tragedy is not the plastic bag. It is the creation of its being. It is its maker. This piercing film holds the mirror up to all of us and begs the question: Who is the real monster? Bahrani is an Emmy-nominated writer, director and producer. In 2010 legendary film critic Roger Ebert proclaimed Bahrani as “the director of the decade.”Plastic Bag” premiered as the opening night film of Corto Cortissimo in the Venice Film Festival, where Bahrani was also on the jury for Best First Film.
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VERT (2019; Dir. Kate Cox) 
A couple’s love is put to the test as they experiment with a virtual reality headset that shows their ‘ideal selves.’ Nikki Amuka-Bird and Nick Frost deliver a nuanced, sensitive performance as an on-screen couple unveiling the drape of the subconscious. Jeff (Frost) has a dark secret, but his partner Emelia (Amuka-Bird) accepts and loves him nevertheless. In this sense, Vert is a romance paradoxically set to the elements of a sci-fi film. The synth-wave sounds and neon-clad lighting transport the viewer into an alternate reality where unconditional love can exist. In this virtual world, Emilia accepts her husband for his secret; yet, she is there as her ‘ideal self.’ We are left to wonder whether her real self would be so open-minded. In the end, we must challenge the limits of ‘acceptance’ on any plane – the screen and in reality. “Vert” is the winner of the Vimeo Staff Pick Award at the 2020 SXSW Film Festival. It was the official selection in 2019 at Aesthetica Short FIlm Festival and the Encounters Short Film Festival.
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SOG (2017; Dir. Jonatan Schwenk) 
Jonatan Schwenk describes this animated short as a story “about the cruel efforts of a people of humanlike creatures that lash out viciously against a shoal of fish that had unintentionally entered their desolate land.” At its core, Sog is a warning against the inhumane treatment of the displaced. Dark creatures who ‘own’ the land have no mercy for the screeching wales from a school of stranded fish. In fact, the cries from the fish do quite the opposite, annoying the group, and provoking death by fire. The overall sense of malevolence and discomfort is amplified by grainy sounds, subdued textures, and grayish hues. Although one creature tries to save the fish, the overall group violence dictates their collective fate. When a storm hits, the fish find refuge in the water, while the creatures are left homeless. The good-naturedness of one individual does not absolve the evils of humanity. And at the whims of nature – of storms, mountains and vast lands– what are we really? Perhaps just black blobs with mini-extremities. Since debuting in 2017, Sog has screened at over 120 festivals in nearly 40 different countries, and picked up 31 awards at last count. (Including the European Animation Award from Encounters, Best Student Film at Stuttgart (ITFS))
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