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The Daily Fandom was invited to participate in SXSW 2021 and has had the honor of watching a wide variety of movies, tv shows, documentaries, and conferences! We have watched a few shorts and have compiled a list of three short films that stuck out to us for their portrayal of the complicated, messy emotions of everyday life. These three short films have different plots, styles, and languages, but they all manage to convey feelings any viewer can empathize with.
Soak (Hannah Bang)
Runtime: 16 minutes; Language: Korean
- Screenwriter: Hannah Bang
- Cast: Do Eun Lee, Chaewon Kim
- Cinematographer: Heyjin Jun
- Editor: Kelsy Lua
- Production Designer: Sujung Han
Soak is Hannah Bang’s MFA thesis short film that follows 16-year-old Yeonsoo Tak as she navigates her parents’ sudden separation. The movie begins with Yeonsoo reuniting with her mother, who recently ran away, a meeting she must keep secret from her controlling father. The viewer can feel Yeonsoo’s uneasiness and nerves as she navigates this difficult situation; she wants to convince her mother to return home while keeping her short-tempered father appeased. She soon learns that not only does her mother have no intention of returning home, but that her mother’s new life plans may not include her.
There is a feeling of not being able to breathe in the film. Her hopes are crushed by the pressures of her parents and she ultimately makes a difficult decision based on her own survival, rather than anyone’s happiness. Its ending is both dramatic and anti-climatic; the real action is off-screen as Yeonsoo tries to continue with her life as if nothing is happening. It’s a beautiful, but painful short film that will stick with the viewer long after it ends.
SOAK premiered Tuesday, March 16, 2021, as part of SXSW’s Narrative Shorts Competition. You can visit the official website for Soak, and if you’re interested in the writer and director Hannah Bang, you can check out her Vimeo.
Learning Tagalog With Kayla (Kayla Abuda Galang)
Runtime: 4 minutes; Language: Tagalog
- Screenwriter: Kayla Abuda Galang
- Cast: Kayla Abuda Galang, David Oconer, Will Kurzner
- Cinematographer: Kayla Abuda Galang
- Editor: Kayla Abuda Galang
Learning Tagalog with Kayla captures the restlessness and melancholy of life in quarantine in only 4 minutes. Writer and director Kayla Abuda Galang set up the film as a video lesson that will teach the viewer the basics of Tagalog, the language of The Philippines. The video begins like a retro-public access television show with Kayla introducing herself and the program. She begins teaching the viewer a few phrases one would expect from an introduction language class.
When she reaches the phrases “How are you?” and “I’m fine,” the lesson is disrupted; the angle changes, and the viewer can see Kayla losing herself in the heavy reality of that question and answer. Viewers are brought into Kayla’s life in quarantine, a life many will recognize. She captures the isolation and tedium of quarantining, a responsibility we all shoulder in helping slow down the spread of COVID-19. We’re all okay, but we’re also not okay as we grieve for our old lives. Learning Tagalog with Kayla also brings some comedy that lightens the mood without undermining the overall weariness.
Learning Tagalog with Kayla premiered Tuesday, March 16, 2021, as part of SXSW’s Texas Shorts Section. If you’re interested in Kayla Abuda Galang’s other work, you can check to visit her website.
Sisters (Jess Brunetto)
Runtime: 16 minutes; Language: English
- Screenwriter: Jess Brunetto
- Cast: Sarah Burns, Mary Holland
- Cinematographer: Wes Cardino
- Editor: Kate Rose Itzkowitz
- Production Designer: Madelyn Wilkime
Sisters is a dramedy that focuses on two estranged sisters who are forced to confront each other while preparing for their comatose mother’s death. Andy is a self-absorbed failing actress struggling in New York City. She returns to her childhood home in Los Angeles to find her responsibility, slightly uptight older sister Emily. While Andy has been absent for a large part of their mother’s illness, Emily has put her whole life on hold to take care of their mother.
The film is tense with comedic breaks and a complicated ending that simultaneously portrays death and birth. While a dramedy exploring the death of a mother has the potential to be unrealistic or unrelatable, the film personally reminded me of preparing for my grandfather’s death and aunt’s death; when your family gathers together to say goodbye, there are moments of shared laughter as well as crying and grieving. Sisters shows those moments of humor and light-heartedness in life’s somber moments.
Sisters premiered Tuesday, March 16, 2021, as part of SXSW’s Narrative Short Competition. If you’re interested in learning more about the writer/director Jess Brunetto, you can check out her website.
So Much More To Explore!
There are so many more shorts to explore and watch! SXSW features dozens of short films in these showcases and competitions: Narrative Feature Competition, Narrative Shorts, Animated Shorts, Midnight Shorts, Texas Shorts, and Texas High School Shorts. If you have the opportunity to watch these three films or any of the other films featured here, definitely check them out. Short films often don’t receive as much attention as feature films, but they’re so many talented storytellers that have created a film that will stick with you despite it being only a few minutes.
