SXSW 2021: Three Shorts That Cover Mental Health, Romance And Racism

There were many movies screened at this year’s SXSW that ran the gambit of genres including adult animation, horror, and cultural drama. Though the feature films received the most attention, there were a fair number of shorts that left an impression. Some of these shorts covered relevant topics such as mental health, romance and racism.

Thanks for Asking

Learning Tagalog with Kayla begins as a typical instructional video interpreting basic words and phrases from English into the Filipino language. When the simple question of “How are you?” is addressed, the film takes an unlikely and surprising turn as actress (and writer and director), Kayla Abuda Galang, takes the conversation into darker territory as she responds with an honest recap on her psychological state and all the current issues she’s facing. Galang’s emotionless and deadpan delivery accentuate the oddball humor and awkwardness of the situation. She represents many of us with our uneasiness managing isolation and quarantine this past year.

We Found Love in a Hopeless Place

Love is Just a Death Away is an animated short written and directed by Bára Anna Stejskalová. It is a charming and imaginative story about finding connection and romance in one of the ugliest places; a dump. Stejskalová’s deft storytelling prowess is on full display as she captures so much emotion and sympathy for the main character who is a worm. The fact she can do this in the absence of dialog is impressive and we can all relate to searching for someone to bond with on any level. It’s inspiring that even a worm can find a partner is such a desolate and unforgiving setting.

And the Award Goes to…

Play it Safe won this year’s Grand Jury Prize for Narrative Short. It was well deserved with its tense and uncomfortable exploration on race. A black drama student named Jonathan (Jonathan Ajayi) is incessantly asked by classmates to play the role of a hoodlum in their play to the point that the instructor steps in to coax Jonathan into the part. Later, he receives another unconscionable role during an acting exercise and is faced with a tough decision. Ajayi is brilliant, capturing the inner dilemma he’s facing. The focus on the unsettling and unnerving looks Jonathan’s peers have while he goes with the controversial roleplay serves as a powerful reminder of the microaggressions people of color encounter regularly.