Texas Short Competition presented by Vimeo
Texas Short Program
Vibrant work filmed in, inspired by, or connected to the Lone Star State.
Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.
Program Includes:
Ben Sinclair stars as Charlie, a middle-aged country rocker turned real estate agent who clings to his dreams of stardom in the California desert. When he is asked to show a listing at an abandoned homestead deep in the Mojave, a mysterious encounter leaves him bitten and bewildered, forcing him to confront the reality of his dreams.
Retired rancher, Randy Playne, has been called to the local high school gymnasium to be interviewed about his wife’s murder for true crime series “Murder In The Sticks”. The frazzled, low budget production has transformed the gym into a makeshift sound stage featuring scenes of stunning violence. The crew has hired locals from town to perform re-enactments of the crime through foggy, moody depictions. As Randy waits, he sees his friend from church, Darla, through a piece of blurry glass, standing in a wedding dress. Unbeknownst to him, Darla has been cast as his dead wife for the show. Things begin to go sideways when Luke, the re-enactor hired to play Randy, suddenly leaves.
On the notorious border of El Paso, Texas and Cd. Juárez, Mexico, an off-road culture thrives in the untamed dunes of the Chihuahuan desert. Red Sands is about the singular identity of an intergenerational community and the scene they’ve created in a desert known for its red hues. The Mexican-American population finds solace through off-roading, using the desert dunes as a canvas to imprint their unique identities. The film follows characters from the past and present reflecting on their journey while danger looms on the horizon. Red Sands pulls the viewer into an exhilarating never-before-seen world, highlighting resilience and beauty in a place mostly unknown to outsiders.
In the quiet lull of a suburban library, library worker Daniel catalogs a strange assortment of forgotten objects left in returned books — and daydreams of the stories they tell.
Eva, a woman haunted by her past, is led by Miles to an abandoned house at the edge of town. In the bed of their truck lies an unconscious man, wrists and ankles bound by rope. Once the man has been dragged into the house, Eva and Miles wait in a protective salt circle. Eva watches in horror as the man wakes up and begins pleading for his life. As if on cue, something big moves within the house. Soon the three of them are face to face with a large creature -- The Harvester. In exchange for a soul, the Harvester will grant you the ability to slip back in time to relive a memory of your choosing. This unique experience, as Eva will discover, carries drastic and potentially deadly consequences.
"Neuro" begins with a brief, dream-like glimpse at the wedding of both Julie and Peter. In their hotel room that night, Peter suffers a seizure which creates a rift between the couple. After an introduction to Neuro via a period-accurate documentary, the two await their procedure. Despite voicing his skepticism, Peter agrees to proceed with the treatment, however, another seizure interrupts the process. This leads to an incomplete procedure for Peter as he discovers the darker side to the company and it's history. In conclusion, Julie is seen in the same documentary from earlier but seemingly with no memory of the events prior. The whereabouts of Peter are unknown.
A woman wakes up to a call from her son. They don't see each other much anymore. He is going to be in town and asks if he can spend the night at her house. She excitedly agrees, and begins preparing the home for her son's arrival. It is the day in the life of a single mother, taking pride in her home. When her son finally arrives, he finds her asleep. In a kind of role reversal, he covers her in a blanket. With this small act, the son takes care of his mother.
One night in Brooklyn… Kai goes to meet up with someone from her past – but she can’t bring herself to do it. Moses goes to meet up with a secret lover – but realizes he doesn’t want to hide anymore. In the wake of these Earth-shaking epiphanies about themselves, they find each other on the J train.