
A dying man seeks the ultimate release: a birth in reverse.
AWARDS
Special Jury Award: Avant-Garde - Midnight Shorts - SXSW, USA, 2026
Jury Award - Best Short Film - Overlook Film Festival, USA, 2026
Runner Up Award - Final Frame Short Horror Film Competition, USA, 2026
Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Short - Snake Alley Festival of Film, USA, 2026
Silver Audience Award - Fantasia Film Festival, Canada, 2026
Special Mention for Prosthetic Design - Calgary International Film Festival, Canada, 2026
Best Actor Award (Julien Richings) - Maniatic Film Festival, Spain, 2026
Best Monster - Spookfest, USA, 2026
Best Production Design - Demonic Brilliance Film Festival, Canada, 2026
Best Make-up - Demonic Brilliance Film Festival, Canada, 2026
Best Effects- Demonic Brilliance Film Festival, Canada, 2026
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
Alamo Drafthouse - Weird Wednesday (25 cities) - USA, 2026
SELECTIONS
SXSW, USA, 2026 (World Premiere)
Overlook Film Festival, USA, 2026
Milwaukee Film Festival, USA, 2026
Seattle International Film Festival, USA, 2026
Final Frame Short Horror Film Competition, USA, 2026
Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, South Korea, 2026
Snake Alley Festival of Film, USA, 2026
Fantasia Film Festival, Canada, 2026
Melbourne International Film Festival, Australia, 2026
FrightFest, UK, 2026
L'Étrange Festival, France, 2026
Fantasy Filmfest, Germany, 2026
MOTELX - Lisbon International Horror Film Festival, Portugal, 2026
Sydney Underground Film Festival, Australia, 2026
VIFF - Vancouver International Film Festival, Canada, 2026
BFI London, England, 2026
El Paso Film Festival, USA, 2026
Calgary International Film Festival, Canada, 2026
RandFilmFest, Germany, 2026
Festival européen du film fantastique de Strasbourg, France, 2026
Chiliwack Independent Film Festival, Canada, 2026
Shared Sight Film Festival, UK, 2026
Maniatic Film Festival, Spain, 2026
Mayhem Film Festival, UK, 2026
Dead and Sudbuied Horror Film Festival, UK, 2026
FilmQuest, USA, 2026
Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, USA, 2026
Chicago International Film Festival, USA, 2026
Demonic Brilliance Film Festival, Canada, 2026
Picture Show Panic, USA, 2026
New/Next Film Festival, USA, 2026
Court Métrange, France, 2026
SITGES - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia, Catalonia, 2026
Ramaskrik Film Festival, Norway, 2026
Toronto After Dark Film Festival, Canada, 2026
Santa Cruz Film Festival, USA, 2026
28th Semana del Cortometraje de la Comunidad de Madrid, Spain, 2026

Written and directed by: Emily Lawson
Cast: Grace Glowicki, Julian Richings, Nicolette Pearse, Harrison Browne, Ted Charette
DOP: Gabriela Osio Vanden
Editing: Daniel Haack
Sound design: Evan Jerred
Set design: Ashley Frederick
Original music: Spencer Creaghan
Production: Lucy Belgum, Emily Lawson (Lawsonian)
Version
Original: English
French subtitles
Format
1,85 / 5.1
H264, ProRes, DCP

Emily Lawson is a neurodiverse Toronto-based filmmaker whose work explores embodied storytelling. Her practice spans directing, writing, and performance to examine how emotion manifests through the body. She is in pre-production for Polycepolis, a movement-based exploration of neurodivergence and coupledom and in development for Unicorn, her debut feature, an autobiographical metaphysical comedy about surviving childhood cancer.