Synopsis
A dying man seeks the ultimate release: a birth in reverse.
Festivals
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
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
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.
