Although the pandemic has greatly stifled the production of independent films, two North Texas shorts have found themselves on the 2021 South by Southwest Film Festival lineup.
Doretha’s Blues revolves around a former musician whose son was killed by police and who can no longer find it in her to sing. She wrestles with her memory inside of a bar that’s seen more vibrant times. Directed by Channing Godfrey Peoples, whose feature film Miss Juneteenth graced screens in 2020, the film draws a line from the present to the past, bringing to the fore the experience of mothers whose grief is very much alive.
The documentary short The Unlikely Fan, from Sai Selvarajan and Jeff Bednarz, is a love letter from son to mother told through a love for basketball. Gita Selvarajan chronicles her migration from Sri Lanka to Dallas and walks us through her evolution into a basketball superfan. Creatively layered archival imagery and animation leave us hanging on Gita’s every word as she shares what the sport means to her.
Both films will play starting March 16 in the “Texas Shorts Competition.” For more information visit online.sxsw.com.
