CalArtians Screen Animated Shorts at SXSW Film Festival

On Friday, March 8, the SXSW Film Festival kicked off in Austin, Texas, with CalArtian-directed films among the lineup. The Animated Short Program features 10 films, including “Sweetmeats” directed by George Metaxas (Film/Video MFA 13) and co-produced by Jason Rodriguez (Film/Video BFA 13), and “Bug Diner” by Phoebe Jane Hart (Film/Video MFA 23).

Celebrating its world premiere at SXSW, “Sweetmeats” combines the world of confectioneries and contemporary art. The short follows Paxton Paddlepop, a news reporter interviewing artists on location at MOSA (the Museum of Sweetmeat Art), “as he seeks to answer the modern art question of our day: ‘Why art?’”

“Bug Diner” is a dark comedy that explores the hidden desires and temptations of the clientele at an isolated restaurant. The story unfolds just as the tensions and passions of the insects and animals reach their boiling point. Written and directed by Hart as her CalArts MFA thesis, “Bug Diner” recently won the Short Film Jury Award in Animation at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

The Animated Short Program screened in Austin at the Rollins Theatre on Saturday, March 9, and will screen at the Alamo Lamar 6 Theater on Wednesday, March 13. SXSW Film Festival runs now through Saturday, March 16.