Wawd Ahp

In the last of our SXSW 2014 Film Award winner series, the filmmaker takes us on a romp through his warped subconscious. DISTURBING CONTENT, PASSWORD BELOW.

PASSWORD: prevert (spelled exactly that way and no, we're not kidding)

Every now and again, an artist comes along who mixes raw talent with a taste for the grotesque. Experimental filmmaker Steve Girard is such an artist, whose aesthetic could best be described as Robert Crumb-meets-Vice. He takes his craft seriously even as he pokes gaping holes in our polite sensibilities. In this short film he slices open his mind for a psychedelic romp through his unbridled subconscious – literally and figuratively. 

So consider this a warning: if you're offended by explicit language, blood (some of it very obviously fake) and a couple of warped sexual references, do not watch this video. We thought that, aside from the expert filmmaking techniques on display, Girard’s film finds an (admittedly bizarre but) fresh way to depict the struggles of the creative process.

Co-directed by Josh Chertoff, "Wawd Ahp" won a SXSW 2014 Film Award in the Midnight Shorts category. It combines live action and animation, some of it based on Girard's own comic drawings. Running though it all is an idiosyncratic sense of humour and a stark honesty. Gizmodo called it "the weirdest thing on the Internet this week", which is to say, its NSFW (not safe for work).

WARNING: THIS VIDEO CONTAINS DISTURBING CONTENT AND IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 16