Downtown Austin skyline during SXSW 2025. Credit: Allison Teegardin 

By Allison Teegardin 

In the Narrative Short Competition with a running time of 14 minutes, Unholy, written and directed by Daisy Friedman stars Danny Burstein and Olivia Nikkanen. The film is about a young woman with a gastrointestinal disorder who attends a family seder after recently being placed on a feeding tube. The film had its Texas premiere on March 8 and March 11 at the Rollins Theater at the Long Center.  

Exacerbated by the fact that the Passover seder is a traditionally large meal extending over a lengthy period of time, is the constant insistence by some of Noa’s family members that she eat just even a small bite.  

As stated in her bio, Friedman’s personal history as a multi-organ transplant recipient has drawn her to create work that centers on the intersection of tradition, intimacy, embodiment, and disability. Having personal lived experiences similar to the main character, the film was an adaptation of a short story Friedman wrote while enrolled in a creative writing class.   

Unholy had its world premiere at Sundance 2025 before screening at SXSW. Other films by Friedman include “As You Are” and “The Squad.”