UGLY CRY (Off the CUFF)

An actor loses their dream role because of their "ugly cry" — causing them to spiral down the dark and dangerous path to perfection.
When Delaney's (writer-director Emily Robinson) boyfriend leaves town to shoot a splashy zombie movie, she becomes obsessed with a character she's auditioning for after she learns the producers think she has an "ugly cry." But when she tries to make her cry prettier, her performance suffers. Can she contort herself, and her face, to have the perfect cry?
Her attempts to change herself cause Young Delaney to haunt her, catapulting present-day Delaney deeper down the rabbit hole. She isolates herself and grows increasingly delusional, and interested in physical fixes to her acting problem. How can she make the world see her as she sees herself? How can she become and become and become? She will become famous. Or die trying.
OFFICIAL SELECTIONSXSW 2026Overlook Film Festival 2026Vancouver International Film Festival 2026
OFF THE CUFF is a year-round series presented by the Calgary Underground Film Festival. For those films we just can't make work with our festival dates, we go off the CUFF.