The Cowgirl, The Showgirl And The Pig

Bluesky

Despite its elaborate title, this stylised entry in Cannes’ Directors’ Factory proves straightforward in terms of its story. Essentially a romantic encounter between a trans cowgirl (Jupyra Carvalho) and a barmaid girlfriend (Amandyra), directed by Stella Carneiro (Brazil) and Ary Zara (Portugal), it is most notable as an exercise in technique.

The sound design Erico Sapo Paiva – whose work is showcased in all the Directors’ Factory shorts – and Waldir Xavier is the stand-out element as the couple’s romance comes under threat from Carlos (Marcos Bruno), pig of the title, whose animalistic tendencies are brought home by his food eating, which is accompanied by the grunts of the animal in question.

Carneiro and Zara use a heightened colour palette and draw on ideas from spaghetti westerns, sometimes focusing on a close up of a face of a protagonist, at other times using split screen. The shortest of the works in this year’s Directors’ Factory, it could have done used more time to expand its themes. While there’s no denying the style, all of the chopping and changing doesn’t leave much room for storytelling and the look, while impressive, often feels more in service of itself than the plot.

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