Winner of Gouden Kalf best short documentary at Nedelands Film Festival 2026
Best short film award at Millenium Docs against Gravity 2026
EMEL Short Film Grand Prize at Indie Lisboa 2026

Winner of the national competition at Leiden Shorts 2026
Special Mention at Kyiv Short Film Festival 2026

Youth Jury Special Mention at Go Short 2026

Dutch Jury Special Mention at Go Short 2026

World Premiere at SXSW, Austin, Texas on March 14, 2026

TRAILER

ABOUT THE FILM

In 2021, 21-year-old Robert Aaron Long kills 8 Asian women in massage parlours in Atlanta, Georgia as a way to suppress his uncontrollable sexual desire. Dutch-Japanese filmmaker Kiriko Mechanicus writes letters to the young murderer to find out what his killings have to do with her sexual life. What do our racial fetishes tell us about our hidden human desires?

THE TEAM

Director KIRIKO MECHANICUS (she/her, 1995) is an Amsterdam-based Dutch-Japanese documentary filmmaker, writer of fiction and non-fiction, culinary researcher, photographer and art director. Her graduation film ‘A TOMATO TRAGEDY’ (2023) won the Netherlands Film Fund Wildcard Award, resulting in her debut short documentary ‘HOW TO CATCH A BUTTERFLY’ (2026).

Producer ILJA ROOMANS is producer for Docmakers, a collective of the award-winning documentary filmmakers based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She has over 20 years of experience producing both national productions and international co-productions. Ilja is a member of the Documentary Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (Oscars®) and of the EAVE Producers Network.

SCREENINGS

Austin, USSouth by Southwest Film & TV Festival Rollins Theatre, Long Center March 14 & 17Tickets
Den Haag, The NetherlandsMovies That Matter Film FestivalFilmhuis Den HaagMarch 21-28, 17:00Tickets
Nijmegen, The Netherlands Go Short Film FestivalLUX NijmegenApril 11, 14:45Tickets
Amsterdam, The NetherlandsCinemasia Film FestivalStudio/KApril 12, 16:00Tickets
Lissabon, Portugal IndieLisboaCulturgestMay 7, 21:30 Tickets
Warsaw, PolandMillenium Docs against Gravityvarious locationsMay 11, 12, 15Tickets
Amsterdam, The NetherlandsFight the Power, after talk with Basje BoerLAB111May 18, 19:30Tickets
Leiden, The NetherlandsLeiden ShortsKijkhuisMay 30 and 31Tickets
Belfast, UK Docs IrelandBeanbag CinemaJune 20, 19:00Tickets
Drim, Northern MacedoniaDrim Short Film festivalEurope HouseAugust 8, 19:00Tickets
Drama, GreeceDrama Short Film FestivalAlexandrosSeptember 11, 20:30Tickets
Arizona, USJapanese Film Festival ArizonaASU MIX CenterSeptember 18, 13:30Tickets
Kyiv, UkraineKyiv International Short Film FestivalZhovten CinemaSeptember 20 & 22Tickets
Utrecht, The NetherlandsNetherlands Film Festivalvarious locationsSeptember 25, 26 & 29Tickets
Bolton, UKBolton International Film Festivalvarious locationsSeptember 30, October 3Tickets
Bartlehiem, The NetherlandsPlons! Film FestivalScheepsatelier EestroomOctober 3, 20:30Tickets
Gent, BelgiumFilm Festival Gentvarious locationsOctober 10, 15 Tickets
Coruna, SpainInterseccion a Coruna Film FestivalFilmoteca de Galicia October 13Tickets
Uppsala, SwedenUppsala Short Film Festivalvarious locationsOctober 20, 23Tickets
Swidnica, PolandSpektrum FestivalKlub BolkoOctober 21 Tickets
Leipzig, GermanyDOK Leipzigvarious locationsOctober 27, 29, 31, November 1Tickets
Firenze, ItalyFestival dei PopoliCinema AstraNovember 7Tickets
New York, USDOCNYCIFC CenterNovember 15 Tickets
Cairo, EgyptCairo International Film Festival tbatbaTickets
Tallinn, EstoniaPOFF Apollo Kino PlazaNovember 13Tickets
Pittsburgh, USThree Rivers FestivalThe Harris TheatreNovember 14Tickets