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Film makers participate in a Q&A during the Lost River Film Festival, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, at the Texas State Performing Arts Center.
From surviving a winter storm among friends to describing the complexities of love,
three up-and-coming filmmakers had their films showcased at this year’s Lost River Film Festival. The films explored the intricacies of friendships and romantic relationships while using distinct visuals to strengthen their themes.
The festival began on Feb. 5 at the Price Center in downtown San Marcos, with later showings on Feb. 8 at Texas State’s Theatre Center.
The Burrito
Kim Davis Jr., electronic media alumnus, featured his short film “The Burrito” on Feb. 8.His experience with Winter Storm Uri while attending Texas State inspired the plot.
“I just kind of saw it as like a cool framing device for what could be a fun comedy movie. So, I wrote the script way back then in 2021,” Davis said.
The 15-minute film follows Jaden, Ezra and Alex: a group of three young adults struggling after a winter storm limits their access to food, water and power. Ezra and Alex have a mutual disdain for each other, creating tension throughout the film. The two constantly butt heads, with Jaden being the mediator. The uncomfortable dynamic between these characters, combined with the winter storm, builds to an explosive confrontation.
“The Burrito” was a passion project for Davis, and he was heavily involved in the creation of the film. He served as director, writer, producer and actor, as he played the role of Jaden. Davis also named films like “Fantastic Mr. Fox” and “Perks of Being a Wallflower” as some of his directorial influences.
Davis shot the film in Los Angeles, though it canonically takes place in San Marcos. The influences of Texas State and San Marcos are in the final product with a line in the film referencing the “Sarah Street House,” a real house at 407 Sarah St. that Davis said is used by Texas State’s Department of Theatre and Dance.
Davis submitted his film to several different film festivals, though he said he was particularly interested in the Lost River Film Fest due to its connection to Texas State.
“A lot of the DNA of San Marcos and my love for where I went to school and that experience in my life is in the film,” Davis said. “And I couldn’t think of a better festival to play the film at other than Lost River.”
A Very Crowded Room
San Marcos-based filmmaker and geoscience alumnus Nate Wilburn directed “A Very Crowded Room,” featured at Lost River Film Fest on Feb. 8. The film centers around Violet Plight, played by Katherine Carabine, and her rambling phone call with Mark, played by Slade Allen, who remains off-screen.
Wilburn shot the film in one take. During the phone call, several strange characters appear in the background, such as clowns, arguing businessmen and men wearing colorful bags.
Wilburn started in music before branching off into directing. He said he has a wide variety of creative interests and believes directing allowed him to apply those interests all in one place.
He described the phone call between Violet and Mark as a constant throughout the film. He purposely included loud and visually interesting elements in the background to distract the viewer from Violet’s phone call. The contrasting background elements make the short film nonlinear and open for interpretation by the audience.
“I want to be able to take people’s eyes and put them from the left side of the frame, to the right side of the frame, back to the center of the frame or whatever it might be, and not have to tell you where to look,” Wilburn said.
The film has a host of nonsensical background characters and elements, some of which aren’t meant to be understood by the audience and others that are up for interpretation. Wilburn wanted the project to have an anti-AI message and made some characters embody the message, particularly a mad scientist character who appears near the end of the film.
“I think humanity within people is important,” Wilburn said. “I feel like that’s something that’s going away, funny enough. We like to do things that are very individualistic and forget that we’re all just better together, and I think AI perpetuates that individuality.”
When We Lock Eyes
“When We Lock Eyes” is a music video directed by Brianna Gapsiewicz, a film and journalism student at Southern Methodist University. The music video showcases original music by Emma Kate and first premiered at Lost River Film Fest on Feb. 8.
The music video is an exploration of love and the intense emotions that come with it. The video switches between dream sequences and reality and is shot using a gimbal to get visually complex shots.
Gapsiewicz first became interested in filmmaking in high school when she was a camera operator at her church. From there, she started her own freelance cinematography business called “BG Video Designs,” where she mostly works on documentaries.
“I just realized that I really loved [camera operation] and wanted to explore it on my own,” Gapsiewicz said. “So I started my own freelance cinematography business to teach myself more about camera techniques and editing.”
Kate and Gapsiewicz are close friends and students at Southern Methodist University, located in Dallas. They created the film for a class at the school, and from there, they sent the film out to different film festivals to have its first public showings.
Gapsiewicz used mood boards to plan the visuals before filming. She also worked closely with Kate to ensure the video fit Kate’s vision for the song.
“I had most of the creative control,” Gapsiewicz said. “I verified everything with her to make sure like, ‘Hey, does this fit your song?’ and she confirmed everything throughout the way. And if she had critiques, I implemented those and we kind of moved forward with that.”
The Lost River Film Festival concluded on Feb. 8. It is held annually in San Marcos to showcase new indie films. For more information on Lost River Film Fest and the other films present at the festival, visit .https://www.thelostriverfilmfest.org/
