SOUVENIR will screen at the 2026 SXSW Film Festival in Narrative Short Program 3 — premiering on March 13 at 9:30pm CST.
SOUVENIR, an intimate and unsettling coming-of-age short from award-winning filmmaker Renée Marie Petropoulos, will make its North American Premiere at the 2026 SXSW Film Festival.
Set in the summer of 2008, SOUVENIR follows Keira (Tanzyn Crawford), a closeted teenage girl vacationing at a tropical resort with her family and girlfriend Zoe (Emily Grant). Navigating the secrecy of their relationship, the girls seize private moments to be together, with Keira increasingly hungry for Zoe’s attention. But during an intimate encounter, Keira is startled to find Zoe taking photos of her. Confused and unsettled by the act, Keira is forced to confront the complex power Zoe holds over her, culminating in an act of personal reckoning.
Shaped by themes central to Petropoulos’ work, SOUVENIR examines womanhood, sexual violence, and uneasy power dynamics through a queer lens. The story also draws from Petropoulos and producer Yingna Lu’s personal experiences of abusive dynamics of yearning, shame, and the desperate need for approval.
“With SOUVENIR, I hope to lead the audience through a realistic take on the cycle of abuse through an accumulation of small, painful moments.” — Renée Marie Petropoulos
