In Emily Robinson’s Ugly Cry, Delaney (Robinson) is already feeling off after her boyfriend heads out of town for his latest acting gig, and when she’s told that her audition didn’t go perfectly because of her ugly cry, she goes to extreme lengths to ensure that she’s best suited to present in front of the cameras and find success for herself. This dark, twisted film begins in light and investigates a much more internal darkness as Robinson hands in a formidable performance that spans a range of emotions her character is desperately trying to suppress.
Awards Buzz spoke with Robinson about her own experience as a lifelong actress and how that inspired a somewhat different story for this project:
“I’ve been working in entertainment since I was four and film since I was five years old, so it’s been twenty-three years of my life, and I think that it really just has shaped the way that I see the world, and, as well, I think that the world has changed since I was little. Technology is becoming more and more readily available, and the sorts of toxic comparisons that something so visually-oriented as film mirrors, the way that everyone can compare to each other and feel jealous of other people on the internet. So I’ve been thinking about the dark side of the competitive nature of film and the beauty ideals and whatnot. I’ve been thinking of the dark side of the internet and the way that you can get addicted to screens and refreshing and waiting and looking to your phone for answers. I wanted to explore that in film. This was the means of exploring all of these ideas.”
Watch the video above to hear about Robinson’s first time directing a feature and how she plans to do so again but without herself in the starring role, and how she’s feeling about debuting the film at SXSW.
Ugly Cry makes its world premiere in the Narrative Spotlight at the 2026 SXSW Film & TV Festival.
