When Delaney's boyfriend leaves town to shoot a splashy zombie movie, she becomes obsessed with a character she’s auditioning for after she learns the producers think she has an "ugly cry." But when she tries to make her cry prettier, her performance suffers. Can she contort herself, and her face, to have the perfect cry? Her attempts to change herself cause Young Delaney to haunt her, catapulting present day Delaney deeper down the rabbit hole. She isolates herself and grows increasingly delusional, and interested in physical fixes to her acting problem. How can she make the world see her as she sees herself? How can she become and become and become? She will become famous. Or die trying.

This closing night screening of Emily Robinson’s feature-length debut, Ugly Cry, a SXSW Official Selection, will feature a post-screening Q&A with writer/director/star Robinson (Eighth Grade, “Transparent”) and co-stars Aaron Dominguez (“Only Murders in the Building”) and Robin Tunney (The Craft, Empire Records, By Design, Horse Girl), moderated by critic and Cinema Her Way author Marya E. Gates. Before the film, Robinson will be presented with the festival’s Tribute Award; past recipients include Jennifer Reeder, Dawn Porter, Kris Rey, Isabel Sandoval, Liz Cardenas, and the late Catherine Coulson (“Twin Peaks”).