"This Is a Really Bold Swing": The 'Slanted' Cast on Why This Body Horror-Comedy Made Them Nervous

SXSW2025 welcomed a number of filmmakers to present their feature debuts, and some of that exciting new talent scored the biggest prizes of the festival. That is certainly the case for Amy Wang, the writer-director behind Slanted, which won the grand jury prize in the narrative section. The film follows a Chinese-American teenager named Joan Huang (Shirley Chen), who decides to go through with transracial surgery in the lead-up to her high school prom. Believing that if she were white there would be higher chances of her winning the title of prom queen, her transformation results in a physical and emotional nightmare.