Posted by Awarded Best Short of the Season in the April 2025 edition of Indie Short Fest, We’ve Been Trying to Reach You marks a standout achievement for writer-director Kat Broyles. Through a quietly surreal lens, the 14-minute film explores personal grief, lingering memory, and the disorienting noise of the modern world.
The story follows Lola, a young woman who returns to her childhood home and small family farm in New Mexico after the death of her mother. As she faces the responsibility of selling the property, she finds herself increasingly unsettled—not only by the emotional weight of the task but also by the uncanny presence of her mother’s large ceramic chicken collection, the animals left behind on the farm, and a series of persistent spam phone calls. Lola’s sense of self begins to blur with the memory of her mother, who looms large both physically and emotionally, as she is often mistaken for her late mother by those who knew her.
In her statement, Kat Broyles describes the film as a rumination on mother-daughter relationships, home, and coming of age: “Lola is continually mistaken for her mother, creating a sense of inheritance both in body and mind. There are queer undertones between her mother’s neighbor and her late mother, who remains a devoted caretaker of the farm. Daughters often feel like a ghost of their mother’s past, clinging to their present ever so slightly.”
The queer undertones Broyles mentions are subtly woven into the interactions between Lola, her mother’s neighbor, and the memory of the mother herself. These moments invite reflection on how familial roles, relationships, and identities are often complex and fluid. The film’s exploration of inheritance isn’t just about physical or emotional legacy, but also the way we inherit or carry unspoken connections that shape who we are — even when we don’t fully understand them.
Led by a sensitive solo performance from Jess Haring, the film conveys the protagonist’s emotional state with minimal dialogue and a strong focus on physical expression. Haring’s restrained yet evocative work serves as the emotional anchor of the piece, capturing the disorientation and introspection that often accompany personal loss.
We’ve Been Trying to Reach You stood out to the Indie Short Fest jury for its emotional subtlety and its effective use of surreal elements to reflect psychological tension. The film’s ability to blend humor and melancholy in a way that feels both original and relatable was also particularly appreciated by the judges.
Kat Broyles, a New Mexico–based filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist, brings a unique perspective shaped by her background in fine arts and production design. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, her previous short Moondogs was recognized by Indie Short Fest in the August 2021 season, receiving Outstanding Achievement Awards for Women Short and First-Time Female Director. Her work often centers on women-led stories, with a visual style influenced by the landscapes of the American West.
With We’ve Been Trying to Reach You, Broyles offers a compelling short film that balances personal narrative with artistic experimentation. It’s a reflective work that resonates through its use of space, silence, and symbolism — a strong example of the creative potential of independent short filmmaking.
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