Here are my thoughts on Bleat! by Ananth Subramaniam, screened during the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN), which is taking place from July 2 – 12, 2026, in Bucheon, South Korea.

Bleat! by Ananth Subramaniam – Malaysia, Philippines, France | 2025 – 15 minutes | Korean Premiere
Section: Bucheon Choice World: Shorts 1

Bleat! begins with a very intriguing premise: one night, a pair of Malaysian farmers, alerted by the cries of their goat, decide to examine the animal. There they discover something extraordinary: the goat they have raised for a ceremonial sacrifice is pregnant. Unable to understand or accept what has happened, they seek the help of a veterinarian, who confirms the impossible. Concerned by the situation, since their beliefs prevent them from sacrificing a pregnant animal, they decide not to tell the community. The couple finds themselves trapped between their religious convictions, the pressure of their community, and a reality that defies all logic.

Although the premise could easily have led to a classic folk horror film—we might think of titles such as The Witch (Robert Eggers, 2015) or Lamb (Valdimar Jóhannsson, 2021)—Bleat! takes a very different path. Shot entirely in black and white, Subramaniam’s short film uses this fantastical story to build a social critique of what happens when an extraordinary event shakes the foundations of a belief system. Its moments of comedy allow the director to explore the conflict with sensitivity and intelligence, while also making the story highly engaging. The real tension does not come from something unknown or from the animal’s impossible pregnancy, but from how that anomaly leads the characters to question their beliefs.

In this way, the pregnant goat becomes a powerful metaphor for that which challenges the norm within a deeply traditional community, where beliefs and rules preexist the individual and shape their decisions. In this sense, the film can also be read as a reflection on the difficulties faced by LGBTQ+ communities in societies where religious and cultural structures continue to exert strong pressure on individual identities.

Premiering at the 2025 Critics’ Week (La Semaine de la Critique) of the Cannes Film Festival, where it also won the Queer Palm, Bleat! establishes itself as one of those short films well worth discovering whenever the opportunity arises to see it at a festival.

The film will be screened also on:
July 8, 2026 | Wednesday | CGV Sopung 4 | 10:30 am
July 10, 2026 | Friday | LOTTE Cinema Bucheon 3 | 10:30 am

Trailer: