Anna Akana Puts Her Spin On Beauty Pageants In Latest Short Film

We’re noted Anna Akana‘s series of short films (now up to its fifth installment out of a planned 12) as some of the most original work released on YouTube this year. Akana has now dropped her newest short on her personal channel, and it offers a haunting take on a beauty pageant.

The short is called Here She Is, and it stars Akana as a contestant at a pageant called ‘Miss Fairest Of Them All’. Akana’s character, Miss Hawaii, has visions in which all of her fellow contestants turn up dead. As in Akana’s other shorts, Here She Is

is dark and often supernatural, and it takes on themes of mental health and female empowerment.

Here She Is ends with a much subtler finale than some of Akana’s other shorts, and its inconclusive ending has sparked lots of theories in the comments. The vigorous discussions shows just how thought-provoking Akana’s work is, and it leaves viewers eager to see her next short film.