PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL SHORTFEST 2026 REVIEW! It’s an odd thing to stage one’s own funeral in order to gain sympathy or recognition while one is still alive. I’ve seen it in Rental Family and now in the dark-comedy/satire short film Coffin Therapy by filmmaker Zéré Turlykhanova. Anna Karabaeva stars as Yeva, a vain woman who seeks the attention that she would receive during her funeral. It’s all part of a radical therapy trend, as well as the commercialization of death.
Yeva either doesn’t speak very good English, or she just pretends she can’t at the funeral parlor to get out of a conversation. It’s funny to see her struggling around in the coffin after being so rude. Then she gets a taste of her own medicine when someone her friends know actually gets into a serious car accident, and everyone quickly leaves the fake funeral.
“… a vain woman who seeks the attention that she would receive during her funeral.”
I enjoy a good dark comedy like Very Bad Things, where a bachelor party goes terribly wrong, so Zéré Turlykhanova’s short film is right up my alley. We all want to see the desperate, bad people get their comeuppance as part of some sick form of justice. Anna Karabaeva is so bad that she’s good, so much so that I could watch an entire feature about this.
Coffin Therapy screened at the 2026 Palm Springs International Shortfest.
"…Anna Karabaeva is so bad that she’s good, so much so that I could watch an entire feature about this."
