Trading Cards.

Radheya Jang’s Trading Cards has been selected for SXSW London, and not just as part of the broader programme. 

The film is one of only ten shorts worldwide selected for the SXSW London Screen Competition for Short Films, placing it in contention for one of the festival’s top honours.

From its world premiere at Flickerfest in Sydney, where Trading Cards was awarded the Yoram Gross award for Best Australian Animated Short Film, the film has been steadily finding its way across the global festival circuit with selections at 7 further Academy Award qualifying festivals including Hong Kong International Film Festival, Florida Film Festival, Dallas International Film Festival, Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, Animafest Zagreb (Croatia), Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia (Japan), and Fest Anča (Slovakia).

And now, London.

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There is a certain symmetry to it all. A film built on memory, connection and the unseen threads that bind moments together, now arriving at a festival that sits at the intersection of film, culture and ideas.

For Radheya, the journey has been one of quiet persistence. As a teenager, his first short Journey found unexpected international traction, including a breakthrough win at the Port Shorts Film Festival where it was awarded Best Film ahead of a submission from Academy Award-winning director Patrick Osborne. The film marked an early signal of a distinctive voice and sensibility.

Since then, he has developed a body of work that has gone on to achieve more than 50 Oscar-qualifying festival selections globally, reflecting a sustained and evolving presence on the international festival circuit. Trading Cards represents both a continuation of that trajectory and a step forward in ambition and craft.

Speaking on the selection, Radheya shared, “I’m incredibly honoured to have my work screening as part of SXSW London. Trading Cards is a film that I’ve poured a lot of myself into, and to have it recognised like this is really wonderful. I’m very grateful and looking forward to seeing it on a big screen alongside some of the amazing contributors who made the film possible.”

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For producer Jay Jay Jegathesan, the SXSW London selection adds another layer to a journey that has stretched across years, countries and films.

“Watching Trading Cards, I feel like I am seeing Radheya’s inner world translated into form,” Says Jay Jay.

“It takes memory and emotion, not as fixed stories but as something more fluid, and places them into a space where they quietly overlap and collide. It is, without question, his most personal film. As his father, there is something profound in recognising emotional currents I have known for years expressed so clearly in his work. I also feel a deep privilege in having narrated the film itself. Every parent hopes to see their children succeed, but to be directly part of that journey, to lend my voice to it and see it resonate beyond us, makes it something even more meaningful. I often find myself wondering whether this might be the last time I do so, as it’s a rare thing to be part of your child’s creative work in this way.”

SXSW London taking place between the 1st – 6th of June 2026, forms part of the wider South by Southwest ecosystem, extending the globally recognised Austin festival into a European context. Bringing together film, music and technology, it creates a space where disciplines intersect and new work is given room to resonate.

At SXSW London, the cards are on the table. Trading Cards lets fate do the rest.

On a local front, Trading Cards will also screen at the upcoming St Kilda Film Festival. Details here. 

Screening Times and venues for Trading Cards at SXSW London can be found here.

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