We certainly Wagged the Audience for 48HFP 2026

Poster by Jolene Schultz

Look, I'll be the first to say, Tiny Explosions crossed the line this time. Wag the Cat is right out of the gate offensive and too far. But every second after that immediate red line intro the film inches back into the gray zone.

If for some reason you haven't watched Wag the Cat, the very first line in the film is something no one will repeat in public, at work, in front of children, at church, on a date, or pretty much anywhere else. Okay, enough tip toeing, the film starts with a blunt and vulgar joke about beastiality. It is a loaded immorality gun you've been shot with and you hate us for putting you in that situation. But you know how I know it's a good film, we won the only award you can give this film and still feel good about it, best acting ensemble.

Wag the Cat features 11 roles and everyone delivered their best, equally carrying the weight perfectly. We won the best film at 48 for some very childish conceits but we absolutely nailed them. We did the same here, even hit the technical mark better than we ever have, but if you're handing out awards you can't give a film that jokes with beastiality any “big awards” and look yourself in the mirror. What you can do is recognize the cast therein absolutely crushed and made the premise entertaining. I truly feel we roundhouse kicked every element in the face and if it wasn't a film that hinged so much on beastiality, we had a great shot at winning a lot of awards. Still, I apologize profusely to anyone we offended. I'm sorry and you're welcome.

Tiny Explosions early rolling on Wag the Cat

Enough about awards and apologies. This was the smoothest production we've ever had full stop. Saturday went quick, was a whirlwind, and post production was an actual breeze. It was kind of like a Bong Joon Ho film, we shot exactly what we wrote, used every shot. Unfortunately we had to make a couple edits for time but even so we nailed the deadline. The real issue for us this time was writing. The idea we initially settled on had the same crass joke but it was a straight-laced politician responding to a series of absurd attack ads. Where it went wrong was an over complication of the joke and whiplash tone. 20 minutes into writing it I looked over at a teammate who is usually quite direct with his opinion, Tosh Dillinger, and I said “I don't think this is funny.” He quickly agreed and said it's bad. A few more spoke up but it seemed the room was hesitant to say anything because it looked like the train was rolling down the tracks. For the first time in our 15 years making short films we scrapped an idea and completely started over. It was 10pm and we were at square one. We eventually found a new way to save the gag and 90 minutes later we had the outline for Wag the Cat.

More BTS Wag the Cat from Michael Banks

I don't want to give the wrong impression, I'm really proud of Tiny Explosions. This film reminds me of George Carlin’s classic bit about how people say you can't make jokes about rape. Making jokes about beastiality is below low brow, it's subterranean. Thing is, this is a satire and a black comedy. My favorite genre is actually satire. Network, Dr. Strangelove, The Lobster, Sorry to Bother You, Cable Guy, Death to Smoochy, Being There... the venn diagram of satires that are both great and cross the line is nearly two perfectly overlapping circles. So happy we joined this list again with one of our shorts. I'd make a black satire every time if I could.

Wag is absolutely wrong on every level but the commentary it makes plows through the disturbing, uncool, and wrong to make something laudable (see award). Will I be submitting it to festivals? No, but it is definitely a good film. It is also a film I will say in the future “we don't need to go there again.”

Now for the usual Pat’s 48 Favorites. This year, I saw two of the three screening groups. With no second run screenings, 28 of the 35 (?) films is all I could manage.With that in mind, here are my three favorites –excluding Tiny Explosions– of 48 Hour Film Project Des Moines 2026;

1. Whittle Issues by New Peak Productions
   
   This film tried something super unique and pulled it off. Not only that but it gave the film a real pace and heartbeat. Also, it was fun as hell. Ultimately it took the award for 3rd Best Film of the event but as always, judges be judging. Robert Zortman, New Peak’s leader, was actually a two-time Tiny Exploder. 7 years ago he was a roller skating, furry vest wearing weirdo in our film Red Flag and a crew member of Family Tree, a film we made four months later. Dude has been hustling for years with his YouTube channel Gaming Off the Grid and I love to see his team finally find some much deserved recognition at 48 for making a film that I’ve said is exactly what I’m looking for from a 48HFP film.
   
   
2. The Woman in the Browser Window by Vortex Video
   
   About a third of the way into my initial viewing of this film I thought it was going to sweep the awards. I believe the genre was Noir and man did they ace it. Beyond that it has a great script, perfect editing, top notch direction, and shot exactly how you’d expect a noir to be shot. It took second overall at Best of City and when it didn’t win the top prize I was a little shocked. The editing and direction alone were that good. Seven minutes never went so fast.
   
   
3. Please Say Yes by Kung Fu Biker Mafia
   
   Kung Fu took the top prize with this film, Best film of 2026 48HFP Des Moines. 100% earned. Just because it wasn’t my favorite, doesn’t mean it’s not killer. In my opinion their best film. Shot great, consistent look at and tone. Acting hit that creepy, uncomfortable zone hard. I’m so happy for KFBM. Last Horror 48, I actual told them to prepare a speech because I was certain they’d win that competition… then it didn’t happen and I felt bad for opening my trap. Either way, they’re champions now and that is awesome.

So 48 is done for 2026. We made two films that I love, won some awards, offended some people, tripped over the line of good taste, and we lived to tell the tale. This might be the first year my personal top 3 were a jumble version of the comp’s actual top 3. Fun times, enjoy Curaçao Kung Fu Bikers. Can’t wait until next year.