“Therapy speak” is everywhere, according to mental health therapist, screenwriter, and director Victor Gabriel. But for Gabriel, there’s a huge difference in therapy speak and…actual therapy.

“There's like, a responsibility right there. And that's a different thing, a very specific experience that most people don't get,” comments Gabriel on the art of being present for another human being’s story. 

“I'm a licensed therapist, so yeah, that was very large in my writer, director space that I'm in now, you feel me? Like being with people, walking with people, working with people, hearing people, and hearing clients, frustrations, pain, trauma…”

His newest film, I Got My Brother, which has its world premiere at SXSW on March 14, shares the story of two brothers who grew up in foster care, serving as witness to the abuses Jarrett and Baylon Harper experienced while growing up in the system, along with Jarrett’s time in prison and his eventual release 20 years later. 

A different director could've made the resulting film telling the brothers’ story tonally heavy and news-forward, or schmaltzy and dark, but not Gabriel. Gabriel cites his experience as a therapist – perhaps the only practicing therapist to have graduated from the American Film Institute (AFI) – as allowing him to see the humor and lightness in people’s tragedies, which is key to inviting an audience to watch a film like I Got My Brother. 

“The more traumatic it is, the more actually it can distance you, distance the audience, so I didn't feel that would be fair to their story,” says Gabriel, who explains that the film tonally tries to find the laughter and humor in “the dark stuff.”

“Because everybody laughs at very dark things. Everybody, no matter how dark,” says Gabriel. 

Tone Shift

One way Gabriel helps achieve this lighter tone is through the skilled cinematography of Robert Hunter. The pair met while at AFI and have been close collaborators ever since, having premiered their previous short film Hallelujah at Sundance in 2022. Hunter is no stranger to documentaries or SXSW, as the part-time Oklahoman also shot Loren Water’s documentary Tiger, which played at SXSW in 2025. Hunter, in working with Gabriel, says a lot of their decision-making (like some special effects shots and shooting underwater) is guided by feeling, not over-intellectualization. 

“I would say, for a lot of the decisions that went into this film, it's all about a feeling,” says Hunter. “It’s almost like a spiritual feeling. I'm a very spiritual person. I feel like I lead a lot with that.” 

Hunter explains he tried to capture the brothers’ spirits on camera, translating their moods – like calmness – into visuals for viewers to feel.

“We didn't really want to lean too heavily into the drama of it. So it's like they might be talking about dark stuff. We don't necessarily want it to feel dark and heavy. So I think that was a big part of it when it came to the cinematography and how we approached it,” says Hunter.

It’s also reflected in the film’s structure, which is set up as a warm, natural conversation between Jarrett and Baylon. The camera allows the viewer to look into their eyes without feeling voyeuristic or exploitative, as they share some of the dark times and the darkly funny ones, too. Case in point: Gabriel’s favorite story from the short film is when the brothers riff about peeing the bed as teenagers – and how a crush found out about it.

“That's my pocket. Like, that's my pocket right there. That's my pocket: very extreme, dramatic and very funny at the same time,” says Gabriel.

It’s Gabriel’s feelings-led direction, Hunter’s feel-good cinematography, and the brotherly love depicted on screen that yield a heartwarming, hopeful film, not a heartwrenching one. 

When the film premieres at SXSW on March 14, both brothers will be in attendance. Gabriel is optimistic that sharing the brothers' story will make a mark on audiences and, hopefully, change the brothers’ lives for the better, too. 

“I'm saying that people can be impacted by what they say and what they see on screen, and then relate to [the brothers],” says Gabriel. “They've been through so much, and having listened to them, I want them to be able to experience some newfound success and a different way of life. And if this can help them experience life differently than what they've experienced before, man, damn, that'd be great.”

I Got My Brother plays March 14 and 17 as part of the Documentary Shorts 1 block at Rollins Theater at the Long Center at SXSW 2026. You can find director Victor Gabriel and cinematographer Robert Hunter on Instagram @wherekingsreign and @robertlhunter.

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