Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: THE EGO DEATH OF QUEEN CECILIA [Waco Independent Film Festival 2025 - Waco, Texas]

"The Ego Death Of Queen Cecilia" does an interesting balance act in a way to show the repercussions of fame lost. It tells in many ways a similar story to "King Kelly" which played SXSW in 2012 starring Louisa Krause. That film was wonderfully irreverent but its character less morally saddled though between the black comedy and some of the violence, one felt the stakes. Here, Cecilia (Jo Shaeffer) is an influencer who has tasted fame and then lost it. It is just the natural progression of things but one balances as one can. Here Cecilia however takes it a step too far and finds herself a little in over her head when she makes a couple wrong decisions. She couldn’t say no but she doesn't quite have a safety net to make it work in her favor.

Her intention is to lash out in certain ways which tends to make the situation worse. Shot in Texas, it also uses the barren landscape at times against itself. Schaffer's physicality and presence is constructed as a very conscious idea in terms of her approach in terms of her comfort zone which both becomes more rigid but more dire as the film goes on. The fact that she is doing this to try to get back to her stature is both disconcerting but also understandable in a world where people are chasing relevance. However in reality, the baseline seems to be reflected that it harder and harder to get there in some shape or form. This was a discussion that was heard a bit throughout this festival. As much as the film tries, there isn't an overwhelming sense of dread though Shaeffer does her best and conveys an unknowing sense of desperation when it seems that she has let everyone down. Her sister, in her own quiet way, ends up giving her the most grief. "The Ego Death Of Queen Cecilia" is a story for its time but also one that tends to put the spotlight on the chasing of empty rewards. B-

By Tim Wassberg