Self-care is put under a microscope inPete Ohs' newest indie feature,The True Beauty of Being Bitten By a Tick, which premiered at SXSW 2025.
Zoë Chaotakes the lead in this comedy-drama as her character, Yvonne, stays with her friend, Camille (Callie Hernandez), at her isolated, rural home after experiencing a tragic accident. There, she also meets real estate agent Isaac (Jeremy O. Harris) and his partner A.J. (James Cusati-Moyer), who are unexpectedly staying with Camille despite Yvonne believing she would have time alone. When the titular bite occurs, a series of strange and troubling symptoms manifest, turning Yvonne’s countryside wellness escape into something more disturbing. Between this ailment, her recent trauma, and the house’s unnerving guests, Yvonne is tossed into a creepy yet humorous metaphor about how the modern world engages with so-called self-care.
The director and four leads of this visceral film joinPerri Nemiroffin the Collider Media Studio at the Cinema Center atSXSW2025 to talk about the unique filming process that brought this movie to life. Ohs talks about how he makes filmmaking decisions inspired by how his 15-year-old self felt about movies, and what it was like working withCharlie XCXon his next feature. The cast also speaks about breaking barriers for the newer generation in this industry, “whisper actors,” collaborating on past projects, saving resources, and conquering shared bathrooms. You can hear all about that and Harris' role inEuphoriaSeason 3in the video above, or follow along via the transcript below.
What Is ‘The True Beauty of Being Bitten By a Tick’ About?
PERRI NEMIROFF: I’m not going to spoil anything about your movie, but I wasnotready for where this was going. Clearly, I know about the film, but Pete, I’ll give you these honors. A lot of our viewers are first going to learn about it through SXSW, so can you give us a brief synopsis ofThe True Beauty of Being Bitten By a Tickto start us off?
PETE OHS: A woman in crisis seeks refuge at her friend’s idyllic countryside home, only to suffer strange side effects from a mysterious tick bite.
ZOË CHAO: He was ready.
JEREMY O. HARRIS: That was crazy, Pete. That was truly psychotic. [Laughs]
I appreciate a filmmaker who comes to the table ready!
CHAO: The logline!
I was reading a lot about your process, and I’m utterly fascinated by it. I was reading about the table of bubbles and have a big two-part question about that. Can you tell me something about your process that has stayed consistent from film to film, but then also something new in that process that you discovered makingthismovie?
OHS: The table of bubbles came out of this idea of, “WhydoI like to make movies?” And I think it’s the reason why any of us do, honestly: because it was fun to do when I was 15 with my friends. The thing that stays consistent is tomake as many, if not all of the decisions based on what you would have done when you were 15.That is the consistent thing that has not led me wrong once.
I love that mentality.
OHS: The thing that was new on this one—there are two things that happened. When things go well, it almost seems like you don’t learn a lesson from it.When something goes bad, a mistake gets made, that’s where a lesson gets learned, but when things just feel really good and just work out, you’re like, “What did I learn from that?” It’s almost nothing. But, in reflection, upon editing the movie and just watching this thing come together, I really appreciated this specific group of actors. These people are trained, these people are very talented, and there was a really special magic that I got to experience just watching them all play off of each other.
Jeremy O. Harris Addresses “Whisper Actors”
“I miss when actors wanted to get in front of a camera and yell a bit.”
I have a follow-up to that! All unique individuals here, all different kinds of artists, but do you see a shared quality in all the actors that you work with that suggests that they could play creatively the way you want them to?
OHS: Certainly, they are all saying yes to what this experience is as I present it to them. They’re all coming very open to it. The other thing that each of them is doing what I am asking them to do, but they’re, again, saying yes to it, is they’re saying what they want. I’m asking them, “What do you want to do? I don’t want to have to tell you everything to do. I want you to tell me something, too.” They give as much as they take.They give contributions—not just small ones, but big ones—about who their characters areand the kind of things they want to play. They want to play a character like themselves; they want to play a character different from themselves, big, small, whatever. Those things where they’re putting themselves out there. Yes, investing, but also taking risks.
HARRIS: Just thinking about what brings us all together, I had a very crazy conversation with an actor—I don’t want to name-drop on Collider because that’s rude—who was very popular in the ’90s and still is. They’re cool, but they’re from the old days. They’re like, “What’s going on with all these new whisper actors? Back in the day, people weren’t whisper-acting. If you tried to whisper act, you would not pass the screen test." She was like, “I miss when actors wanted to get in front of a camera and yell a bit. That’s when it’s rich. That’s when it’s good. That’s when someone’s going to make something dynamic.” And I think none of us are whisper actors, and I think that was something that was really crazy because I’ve had experiences with a lot of newer actors who really learned how to act for the camera. They’re so cool that they don’tgive. I think that there was a lot of giving.Bigness was allowed as well as smallness, which was fun for me as a theater person.
Callie Hernandez and Pete Ohs Worked Together on ‘Jethica’
“I actually did try to back out ofJethicathe week before because I was scared.”
I want to talk about all of your varied histories with Pete. Callie, I’ll come your way first, and correct me if I’m wrong on any of this. This is your second feature film together.Jethicaand now this?
CALLIE HERNANDEZ: We also, right after this, went and madeOBEX, which just went to Sundance, but those are the three.
Oh, yes!Jethicacame first. What is something you experienced making that movie that made you say to yourself, “I need more of Pete and his process?”
HERNANDEZ: Well, Pete’s my friend, first and foremost, and a very good friend. When he asked me to doJethica,I actually did attempt to back out ofJethicathe week before because I was scared.I was scared because I was like, “What are we doing? We’re going to New Mexico during a global pandemic, making a movie in two-and-a-half weeks. What are we doing here?” But I also said yes because I wanted to. I think my experience with Pete onJethicais why. After we did it, we both knew we wanted to make another movie together. We didn’t know when or how or where or whatever.
Also, as an actor, coming from a lot of studio stuff and a range of independent stuff, it’s just really refreshing to be able to be in a space where you’re able to really examine. The thing about Pete is he’s about efficiency, and, also, he asks a lot of questions. So, as a human and as a filmmaker and as an actor, to be able to sit in a room with a bunch of really incredible minds that are all really open and willing to experiment, genuinely do something experimental, it feels really good.
I don’t blame you. When you brought up almost backing out of that last movie, it just made me think, when you get scared and feel like you have to back out, that’s the number one reason to stick with it and see it through.
HERNANDEZ: And I’m really glad I did. I’m really glad. I remember shootingJethica,and the other girl, Ashley [Denise Robinson], who was phenomenal in it, she hadn’t done as much, and I remember she was really, really nervous. But once I said yes to the bit, it was like, “Well, probably no one’s ever going to see this, so it’s really fine. It doesn’t really matter.” It really took the pressure off, which is also what Pete’s all about, is taking the pressure off. “Don’t put pressure on anything; do what feels good. If we make a great movie, then that’s a bonus.”
Harris Feels “Lighter Than Air” When Working With Ohs
“I think I share a brain with this person.”
Jeremy, I’m going to come your way now. You two have an interesting collaboration prior because Pete edited your documentary based on your play. What was it like collaborating with him as an editor that maybe prepared you or teed you up for success when working with him as an actor in his movie?
HARRIS: It’s really funny being back here because this is sort of our anniversary place, in a way. We met through SXSW long before I went to grad school. We’re not old, I promise, but we met a while ago here. It’s really crazy. The thing that was really amazing was when we were reconnected because ofthe need to find an editor who could take risk and not say no.Because that was the thing I was wanting; I really wanted another editor to come in here who really understands my references, who really pushes me to a different place, and my friend Chris Moukarbel, who madeGaga: Five Foot Two, who’s producing it, was like, “What about my friend Pete Ohs?” I was like, “I know Pete!”
Anyway, Pete came to Italy where we edited the movie, and we’re editing during the day, and then at night, we’re hanging out with all these young writers that I was doing a residency with. They teach us this game. It’s a really weird game where, let’s say, they say “Rendezvous” and “Collider.” That’s a hard one. You have to then, with someone else, look around, like 3-2-1, and find a word in between “Rendezvous” and “Collider.” We frustrated everyone because within four phrases we would always get to the same word, and it was this really bizarre thing where I felt a kinship with this person.
CHAO: Okay, “Rendezvous” and “Collider.”
HARRIS: No, we can’t do it now! [Laughs]
I kind of want to see it happen now!
HARRIS: I feel like playing it in front of a camera, it’ll take, like, 17. The point is, it was this thing where I was like, “I think I share a brain with this personin more ways than just this dumb game.” We’re falling in love with these performers, we’re editing in a similar manner, and when he said, “I have a movie I want to make,” I was like, “If he can look at me with the same generosity that he’s looking at all of these young performers in this movie we’re making,I’ll feel lighter than air.It’ll make me feel so good.” Because I felt so far away from the kind of acting I trained to do, and I really wanted to go back to it and I think he gave me the platform to try.
What a beautiful answer. I love that.
‘The True Beauty of Being Bitten By a Tick’s Cast Was Resourceful
“There was nothing extraneous. We didn’t get more than we needed.”
Zoëand James, when you signed on for this movie, what was the most intimidating thing about the way Pete work that maybe made you nervous but also made it a creatively fulfilling experience?
JAMES CUSATI-MOYER: I think we have the same answer.
CHAO: We do.
CUSATI-MOYER AND CHAO: [In unison] Sharing a bathroom…
CHAO: … with strangers for two weeks.
That makes so much sense to me.
CUSATI-MOYER: That was our biggest fear.
CHAO: It really was.
I feel like my colleagues in this room know that that’s the only thing that scares me about going to a film festival.
CHAO: Totally. But we moved past it. We conquered our fear.
HARRIS: I think there was a good poop schedule that got figured out because I never smelled anyone.
OHS: There’s your headline.
To add to that, is there anything you experienced making this movie that you wish more sets out there would adopt? This all feels very unique to Pete, but there are certain ideas that I feel like some leaders on sets are a little more closed-minded to that could actually enhance their productions.
HERNANDEZ: It is unique to Pete, and I think that all of us sitting here, we like to look at how to make movies in lots of different creative ways. Every single person here has gone and made a film in a weird way. “Table of bubbles”—that is Pete.
CHAO: One of the things that I really loved about this process was how essential it was. We used what we had and nothing more than that. Our first day together, we went to Goodwill to get our costumes, to figure out what they were. While we’re figuring out what garments feel right, we’re having a conversation about our relationships, butthere was nothing extraneous. We didn’t get more than we needed.We ate the groceries that we bought, and we used them as props and as our meals in the film. James cooked that beautiful spaghetti meatball dish that’s a family recipe. There was nothing extraneous. Though we had a director, it didn’t feel like there was a hierarchy because we were all trying to figure it out together. We’re all in service of this thing, and that thing not even being the final product. It was really being in service of a process andifthere was a product, awesome. I’m so proud of the product that we landed on. But what was most thrilling about it was the making of it.
Harris Calls Ohs a “Barrier-Breaker” For New Filmmakers
“It felt like, as Pete said, making a movie when you were a kid.”
CUSATI-MOYER: Also, the joy and the ease of stepping up in front of the camera to do a take, to do a scene. We had the gift of being—with the exception of our friend Jesse, who was the sound—just us. With all due respect to bigger films that obviously have crews and the necessary set people and sound and lighting, for me, as an actor, I often get very overwhelmed when there are 50 people around me, and you have to do an intimate scene, and the camera goes up, and youmaybehave a rehearsal.
But there was this ease that I think we all felt in our bodies when Pete set up the shot, and we wanted to get the scene in, that I was surrounded by my friends, and I was surrounded by the trees and this house. I was able to relax and have a sense of groundedness because everyone that was listening to this scene knows me, loves me, and trusts me in what take I have to give for this scene on that day. Again, process.It felt like, as Pete said, making a movie when you were a kid. I loved getting in front of the camera as a kid and making my own skits. You’re able to just have this joy in your body again because it is that simple.
I love the way you just articulated that.
HARRIS: I was just going to say one more thing on both of those things, but especially to the idea of sustainability. I think that there was a time when independent cinema was accessible to a lot of different people in a lot of different ways. As the economy goes in the way that it is, there becomes such a disparity between the 1% and everyone else. This process is something that I’m such an evangelical advocate for, thatyoung people, new filmmakers, don’t feel blighted or despairing about the current state of the cinema landscape. They can see a movie like this and say, “Wait, I don’t need to have inherited a house from my parents upstate. I could maybe, with a couple of my friends, get together, rent a house for two weeks, two days, and if we make a table of bubbles, we might just make something beautiful together."
That’s the goal of the film for me and one of the reasons why I have to push everyone to watch all of this. Go watchLove and Work, go watchYoungstown, go watchJethica. There are other movies, and I was trying to go through the entire filmography—it didn’t work. But as someone who’s constantly thinking about the fact that there is a pipeline issue for young makers, there is an issue right now with young makers feeling outside of a system that has many, many high barriers.This is someone who’s a barrier-breaker, who’s figured out a tunnel to go underneath them and still ends up at the SXSW.
Ohs and Harris Are Working With Charlie XCX on a New Project
“It’s not that the world needs more movies, but the world does need more people making movies.”
Pete, for a young filmmaker out there, an aspiring filmmaker, what tips would you give them if they don’t necessarily want to use the table of bubbles, but they want to use a less conventional way to make a movie and they feel pressure to jump into the system and make it the way they’re taught and only the way they’re taught?
OHS: A thing that I like about the way that I am making these movies is how much it demonstrates all the things that you don’t actually need. We are told we need a lot of things. Some of them you might need, but a lot of them, you maybe don’t. I think questioning that and not letting the belief that you need something stop you from doing it is really powerful because when you don’t do it, everything’s bad. You don’t get better at doing it. You also just don’t get to experience the fun of making that thing. You don’t get to get those ideas out of your head. You don’t get to accidentally make a movie that maybe is good.
The movie existing isn’t even the most important part of it for anyone, really. If you’re at the beginning, you haven’t even had the experiences to understand what about it you like, understand how to even make a thing you like.Then you’re not even getting up to bat; you’re not even getting the chance to swingbecause of all these things you think you need. I saw often, like, “You have a phone, go shoot your movie.” That’s not enough to feel good about, honestly, because it doesn’t feel good to shoot a movie on your phone forme. Whatever just feels good, and you can identify that, hold on to those parts of it. But all those other things you’re told you think you need to make your movie that is real, but more importantly, to have an experience with people where you’ve created something, and you’ve learned about each other, and you’ve learned about yourself, the more of that, the better the world gets, the more people who have that filmmaking experience.It’s not that the world needs more movies, but the world does need more people making movies.
I second that. One thing I need is more movies from you, and there’s one in particular I’m very curious about. It’s the one you worked on with Charli XCX. Admittedly, I feel like a dumb-dumb talking about music because this is my realm, not that, but she’s come up a couple of times in conversations about movies that I’ve covered recently, so I’ve gone down the rabbit hole of listening to her talk about her creative process, and I’m just so fascinated by how her brain works. What was that collaboration like, and why did she jive especially well with the way you like to work?
OHS: I met Charli through Jeremy, and that initial meeting was very much just describing this way that we’ve been talking about, this way of making movies.What was really fun was how similar she felt that was to how she makes music, to how it feels to be in the studio with her collaborators working through something and just creating. That’s what we connected on and why it felt good to make a movie together. And it was.
I’m excited! And Jeremy, you’re producing that, right?
HARRIS: Yeah. I might also appear randomly.
Bring it on. I’ll take that!
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Ben Affleck’s ‘The Accountant’ might also get a third installment.
Harris Steps Away From ‘Euphoria’ Season 3
Jeremy, I’ve got a pretty obvious upcoming project question for you because everyone’s talking aboutEuphoria. I know there’s probably nothing you’re able to tell me about what’s in the works, so I hope this is a safe way to get at it. Over the course of that show’s run, you’ve had different roles on the production. What is your role this season, and what are some specific goals you have for yourself when filling that role?
HARRIS: There is no role. [Laughs] No, it’s not a bad thing. I’m the godfather of Sam’s [Levinson] kid. Sam is one of my favorite people in the world, but in the interim from last season to this season, my life has gotten way bigger. I’m running the Williamstown Theater Festival right now, and I’m also making all these weird movies with my production company, and I have a new TV show that I’m working on with Natasha Lyonne that I’m very excited about. I wish that I could be there because I’m getting texts from my friends. I saw Sydney [Sweeney] and Hunter [Schafer] the other day, and they’re like,“Oh my God, we’re going back to set next week,”and I was like, “Fuck, I wish I could be there.” I do know some things, and I think most of the things I know you guys probably know.
Special thanks to our 2025 partners at SXSW, including presenting partner Rendezvous Films and supporting partners Bloom, Peroni, Hendrick’s Gin, and Roxstar Entertainment.
The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick
The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick is a 2025 film in which Yvonne visits her friend Camille’s rural home to escape a disturbing event. Accompanied by A.J. and Isaac, they promise a serene weekend until Yvonne’s tick bite unveils unsettling realities beneath the idyllic facade.
