Eructation (noun): an act or instance of belching.

Eructation is a short documentary directed by Victoria Trow about Kaylee Kotnis, a woman described as “an insanely loud burper,” who’s trying to break the world record for the loudest female burp, which is currently at 107.3 decibels. 

“The human body’s crazy, that’s why you gotta like, take what talent you’re given, and, you know, try to like, foster it and make it as good as you can. It’s like I’m an athlete.”

The six-minute documentary will bring you into Kaylee’s unusual journey to break what might seem like an absurd world record. But it’s kind of interesting to see her approach, which is relatively serious given what she’s trying to achieve. We see her taking notes in her “Burp Diaries,” keeping track of what’s working and what’s not, and how a burp actually works. Because if you want to make something as good as you can, you have to understand how it works, even when we’re talking about expelling gas from your stomach. 

Backed by multiple sounds like a car alarm, a hairdryer, or a vacuum, which show how loud 107.3 decibels actually is, we’re sitting with Kaylee and her husband, Eric, who explain what it’s like for her to “train” to achieve her goal, and how annoying it can get for him (honestly, Eric, I don’t blame you). 

All in all, Eructation is quite funny to watch. I never would have thought I’d see this unusual goal explored in a short documentary, but here we are. And once I finished watching it, I was even more surprised by the number of questions I had about this world record. Starting with, why?

Eructation will have its world premiere at SXSW and is part of the Documentary Short Competition. Documentary Short Program 2, presented by Vimeo, will screen six short documentaries featuring authentic storytelling that captivates, surprises, and excites on March 14th. A second screening will take place on March 17th.