Directed by Davis Shaw (MFA ’24) and produced by Amber Combs (MFA ’24), the UGA MFA thesis film BUHURT won the Best Georgia Film at South Georgia Film Festival 2025. He was awarded a Motion Picture Lighting Rental Package from LUX Lighting Atlanta valued at $2,500.
BUHURT is about Danny Witwer who has a great passion for the armored mixed-martial arts combat sport, Buhurt. Danny’s relentless chase for success leaves him with no care for his own physical health. Buhurt makes him feel powerful and competent. It gives him the rush of masculine energy he needs to feel like a man. Despite making it to the final round of a 1v1 championship Buhurt tournament, the injuries he receives in the qualifying fight and his refusal to pull out of the competition lead to a rift between him and his wife Rachel. Watch the trailer for BUHURT here.
