SXSW Online 2021: Plant Heist Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s SXSW Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

Crime, one of the most gripping aspects of modern civilization. Murder, theft, assault, it all stems back to the evils of capitalism, but that’s a take for another day. Plant Heist, a short documentary film from filmmakers Chelsi and Gabriel de Cuba, takes us to an odd, but sinister, plot to steal the rare Dudleya Farinosa plants from its native California coastlines, and export them to China and South Korea illegally. This is a great short documentary, and manages to do what documentaries do best: give an audience a window into a niche world they would have never considered before.

Plant Heist uses almost exclusively interview footage from different people involved in this scheme. Patrick Foy, a California Department of Fish & Wildlife officer, Stephen McCabe, a retired botanist, and Emily Hickok, the Deputy District Attorney for Monterey County are just some of the fascinating characters in the wings of this succulent story. 

This footage paired with real photos and footage of the stolen plants and the perpetrators, gives it all the dimension in any Netflix crime documentary, just pared down to a cool 17 minute run-time. Gabriel de Cuba was the Director of Photography for Plant Heist, and he did an amazing job of showing the wonder of the California landscape, while also doing artistic recreations of the crimes themselves while his ability with the camera should be commended.

Being de Cuba siblings first documentary film, they absolutely smashed it. If the film was to be handled with less skilled hands it would not have been nearly as engaging. If Plant Heist is of any indication, this duo is one that is definitely worth keeping an eye out for!

still courtesy of SXSW

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Anna Campion