Erotically charged and inventively shot, Three Headed Beast is about love, lust, and self-discovery as a non-traditional, long-term couple in an open relationship learn how to communicate their desires in the scorching Texas heat. Ruminating on the complexities of sex in the expanding modern rulebook, the film——fresh off its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival——follows a young couple in Austin struggling to communicate their needs.

Peter (Jacob Schatz) and Nina (Dani Hurtado) share an idyllic life together, exploring their sexuality together and apart, all while still feeling the heteronormative pressures of a lifestyle of homebuying and babies. However, Peter has begun a relationship with Alex (Cody Shook), a lonely young man who begins to discover he might need more than a little casual sex. As Peter relaxes into the new situation, Nina becomes uneasy with her lack of fulfillment and waning urge to explore elsewhere.

With palpable sexual tension and economy of dialogue, Fernando Andrés and Tyler Rugh’s arresting debut feature chronicles the shifting desires of the threesome as they each grapple with unexpected, unfamiliar emotions and learn to communicate these feelings with one another.