More films have been announced for the SXSW Film & TV Festival. More than 50 additional projects were announced earlier this afternoon including, Narratives, Documentaries, TV, and XR Projects. The festival runs from March 8th – 16th.
This year there are 115 features including 89 World Premieres, 3 International Premieres, 6 North American Premieres, 4 U.S. Premieres, 13 Texas Premieres + 80 Short Filmsincluding 19 Music Videos. The TV program includes 7 TV Premieres, 8 TV Spotlight World Premieres and 6 Independent TV Pilots. The XR Experience program includes 38 projects. For the full list, click here.
HEADLINERS
Big names, big talent featuring red carpet premieres and gala film events with major and rising names in cinema.
Babes
Director: Pamela Adlon, Producers: Ilana Glazer, Josh Rabinowitz, Susie Fox, Ashley Fox, Breean Pojunas, Screenwriters: Ilana Glazer, Josh Rabinowitz
After becoming pregnant from a one-nightstand, Eden leans on her married best friend and mother of two, Dawn, to guide her through gestation and beyond.
Cast: Ilana Glazer, Michelle Buteau, Hasan Minhaj, John Carroll Lynch (World Premiere)
Immaculate
Director: Michael Mohan, Producers: David Bernad, Sydney Sweeney, Jonathan Davino, Teddy Schwarzman, Michael Heimler, Screenwriter: Andrew Lobel
A devout American nun embarks on a new journey in a remote convent in the picturesque Italian countryside. Her warm welcome quickly devolves into a nightmare as it becomes clear her new home harbors a sinister secret and unspeakable horrors.
Cast: Sydney Sweeney, Álvaro Morte, Dora Romano, Benedetta Porcaroli, Giorgio Colangeli, Simona Tabasco (World Premiere)
The Fall Guy
Director: David Leitch, Producers: Kelly McCormick, David Leitch, Ryan Gosling, Guymon Casady, Screenwriter: Drew Pearce
Colt Seavers, a battle-scarred stuntman, is drafted back into service when the star of a mega-budget studio movie—directed by his ex, Jody Moreno—goes missing.
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Winston Duke, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham, Stephanie Hsu. (World Premiere)
The Idea of You
Director: Michael Showalter, Producers: Cathy Schulman, Gabrielle Union, Anne Hathaway, Robinne Lee, Eric Hayes, Michael Showalter, Jordana Mollick, Screenwriters: Michael Showalter, Jennifer Westfeldt
Based on the acclaimed, contemporary love story of the same name, The Idea of You centers on Solène, a 40-year-old single mom who begins an unexpected romance with 24-year-old Hayes Campbell, the lead singer of August Moon, the hottest boy band on the planet. Based upon the book by Robinne Lee.
Cast: Anne Hathaway, Nicholas Galitzine, Ella Rubin, Reid Scott, Annie Mumolo, Viktor White, Raymond Cham, Jaiden Anthony, Dakota Adan, Perry Mattfeld, Mathilda Gianopoulos, Jordan Aaron Hall (World Premiere)
Monkey Man
Director: Dev Patel, Producers: Dev Patel, Jomon Thomas, Jordan Peele, Win Rosenfeld, Ian Cooper, Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee, Christine Haebler, Anjay Nagpal, Screenwriters: Dev Patel, Paul Angunawela, John Collee
Dev Patel achieves an astonishing directing debut with this action thriller about a man’s vengeance against the men who murdered his mother.
Cast: Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, Pitobash, Vipin Sharma, Sikandar Kher, Sobhita Dhulipala, Ashwini Kalsekar, Adithi Kalkunte, Makarand Deshpande (World Premiere)
Road House
Director: Doug Liman, Producer: Joel Silver, Screenwriters: Anthony Bagarozzi, Charles Mondry
In this adrenaline-fueled reimagining of the 80s cult classic, ex-UFC fighter Dalton takes a job as a bouncer at a Florida Keys roadhouse, only to discover that this paradise is not all it seems.
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Daniela Melchior, Billy Magnussen, Jessica Williams, Joaquim de Almeida, Conor McGregor, Lukas Gage, Arturo Castro, B.K. Cannon, Beau Knapp, Darren Barnet, Dominique Columbus, Bob Menery, Catfish Jean, Kevin Carroll, Travis Van Winkle, Hannah Lanier (World Premiere)
Y2K
Director: Kyle Mooney, Producers: Jonah Hill, Matt Dines, Alison Goodwin, Chris Storer, Cooper Wehde, Evan Winter, Screenwriters: Kyle Mooney, Evan Winter
On the last night of 1999, two high school juniors crash a New Year’s Eve party, only to find themselves fighting for their lives in this dial-up disaster comedy.
Cast: Rachel Zegler, Jaeden Martell, Julian Dennison, Lachlan Watson, Daniel Zolghadri, Mason Gooding, The Kid Laroi (World Premiere)
NARRATIVE SPOTLIGHT
Unforgettable features receiving their World, North American, or U.S. premieres.
A Nice Indian Boy
Director: Roshan Sethi, Producers: Renee Witt, Charlie McSpadden, Andrew Calof, Justin Baldoni, Screenwriters: Eric Randall, Madhuri Shekar
When Naveen brings his fiancé Jay home to meet his family, his traditional Indian parents must contend with accepting his white-orphan-artist-boyfriend and helping them plan the most fabulous Indian wedding their community has ever seen.
Cast: Karan Soni, Jonathan Groff, Sunita Mani, Zarna Garg, Harish Patel, Peter S. Kim, Sas Goldberg (World Premiere)
Arcadian (Ireland)
Director: Ben Brewer, Producers: David Wulf, Braxton Pope, Nicolas Cage, Mike Nilon, Arianne Fraser, Delphine Perrier, Screenwriter: Mike Nilon
After a catastrophic event depopulates the world, a father and his two sons must survive their dystopian environment while being threatened by mysterious creatures that emerge at night.
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Jaeden Martell, Maxwell Jenkins, Sadie Soverall (World Premiere)
Cuckoo (Germany)
Director/Screenwriter: Tilman Singer, Producers: Markus Halberschmidt, Josh Rosenbaum, Maria Tsigka, Ken Kao, Thor Bradwell, Ben Rimmer
On a trip to the German Alps with her father and stepmother, Gretchen discovers that the resort town where they’re staying hides sinister secrets, as she’s plagued by strange noises and frightening visions of a woman pursuing her.
Cast: Hunter Schafer, Dan Stevens, Jessica Henwick, Marton Csókás, Jan Bluthardt (International Premiere)
Desert Road
Director/Screenwriter: Shannon Triplett, Producers: Steven Schneider, Josh Clayton, Kirk Martin, Alec Roth, Lauren Bates, Sam Cohan
A young woman crashes her car and walks down the road seeking help, only to find no matter which way she walks she ends up back at her car. As night falls, she realizes she’s going to die in this endless loop… unless she can find a way to escape.
Cast: Kristine Froseth, Frances Fisher, Beau Bridges, Ryan Hurst, D.B. Woodside, Max Mattern, Ratchel Dratch, Edwin Garcia II (World Premiere)
Doin’ It
Director: Sara Zandieh, Producers: Anthony Bregman, Erica Matlin, Polly Auritt, Lilly Singh, Anita Verma-Lallian, Screenwriters: Lilly Singh, Sara Zandieh, Neel Patel
A 30 year old Indian-American virgin gets a job teaching high school Sex Ed.
Cast: Lilly Singh, Ana Gasteyer, Sabrina Jalees, Stephanie Beatriz, Mary Holland, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Trevor Salter, Sonia Dhillon Tully (World Premiere)
The Greatest Hits
Director/Screenwriter: Ned Benson, Producers: Michael London, Shannon Gaulding, Ned Benson, Stephanie Davis, Cassandra Kulukundis
Harriet finds art imitating life when she discovers certain songs can transport her back in time – literally.
Cast: Lucy Boynton, Justin H. Min, David Corenswet, Austin Crute (World Premiere)
The Gutter
Directors: Yassir Lester, Isaiah Lester, Producers: Liz Destro, Jared Hess, Helen Estabrook, Tristen Tuckfield, Jillian Apfelbaum, Screenwriter: Yassir Lester
Walt (lover of threesomes, hater of shirts) strikes up an unlikely friendship with a former Pro Bowler as they discover he might be THE GOAT of the lanes. The only things standing in their way are racism, alcoholism and Linda “The Crusher” Curson.
Cast: Shameik Moore, Susan Sarandon, D’Arcy Carden, Jay Ellis, Jackée Harry, Paul Reiser (World Premiere)
High Tide
Director/Screenwriter: Marco Calvani, Producers: Mickey Liddell, Pete Shilaimon, Marco Calvani
Heartbroken and adrift, undocumented Brazilian immigrant Lourenço searches for purpose in the queer mecca of Provincetown, where he sparks an unexpected romance with Maurice. Together the two reconcile their pasts they’ve left behind and their uncertain futures.
Cast: Marco Pigossi, Mya Taylor, James Bland, Marisa Tomei, Bill Irwin, Sean Mahon (World Premiere)
I Don’t Understand You
Director: Brian Crano, David Craig, Producers: Kara Durrett, Jessamine Burgum, Jon Glickman, Joel Edgerton, Nash Edgerton, Screenwriters: Brian Crano, David Craig
Following a devastating adoption scam, a couple go on an Italian vacation in an attempt to reconnect. After getting their rental car stuck in a countryside ditch, things begin to go awry. Between the torrential weather and language barrier, Dom, Cole and the Italians around them descend into a comical fiasco.
Cast: Nick Kroll, Andrew Rannells, Nunzia Schiano, Morgan Spector, Eleonora Romandini (World Premiere)
I Love You Forever
Directors/Screenwriters: Cazzie David, Elisa Kalani, Producers: Diablo Cody, Lauren Hantz, Liana Weston, Mason Novick, Evan Silverberg, Billy Mulligan
A subversive love story gone wrong that follows a young woman into and out of an emotionally abusive relationship.
Cast: Sofia Black-D’Elia, Ray Nicholson, Jon Rudnitsky, Cazzie David, Raymond Cham Jr (World Premiere)
I Wish You All The Best
Director/Screenwriter: Tommy Dorfman, Producers: Matt Kaplan, Tommy Dorfman
After Ben, a non binary teen, is kicked out of their conservative parents house, they move in with their estranged sister and embark on a journey of self-discovery that teaches them about love, friendship, and family.
Cast: Corey Fogelmanis, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, Alexandra Daddario, Cole Sprouse, Lena Dunham, Amy Landecker, Lexi Underwood, Lisa Yamada, Judson Mills, Brian Michael Smith (World Premiere)
Magpie (United Kingdom)
Director: Sam Yates, Producers: Kate Solomon, Daisy Ridley, Tom Bateman, Camilla Bray, Nadia Khamlichi, Sierra Garcia, Screenwriter: Tom Bateman
When Ben and Anette’s daughter is cast in a film alongside glamorous movie star Alicia, Ben is quickly drawn into Alicia’s world. Anette is left at home with the baby, pushed to her emotional limits and psychologically on the brink.
Cast: Daisy Ridley, Shazad Latif, Matilda Lutz, Hiba Ahmed, Cherrelle Skeete, Pippa Bennet-Warner, Alistair Petrie (World Premiere)
Música
Director: Rudy Mancuso, Producers: McG, Mary Viola, Screenwriters: Rudy Mancuso, Dan Lagana
Based on writer, director and star Rudy Mancuso, Música is a coming-of-age love story that follows an aspiring creator with synesthesia, who must come to terms with an uncertain future, while navigating the pressures of love, family and his Brazilian culture in Newark, New Jersey.
Cast: Rudy Mancuso, Camila Mendes, Francesca Reale, Maria Mancuso, J.B. Smoove (World Premiere)
My Dead Friend Zoe
Director: Kyle Hausmann-Stokes, Producers: Paul Scanlan, Kyle Hausmann-Stokes, Terri Lubaroff, Ray Maiello, Mike Field, Richard Silverman, Robert Paschall Jr., Screenwriters: Kyle Hausmann-Stokes, AJ Bermudez
Engaged in a mysterious relationship with her wise-cracking (and dead) best friend from the Army, a female veteran is summoned to the remote lake house of her estranged Vietnam vet grandfather.
Cast: Sonequa Martin-Green, Natalie Morales, Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Gloria Reuben (World Premiere)
Omni Loop
Director/Screenwriter: Bernardo Britto, Producers: Ben Cohen, Patrick Donovan, David Hinojosa
Diagnosed with a black hole growing inside her chest, a woman from Miami, Florida decides to solve time travel in order to go back and be the person she always intended to be.
Cast: Mary Louise Parker, Ayo Edebiri, Hannah Pearl Utt, Chris Witaske, Carlos Jacott, Harris Yulin, Steven Maier, Eddie Cahill (World Premiere)
Switch Up
Director: Tara Pirnia, Producers: Elizabeth Avellan, Marcela Ronquillo, Tara Pirnia, Cristian de la Fuente, Melissa Bickerton, Angela Blair, Screenwriters: Felice Heather Monteith, Tara Pirnia, Tina Contogenis, Pamela Beach
One of the nation’s top talk show hosts finds himself stranded at a homeless shelter where he meets a young widow. He falls in love and realizes the path to happiness lies in helping others.
Cast: Cristian de la Fuente, Julieth Restrepo, Jeff Fahey, Shondrella Avery, R. Brandon Johnson, Temple Baker, Donnell Rawlings, Alicia Witt, Manuel Uriza, Felice Heather Monteith (World Premiere)
Timestalker (UK)
Director/Screenwriter: Alice Lowe, Producers: Vaughan Sivell, Mark Hopkins, Natan Stoessel, Tom Wood
From the creative team behind Prevenge comes a reincarnation rom-com about the eternal humiliation that is the search for love, spanning the most romantic epochs of history.
Cast: Alice Lowe, Jacob Anderson, Aneurin Barnard, Tanya Reynolds, Nick Frost (World Premiere)
Turtles (Canada, Belgium)
Director/Screenwriter: David Lambert, Producers: Patrick Quinet, Christian Larouche
After 35 years together, the seemingly perfect life that Thom and Henri had built started to go awry. They start to drift away from each other a little more each day. But Thom will do anything to save his relationship and rekindle their love.
Cast: Dave Johns, Olivier Gourmet, Brigitte Poupart, Laurent Bonnet (North American Premiere)
The Uninvited
Director/Screenwriter: Nadia Conners, Producers: Rosie Fellner, Carlos Enrique Cuscó, Ari Taboada
Rose and Sammy’s Hollywood Hills party takes a chaotic turn as elderly stranger Helen exposes hidden truths, reigniting old flames and unearthing secrets. Rose confronts her past, leaving everyone questioning their existence and desires.
Cast: Elizabeth Reaser, Walton Goggins, Lois Smith, Eva De Dominici, Rufus Sewell, Pedro Pascal, Michael Panes, Kate Comer, Roland Rubio, Annie Kurzen (World Premiere)
Wakhri
Director/Screenwriter: Iram Parveen Bilal, Producers: Abid Aziz Merchant, Apoorva Bakshi, Iram Parveen Bilal
A school teacher becomes a viral sensation overnight when she accidentally unleashes her unabashed opinions on social media. This newfound fame comes with its own challenges as she has to navigate archaic mindsets and secret identities.
Cast: Faryal Mehmood, Gulshan Majeed, Shees Sajjad Gul, Saleem Meraj, Sohail Sameer, Bakhtawar Mazhar, Akbar Islam, Tooba Siddiqui (North American Premiere)
Yasmeen’s Element (US, Pakistan)
Director: Amman Abbasi, Producers: Amman Abbasi, Jeffrey E. Stern, Alex Nystrom, Sana Jafri, Missy Laney, Screenwriters: Amman Abbasi, Jeffrey E. Stern, Sana Jafri
After losing her homework in the winding paths of her mountain town, resourceful Yasmeen sets off alone on an unexpected journey to find her Professor.
Cast: Eeshal Fatima, Nazir Ahmed Bulbul, Abeera Rubab, Naveed Hassan (World Premiere)
DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT
Incredible features receiving their World, North American, or U.S. premieres.
7 Beats Per Minute (Canada)
Director/Screenwriter: Yuqi Kang, Producers: Ina Fichman, Sherien Barsoum
Director Yuqi Kang’s documentary captures the descent of a lifetime, when freediving champion Jessea Lu returns to the site of her near-death experience to face the traumas of her past and find a way back to connection. (World Premiere)
A King Like Me
Director: Matthew O. Henderson, Producers: Fisher Stevens, Maura Anderson, Darcy McKinnon, Terry Dugas
A King Like Me follows members of the Zulu Club, New Orleans’ first and century-old Black Mardi Gras krewe, as they work to bring Zulu back to the streets for Mardi Gras 2022. (World Premiere)
The Antisocial Network
Directors: Giorgio Angelini, Arthur Jones, Producers: Giorgio Angelini, Arthur Jones, Jordan Wynn, Andrew Fried, Dane Lillegard
From the rise of QAnon to the January 6th riots, The Antisocial Network explains how a group of bored teenagers built an online community out of their shared loneliness but accidentally shattered consensus reality in the process. (World Premiere)
Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story
Director: Charlie Hamilton James, Producer: Jeff Wilson
From National Geographic and Silverback Films, Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story is a heart-warming story of love between a wild otter and a man set in the remote Scottish islands of Shetland. (World Premiere)
Brandy Hellville & the Cult of Fast Fashion
Director: Eva Orner, Producers: Jonathan Chinn, Simon Chinn, Eva Orner
Hiding behind the shiny Instagram façade of Brandy Melville, the go-to clothing brand for young women, is a shockingly toxic culture that lies within the global fast fashion industry. (World Premiere)
Clemente
Director: David Altrogge, Producers: Mike Blizzard, Mary Sabol, Sarah Altrogge, Jocelyn Hartnett, Stephen Turselli, Keith Ayers, Andrew Calvetti, Steve Burman, Screenwriters: Elise Andert, David Altrogge
An immersive documentary about the remarkable life and legacy of MLB icon Roberto Clemente.
Cast: Vera Clemente, Rita Moreno, Roberto Clemente Jr., Michael Keaton, Luis Roberto Clemente, Bob Costas, Tom Morello, Francisco Lindor, Yadier Molina, Richard Linklater. (World Premiere)
Fly
Directors/Producers: Shaul Schwarz, Christina Clusiau
To stand on the edge and jump into the wind, one must be willing to lose everything. That could mean the love of your life, or the life you love. Over seven years, three couples in the world of BASE jumping risk everything to feel alive. (World Premiere)
The Hobby (Canada)
Director: Simon Ennis, Producers: Kim C. Roberts, Tina Pehme, Justin Rebelo
Are games the meaning of life? The Hobby is a funny, affectionate, character-driven portrait of the massive subculture of modern board games, featuring a fascinating and diverse group of subjects who find deep meaning in “meaningless” pursuits. (World Premiere)
How Music Got Free
Showrunner/Director: Alexandria Stapleton, Producers: Philip Byron, Marshall Mathers, Paul Rosenberg, LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Steve Stoute, Jamal Henderson, Bridgette Theriault, Dan Sacks, James Chapman, Steve Berman, John Janick, Anthony Seyler, Stephen Witt, Alexandria Stapleton, Bruce Gillmer, Michael Maniaci, Malik Johnson
How Music Got Free is a documentary by Alexandria Stapleton, that reveals the true story of Dell Glover, a CD factory worker turned piracy pioneer, who sparked a global file-sharing revolution. (World Premiere)
Stormy
Director: Sarah Gibson, Producers: Sarah Gibson, Erin Lee Carr, Emelia Brown
From reporters to lawyers to politicians, many have attempted to define Stormy Daniels. Stormy tells the unvarnished truth about an unlikely American icon – this time, in her own words. (World Premiere)
The Truth vs. Alex Jones
Director: Dan Reed, Producers: Dan Reed, Marguerite Gaudin
How grieving Sandy Hook families defeated conspiracy giant Alex Jones in two historic trials, holding him to account for the lies he spread about the 2012 mass shooting. Fake news on trial, with unprecedented access to a Travis County courtroom. (World Premiere)
MIDNIGHTER
Exciting after-dark features for genre lovers and the terminally curious.
Azrael
Director: E.L. Katz, Producers: Dan Kagan, Simon Barrett, Dave Caplan, Screenwriter: Simon Barrett
Many years following the apocalypse, a devout cult of mute zealots hunts down a young woman who has escaped her imprisonment.
Cast: Samara Weaving, Vic Carmen Sonne, Katariina Unt, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (World Premiere)
Family
Director/Screenwriter: Benjamin Finkel, Producers: Lynette Howell Taylor, Samantha Housman, Benjamin Finkel
Summer, 2002. Watching her sick father decline, 11-year-old Johanna makes a call for a good spirit to save him. But something else comes instead.
Cast: Ruth Wilson, Ben Chaplin, Lucinda Lee Dawson Gray, Allan Corduner (World Premiere)
Hood Witch (France)
Director: Saïd Belktibia, Producers: Ladj Ly, Screenwriters: Saïd Belktibia, Louis Penicaut
Nour makes a living from smuggling exotic animals for her city’s marabouts, wishing to get her son out of the city and offer him a better future. But an exorcism turns into a tragedy and Nour has to face a wave of violence that could cost their lives.
Cast: Golshifteh Farahani, Denis Lavant, Jérémy Ferrari, Amine Zariouhi, Issaka Sawadogo (North American Premiere)
Hunting Daze (Canada)
Director/Screenwriter: Annick Blanc, Producers: Maria Gracia Turgeon, Annick Blanc
Nina, a young, tempestuous woman, is taken in by a group of hunters in a remote cabin. In the midst of this tough, yet endearing, male microsociety, she feels like she finally belongs. A mysterious stranger’s arrival disrupts her newfound haven.
Cast: Nahéma Ricci, Bruno Marcil, Frédéric Millaire-Zouvi, Marc Beaupré, Alexandre Landry, Maxime Genois, Noubi Ndiaye (World Premiere)
It’s What’s Inside
Director/Screenwriter: Greg Jardin, Producers: William Rosenfeld, Jason Baum, Kate Andrews, Raúl Domingo
A pre-wedding party descends into an existential nightmare when an estranged friend shows up with a mysterious suitcase.
Cast: Brittany O’Grady, James Morosini, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Devon Terrell, Gavin Leatherwood, Reina Hardesty, Nina Bloomgarden, David Thompson (Texas Premiere)
Kryptic (Canada, United Kingdom)
Director: Kourtney Roy, Producers: Amber Ripley, Sophie Venner, Josh Huculiak, Screenwriter: Paul Bromley
Kryptic is a psycho-thriller about a woman’s search for a missing monster hunter and her growing realization that she is inescapably linked to the creature being pursued.
Cast: Chloe Pirrie, Jeff Gladstone, Jason Deline, Ali Rusu-Tahir, Christina Meredith Lewall, Patti Allen, Pam Kearns, Jennifer Copping (World Premiere)
Oddity (Ireland)
Director/Screenwriter: Damian McCarthy, Producers: Katie Holly, Laura Tunstall, Evan Horan, Mette-Marie Kongsved
In this new supernatural spectacle from Caveat’s Damian McCarthy, a blind medium uncovers the truth behind her sister’s death with the help of a frightening wooden mannequin.
Cast: Gwilym Lee, Carolyn Bracken, Tadhg Murphy, Caroline Menton, Steve Wall, Jonathan French, Joe Rooney (World Premiere)
Things Will Be Different
Director/Screenwriter: Michael Felker, Producers: Shane Spiegel, Jacob Rosenthal, Michael Felker
In order to escape police after a robbery, two estranged siblings lay low in a metaphysical farmhouse that hides them away in a different time. There they reckon with a mysterious force that pushes their familial bonds to unnatural breaking points.
Cast: Adam David Thompson, Riley Dandy, Chloe Skoczen, Justin Benson, Sarah Bolger, Jori Lynn Felker (World Premiere)
VISIONS
Audacious, risk-taking artists who demonstrate innovation and creativity.
7 Keys (UK)
Director/Screenwriter: Joy Wilkinson, Producers: Cassandra Sigsgaard, Dylan Rees
Daniel has kept the keys to all the places he’s lived. Lena wants to use them for a wild weekend getting to know each other intimately in other people’s homes. But what begins as a risky fantasy soon becomes a deadly threat.
Cast: Emma McDonald, Billy Postlethwaite, Kaylen Luke, Joey Akubeze, Amit Shah, Jane Goddard (World Premiere)
Adrianne & The Castle (Canada)
Director: Shannon Walsh, Producer: Ina Fichman, Screenwriters: Shannon Walsh, Laurel Sprengelmyer
Adrianne & The Castle is an inventive, musical documentary about grief and the creative power of love, told through the astonishing story of Alan and Adrianne St-George and their hand-built castle in rural Illinois. (World Premiere)
Birdeater (Australia)
Directors: Jack Clark, Jim Weir, Producers: Stephanie Troost, Ulysses Oliver, Screenwriter: Jack Clark
When a bride-to-be is invited to her own fiancé’s bachelor party in the Australian outback, a night to remember takes a feral turn.
Cast: Shabana Azeez, Mackenzie Fearnley, Ben Hunter, Jack Bannister, Clementine Anderson, Alfie Gledhill, Harley Wilson, Caroline McQuade (International Premiere)
Dead Mail
Directors/Screenwriters: Kyle McConaghy, Joe DeBoer, Producers: Zachary Weil, Brett Arndt
An ominous, bloody help note finds its way to the desk of a seasoned “dead letter” investigator at a 1980’s Midwestern post office, leading him down a violent, unforeseen path to a kidnapped keyboard engineer and his demented business associate.
Cast: Sterling Macer, Jr., John Fleck, Susan Priver, Micki Jackson, Nick Heyman, Tomas Boykin (World Premiere)
Doppelgängers³ (US, Algeria, Armenia, France, UK)
Director/Screenwriter: Nelly Ben Hayoun- Stépanian, Producers: Sandra Leeming, Luke Moody, Victoria Adams, Amina Castaing, Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian
Three doppelgängers meet in outer space to imagine diasporic and eco-feminist futures. (World Premiere)
Dory Previn: On My Way To Where
Directors: Julia Greenberg, Dianna Dilworth, Producer: Amy Hobby
A documentary about Dory Previn, an MGM lyricist and influential 1970s cult singer-songwriter who famously goes public about her schizophrenia diagnosis, ultimately accepting her voices and anticipating a modern-day neurodiversity movement. (World Premiere)
Sew Torn (US, Switzerland)
Director: Freddy Macdonald, Screenwriters: Freddy Macdonald, Fred Macdonald, Producers: Fred Macdonald, Barry Navidi, Sebastian Klinger, Diamantis Zavitsanos, Socratis Zavitsanos
A seamstress gets tangled in her own thread after stealing a briefcase from a drug deal gone bad. In an escalating game of cat and mouse, her different choices lead to drastically different outcomes along the way.
Cast: Eve Connolly, Calum Worthy, John Lynch, K Callan, Ron Cook, Thomas Douglas, Werner Biermeier, Veronika Herren-Wenger, Caroline Goodall (World Premiere)
Songs from the Hole
Director: Contessa Gayles, Producers: Contessa Gayles, Richie Reseda, David Felix Sutcliffe, Screenwriters: James “JJ’88” Jacobs, Contessa Gayles
An incarcerated musician struggles for healing and peace as he comes of age in this documentary visual album composed behind bars. (World Premiere)
The Trouble With Mr Doodle (United Kingdom)
Directors: Ed Perkins, Jaimie D’Cruz, Producers: Simon Chinn, Jonathan Chinn
This is the story of an extraordinary boy born into an ordinary family in an unremarkable English town and how a childhood passion threatened to take over his life, his home and his mind. (World Premiere)
24 BEATS PER SECOND
Vibrant films showcasing the sounds, culture and influence of music and musicians.
Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story (Canada)
Directors/Screenwriters: Michael Mabbott, Lucah Rosenberg-Lee, Producers: Amanda Burt, Sam Dunn, Scot McFadyen, Michael Mabbott, Justine Pimlott
Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story reveals the extraordinary rise, sudden disappearance, and resurgence of trailblazing Black trans soul singer Jackie Shane. (World Premiere)
Billy Preston: That’s The Way God Planned It
Director: Paris Barclay, Producers: Stephanie Allain Bray, Jeanne Elfant Festa, Nigel Sinclair, Screenwriters: Cheo Hodari Coker, Paris Barclay
Billy Preston: That’s the Way God Planned It is a celebration of Billy Preston’s extraordinary musical legacy, and an examination of the personal and social forces that haunted him throughout his life.
Cast: Billy Preston, Eric Clapton, Billy Porter, Merry Clayton, Ringo Starr, Olivia Harrison, Suzanne de Passe, Tony Jones, Cory Henry, Gloria Jones (World Premiere)
Dandelion
Director/Screenwriter: Nicole Riegel, Producers: Rian Cahill, Adam Cobb, Nicole Riegel, Peter McClellan
Dandelion follows a singer-songwriter in a downward spiral as she takes a last effort gig at a motorcycle rally in South Dakota where she meets Casey, a guitarist who walked away from his dream long ago.
Cast: Kiki Layne, Thomas Doherty, Melanie Nicholls-King, Brady Stablein, Jack Stablein, Grace Kaiser (World Premiere)
Diane Warren: Relentless
Director: Bess Kargman, Producers: Michele Farinola, Peggy Drexler, Bess Kargman
Diane Warren: Relentless unveils the mystique and defiant personality behind one of the hardest-working and successful songwriters music has ever known.
Cast: Clive Davis, Common, Gloria Estefan, Jerry Bruckheimer, Jennifer Hudson, Cher, Randy Jackson, Quincy Jones (World Premiere)
Faders Up: The John Aielli Experience
Directors: David Hartstein, Sam Wainwright Douglas, Producer: Shelby Hadden
A cinematic collage much like the style of his free form radio shows, Faders Up explores the extraordinary life and legacy of iconic KUTX Austin radio host, John Aielli. (World Premiere)
Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told
Director: P. Frank Williams
Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told is a celebratory exploration of the boisterous times of Freaknik, the iconic Atlanta street party that drew hundreds of thousands of people in the 80s and 90s, helping put Atlanta on the map culturally.
Featuring: 21 Savage, Too $hort, Jermaine Dupri, Killer Mike, Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell, Ceelo Green, Jalen Rose, Kenny Burns, Lil Jon, Legendary Jerry, Sharon Toomer, Emma Horton, Monique Tolliver, Amadi Boon, Stacy Lloyd (World Premiere)
Mogwai: If The Stars Had A Sound (United Kingdom)
Director: Antony Crook, Producer: Kyrie Barker
When a pioneering band stays true to their roots and follows their own path, the outcome is ‘bigger than words and wider than pictures’. (World Premiere)
Omar and Cedric: If This Ever Gets Weird (Germany)
Director: Nicolas Jack Davies, Producer: Johann Scheerer
A film charting the artistic and personal relationship between Omar Rodríguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala (At the Drive-In / The Mars Volta) told almost entirely through hundreds of hours of self shot footage filmed by Omar over the last 40 years. (North American Premiere)
This is a Film About The Black Keys
Director: Jeff Dupre, Producers: Carter Little, Jeff Dupre, Elizabeth Gregory
This is a Film About The Black Keys traces Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney’s remarkable journey from two neighborhood kids jamming in a basement in Akron, Ohio to rock ’n roll super-stardom. (World Premiere)
The World According to Allee Willis
Director: Alexis Spraic, Producer: Nicholas Coles
Songwriter/artist Allee Willis began filming her life as a kid in 1950s Detroit and never stopped. She pursued creative expression at all costs while struggling with not fitting established gender and sexual norms until she found a path to love.
Cast: Mark Cuban, Cyndi Lauper, Lily Tomlin, Paul Reubens, Michael Patrick King, Patti LaBelle, Pet Shop Boys, Pamela Adlon, Paul Feig, Mark Mothersbaugh (World Premiere)
GLOBAL
Artful international films, featuring premieres, festival favorites, and more.
Bionico’s Bachata (Dominican Republic)
Director: Yoel Morales, Producer: Cristian Mojica, Screenwriters: Cristian Mojica, Yoel Morales
Bionico is a hopeless romantic addicted to crack, who must take control of his life before his fiancée leaves a rehabilitation center. A raw vision of love in a hostile Caribbean city.
Cast: Manuel Raposo, Ana Minier, El Napo, Yasser Michelen, Barbara Plaza, Donis Tavaras (World Premiere)
Krzyk – Losing Control (Germany)
Director: Ewa Wikiel, Producer: Ibrahim-Utku Erdogan, Screenwriters: Halina Rasinski, Ewa Wikiel
When a young bacteriologist witnesses a car accident, she becomes entangled in the life of the deceased, which triggers the suppressed loss of her unborn child.
Cast: Gina Henkel, Anton Weil, Pawel Delag, Wiktoria Gorodecka, Natalia Mateo, Marek Pys (International Premiere)
Malta (Argentina, Colombia, Norway)
Director/Screenwriter: Natalia Santa, Producer: Kiran Fernandes
Mariana is young, systematic, unattached and wants to go far away. Malta is her destination. Before she gets there, inspired by an improbable love affair, she will make another trip, one inside herself.
Cast: Estefanía Piñeres, Patricia Tamayo, Emmanuel Restrepo, Diego Cremonesi (World Premiere)
My Sextortion Diary (Spain)
Director/Screenwriter: Patricia Franquesa, Producers: Patricia Franquesa, Mireia Graell
The thriller documentary about how Pati, the film’s director, embarks in a digital blackmail situation after her computer is stolen. (World Premiere)
Natatorium (Iceland)
Director/Screenwriter: Helena Stefánsdóttir, Producers: Sunna Guðnadóttir, Heather Millard, Julia Elomäki
A young girl stays with her estranged grandparents in the city while she auditions for an art group. When the family gathers after a long time to celebrate the girl’s acceptance into the group, an ugly family secret emerges.
Cast: Ilmur María Arnarsdóttir, Arnar Dan Kristjánsson, Elin Petersdottir, Kristín Pétursdóttir, Stefania Berndsen, Stormur Jón Kormákur Baltasarsson, Jónas Alfreð Birkisson, Valur Freyr Einarsson (North American Premiere)
FESTIVAL FAVORITE
Acclaimed standouts from festivals around the world.
Black Box Diaries (US, Japan, UK)
Director: Shiori Ito, Producers: Eric Nyari, Hanna Aqvilin, Shiori Ito
Journalist Shiori Ito embarks on a courageous investigation of her own sexual assault in an improbable attempt to prosecute her high-profile offender. (Texas Premiere)
Dìdi (弟弟)
Director/Screenwriter: Sean Wang, Producers: Carlos López Estrada, Josh Peters, Valerie Bush, Sean Wang
In 2008, during the last month of summer before high school begins, an impressionable 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy learns what his family can’t teach him: how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love your mom.
Cast: Izaac Wang, Joan Chen, Shirley Chen, Chang Li Hua (Texas Premiere)
Every Little Thing (Australia)
Director/Screenwriter: Sally Aitken, Producers: Bettina Dalton, Anna Godas, Oli Harbottle
All that stands between a wounded hummingbird and its survival is Terry Masear, the busiest hummingbird rehabilitator in Hollywood. Follow Terry’s unique mission to heal these tiny birds, and how in turn she shows us how to heal ourselves. (Texas Premiere)
Gasoline Rainbow
Directors: Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross, Producers: Michael Gottwald, Carlos Zozaya, Claire Haley, Joanne Feinberg, Lauren Cargo, Jesy Buhl, Olivia Lloyd
Five small-town teenagers embark on one last adventure by van, boat, train, and foot, careening into the new frontier of adulthood as they search for the mysterious Party at the End of the World.
Cast: Makai Garza, Micah Bunch, Tony Aburto, Nichole Dukes, Nathalie Garcia (North American Premiere)
Ghostlight
Directors: Kelly O’Sullivan, Alex Thompson, Producers: Alex Thompson, Chelsea Krant, Pierce Cravens, Ian Keiser, Eddie Linker, Alex Wilson, Screenwriter: Kelly O’Sullivan
When a construction worker unwittingly joins a local theater’s production of Romeo and Juliet, the drama onstage starts to mirror his own life.
Cast: Keith Kupferer, Dolly De Leon, Katherine Mallen-Kupferer, Tara Mallen (Texas Premiere)
Girls Will Be Girls (India)
Director/Screenwriter: Shuchi Talati, Producers: Richa Chadha, Claire Chassagne, Shuchi Talati
16-year-old Mira finds her sexy, rebellious coming-of-age hijacked by her mother who never got to come of age herself.
Cast: Preeti Panigrahi, Kani Kusruti, Kesav Binoy Kiran (Texas Premiere)
I Saw The TV Glow
Director/Screenwriter: Jane Schoenbrun, Producers: Emma Stone, Ali Herting, Dave McCary, Kevin Kelly, Sam Intilli, Sarah Winshall
Owen is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate introduces him to a mysterious TV show — a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to crack.
Cast: Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Ian Foreman, Helena Howard, Fred Durst, Danielle Deadwyler (Texas Premiere)
Kneecap (Ireland, UK)
Director/Screenwriter: Rich Peppiatt, Producers: Trevor Birney, Jack Tarling
There are 80,000 native Irish speakers in Ireland. 6,000 live in the North of Ireland. Three of them became a rap group called Kneecap. This is the real life story of how this anarchic Belfast trio became the unlikely figureheads of a civil rights movement to save their mother tongue.
Cast: Naoise Ó Cairealláin aka “Móglaí Bap”, Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh aka “Mo Chara”, JJ Ó Dochartaigh aka “Dj Provaí”, Josie Walker, Fionnuala Flaherty, Jessica Reynolds, Adam Best, Simone Kirby, Michael Fassbender (Texas Premiere)
Love Machina
Director: Peter Sillen, Producers: Brendan Doyle, Peter Sillen
Love Machina follows Bina48, a humanoid AI, commissioned in 2007 by Martine and Bina Rothblatt. An early sketch of potential digital consciousness, Bina48 is our vehicle to explore the Rothblatt’s futurist ideas and their quest to be in love forever. (Texas Premiere)
The Moogai (Australia)
Director/Screenwriter: Jon Bell, Producers: Kristina Ceyton, Samantha Jennings
The Moogai is the story of a family terrorized by a child-stealing spirit.
Cast: Shari Sebbens, Meyne Wyatt, Tessa Rose, Clarence Ryan, Toby Leonard Moore, Bella Heathcote (Texas Premiere)
Never Look Away (New Zealand)
Director: Lucy Lawless, Producers: Matthew Metcalfe, Lucy Lawless, Tom Blackwell, Screenwriters: Matthew Metcalfe, Tom Blackwell, Lucy Lawless, Whetham Allpress
New Zealand born, ground-breaking CNN camerawoman Margaret Moth, risks it all to show the reality of war from inside the conflict. Moth stares down danger and she confronts those that perpetuate it. (Texas Premiere)
Pet Shop Days (Italy, UK, US)
Director: Olmo Schnabel, Producers: Galen Core, Francesco Melzi, Alex Coco, Bebe Moratti, Marie Savare, Olmo Schnabel, Screenwriters: Olmo Schnabel, Galen Core, Jack Irv
Impulsive black sheep Alejandro and pet store employee Jack, enter a whirlwind romance that sends them down the rabbit hole of depravity in Manhattan’s underworld.
Cast: Jack Irv, Dario Yazeb Bernal, Willem Dafoe, Peter Sarsgaard, Jordi Molla, Louis Cancelmi, Maribel Verdu (Texas Premiere)
The Queen of My Dreams (Canada)
Director/Screenwriter: Fawzia Mirza, Producers: Andria Wilson Mirza, Jason Levangie, Marc Tetreault
When Azra’s father suddenly dies on a trip home to Pakistan, she finds herself on a Bollywood-inspired journey through memories, both real and imagined; from her estranged mother’s youth in Karachi to her own coming of age in rural Canada.
Cast: Amrit Kaur, Hamza Haq, Nimra Bucha, Ayana Manji, Gul-e-Rana, Meher Jaffri, Ali A. Kazmi (U.S. Premiere)
Sasquatch Sunset
Directors: David Zellner, Nathan Zellner, Producers: Tyler Campellone, Lars Knudsen, George Rush, Screenwriter: David Zellner
A year in the life of a singular family.
Cast: Riley Keough, Jesse Eisenberg, Christophe Zajac-Denek, Nathan Zellner (Texas Premiere)
Sing Sing
Director: Greg Kwedar, Producers: Monique Walton, Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Screenwriters: Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar
A theater troupe finds escape from the realities of incarceration through the creativity of putting on a play in this film based on a real-life rehabilitation program and featuring a cast that includes formerly incarcerated actors.
Cast: Colman Domingo, Clarence Maclin, Paul Raci, Sean San José (U.S. Premiere)
Smugglers (Republic of Korea)
Director: Ryoo Seung-wan, Producers: Kang Hye-jung, Cho Sung-min, Ryoo Seung-wan, Screenwriters: Ryoo Seung-wan, Kim Jung-youn, Choi Cha-won
Two women get unexpectedly caught up in a high stakes smuggling scheme in 1970’s Korea.
Cast: Kim Hye-soo, Yum Jung-ah, Zo In-sung, Park Jeong-min, Kim Jong-soo, Go Min-si (U.S. Premiere)
Toll (Brazil)
Director/Screenwriter: Carolina Markowicz, Producers: Karen Castanho, Luis Urbano, Fernando Fraiha, Bianca Villar, Sandro Aguilar, Carolina Markowicz
Suellen, a toll booth attendant, realizes she can use her job to raise some extra money illegally. But this is only for a so-called noble cause: to send her son to an expensive gay conversion workshop led by a renowned foreign priest.
Cast: Maeve Jinkings, Kauan Alvarenga, Thomás Aquino, Aline Marta Maia, Isac Graça (U.S. Premiere)
Click here to see the full lineup including Television and VR. What do you think of this year’s lineup? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or on our Twitter account.
