Danielle Solzman
The 2019 SXSW Film Festival announced the rest of the lineup, including the announcement that Pet Sematary would be closing the film festival. Today’s announcement includes Midnighters, Festival Favorites, Shorts, Episodic Pilot Competition, Virtual Cinema, Music Video and Title Design lineup, plus late-addition Features and the Closing Night Film for the 26th edition of the Festival, running March 8-17, 2019 in Austin, Texas.
This year’s program encompasses 131 Feature Films including 101 World Premieres, 9 North American Premieres, 3 US Premieres, and 64 films from first-time filmmakers,101 Short Films (including music videos), 5 Episodic Premieres, 12 Episodic Pilots, 25 Virtual Cinema Projects, and 30 Title Design entries.
Additions to the 2019 SXSW Film Festival lineup include:
FEATURES
MIDNIGHTERS
Scary, funny, sexy, controversial – ten provocative after-dark features for night owls and the terminally curious.
7 Reasons to Run Away (From Society) (Spain)
Directors: Esteve Soler, Gerard Quinto, David Torras, Screenwriter: Esteve Soler
7 Reasons to Run Away takes a critical look at today’s society and puts the values it transmits into question. Cast: Sergi Lopez, Emma Suarez, Lola Dueñas, Alex Brendemuhl, Alain Hernandez, Francesc Orella (World Premiere)
Body At Brighton Rock
Director/Screenwriter: Roxanne Benjamin
An inexperienced park employee discovers a body on a remote mountain trail and must stay with it overnight in the wilderness, facing her darkest fears in the process. Cast: Karina Fontes, Casey Adams, Emily Althaus, Brodie Reed, Martin Spanjers, John Getz, Miranda Bailey, Susan Burke, Matt Peters (World Premiere)
Boyz in the Wood (United Kingdom, U.S.)
Director/Screenwriter: Ninian Doff
When four city-bred schoolboys embark on a traditional Duke of Edinburgh Award camping trip that takes them deep into the Scottish Highlands, they find themselves chased by a deranged masked couple with aims of culling this teenaged “wildlife”. Cast: Eddie Izzard, Kate Dickie, James Cosmo, Kevin Guthrie, Jonathan Aris, Alice Lowe, Samuel Bottomley, Viraj Juneja, Rian Gordon, Lewis Gribben (World Premiere)
Daniel Isn’t Real
Director: Adam Egypt Mortimer, Screenwriters: Brian DeLeeuw, Adam Egypt Mortimer
Troubled Luke suffers a violent family trauma and resurrects his childhood imaginary friend to help him cope. Charismatic and full of manic energy, “Daniel” helps Luke to achieve his dreams, before pushing him into a desperate fight for his own soul. Cast: Patrick Schwarzenegger, Miles Robbins, Sasha Lane, Hannah Marks, Mary Stuart Masterson (World Premiere)
Darlin’
Director/Screenwriter: Pollyanna McIntosh
In this visually inventive sequel to The Woman, a feral teenage girl is taken into strict Catholic care and prepared for her First Holy Communion. Cast: Lauryn Canny, Bryan Batt, Nora-Jane Noone, Cooper Andrews, Pollyanna McIntosh(World Premiere)
Girl On The Third Floor
Director/Screenwriter: Travis Stevens
Don Koch tries to renovate a rundown house with a sordid history for his growing family, only to learn that the house has other plans. Cast: Phil Brooks, Trieste Kelly Dunn, Sarah Brooks, Elissa Dowling, Karen Woditsch, Travis Delgado, Marshall Bean, Anish Jethmalani, Bishop Stevens, Tonya Kay (World Premiere)
I See You (United Kingdom, U.S.)
Director: Adam Randall, Screenwriter: Devon Graye
Strange occurrences plague a small town detective and his family as he investigates the disappearance of a young boy. Cast: Helen Hunt, Jon Tenney, Judah Lewis, Owen Teague, Libe Barer, Greg Alan Williams, Erika Alexander, Allison King (World Premiere)
Snatchers
Directors: Stephen Cedars, Benji Kleiman, Screenwriters: Stephen Cedars, Benji Kleiman, Scott Yacyshyn
After a popular teen has sex for the first time, she finds herself pregnant — with an alien. With no one to turn to but her nerdy ex-best-friend, she’ll have to risk her neck — and social status — to fight the freaky extraterrestrial threat. Cast: Mary Nepi, Gabrielle Elyse, Austin Fryberger, JJ Nolan, Nick Gomez, Ashley Argota, Amy Arburn, Amy Landecker, Rich Fulcher (World Premiere)
Tales from the Lodge (United Kingdom)
Director/Screenwriter: Abigail Blackmore
When a group of old friends spend the night telling stories of murders, ghosts, zombies and possessions they soon become aware of another tale unfolding around them. And this one is real. Cast: Mackenzie Crook, Dustin Demri-Burns, Laura Fraser, Sophie Thompson, Johnny Vegas, Kelly Wenham (World Premiere)
Tone-Deaf
Director/Screenwriter: Richard Bates, Jr.
Two generations collide with terrifying results in this home invasion horror film that is also a darkly comedic critique of the bizarre cultural and political climates in the United States. Cast: Amanda Crew, Robert Patrick, Kim Delaney, Hayley Marie-Norman, Ray Wise, Johnny Pemberton, Keisha Castle-Hughes, AnnaLynne McCord, Nelson Franklin, Ronnie Gene-Blevins (World Premiere)
FESTIVAL FAVORITES
Acclaimed standouts and selected premieres from festivals around the world.
Apollo 11
Director: Todd Douglas Miller
A look at the Apollo 11 mission to land on the moon led by commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin.
Aquarela (Germany, United Kingdom)
Director: Victor Kossakovsky, Screenwriters: Victor Kossakovsky, Aimara Reques
Aquarela is a deeply cinematic journey through the transformative beauty and raw power of water. Filmed at 96 frames per second, it’s a visceral wake-up call that humans are no match for the sheer force and will of Earth’s most precious element.
Greener Grass
Directors/Screenwriters: Jocelyn DeBoer, Dawn Luebbe
A deliciously twisted comedy set in a demented, timeless suburbia where every adult wears braces on their straight teeth, couples coordinate meticulously pressed outfits, and coveted family members are swapped in more ways than one in this competition for acceptance. Cast: Jocelyn DeBoer, Dawn Luebbe, Beck Bennett, Neil Casey, Mary Holland, D’Arcy Carden, Dot-Marie Jones, Janicza Bravo, Jim Cummings, Lauren Adams
Her Smell
Director/Screenwriter: Alex Ross Perry
A self-destructive punk rocker struggles with sobriety while trying to recapture the creative inspiration that led her band to success. Cast: Elisabeth Moss, Cara Delevingne, Dan Stevens, Amber Heard, Agyness Deyn, Gayle Rankin, Ashley Benson, Eric Stoltz, Dylan Gelula
The Hottest August (Canada, U.S.)
Director: Brett Story
A film about climate change, disguised as a portrait of collective anxiety.
The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley
Director/Screenwriter: Alex Gibney
Elizabeth Holmes was once the world’s youngest self-made billionaire, heralded as the next Steve Jobs. Then, overnight, her $10-billion-dollar company dissolved. The rise and fall of Theranos is a window into the psychology of fraud.
Knock Down the House
Director: Rachel Lears Screenwriters: Rachel Lears, Robin Blotnick
Four women run for Congress, overcoming personal adversity to battle powerful political machines across the country. One of their races will change the country forever.
Little Monsters (Australia)
Director/Screenwriter: Abe Forsythe
A washed-up musician teams up with a plucky schoolteacher and a despicable kid’s show personality to protect a Kindergarten class from a sudden outbreak of zombies. Cast: Lupita Nyong’o, Alexander England, Josh Gad
Maiden (United Kingdom)
Director/Screenwriter: Alex Holmes
In a moving portrait of resilience, Alex Holmes chronicles the unprecedented journey of 24-year-old Tracy Edwards and the first all-female sailing crew to enter the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race.
The Mountain
Director: Rick Alverson, Screenwriters: Rick Alverson, Dustin Guy Defa, Colm O’Leary
A well known physician, in the decline of his career, takes a young man on a desperate tour of rural mid-century hospitals, advocating for a new controversial procedure. Cast: Tye Sheridan, Jeff Goldblum, Hannah Gross, Denis Lavant, Udo Kier
Pahokee
Directors: Ivete Lucas, Patrick Bresnan
In a small agricultural town in the Florida Everglades, hopes for the future are concentrated on the youth. Four teens face heartbreak and celebrate in the rituals of an extraordinary senior year.
Raise Hell: The Life & Times of Molly Ivins
Director: Janice Engel, Screenwriters: Janice Engel, Monique Zavistovski
Six-feet of Texas trouble, Molly Ivins, a legendary journalist and a warrior for the Bill of Rights, fought Good Old Boy corruption with razor-sharp wit that left both sides of the aisle laughing and craving ink in her columns. Raise Hell y’all!
Sister Aimee
Directors/Screenwriters: Samantha Buck, Marie Schlingmann
After faking her own death, America’s most famous evangelist finds herself on a wild road trip towards Mexico, haunted not only by the police but by her own persona. Cast: Anna Margaret Hollyman, Michael Mosley, Andrea Suarez Paz, Julie White, Amy Hargreaves, Macon Blair, Lee Eddy, Blake Delong, John Merriman, Nathan Zellner
Them That Follow
Directors/Screenwriters: Britt Poulton, Dan Madison Savage
Set deep in the wilds of Appalachia, where believers handle death-dealing snakes to prove themselves before God, Them That Follow tells the story of a pastor’s daughter who holds a secret that threatens to tear her community apart. Cast: Olivia Colman, Kaitlyn Dever, Alice Englert, Jim Gaffigan, Walton Goggins, Thomas Mann, Lewis Pullman
The Weekend
Director/Screenwriter: Stella Meghie
A comedian hauls the baggage of her defunct relationship on a weekend getaway with friends, which happens to include her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend.Cast: Sasheer Zamata, Tone Bell, Dewanda Wise, Y’Lan Noel, Kym Whitley
Additional Features added to the lineup:
HEADLINERS
Big names, big talent: Headliners bring star power to SXSW, featuring red carpet premieres and gala film events with major and rising names in cinema.
The Curse of La Llorona
Director: Michael Chaves, Screenwriters: Mikki Daughtry, Tobias Iaconis
In 1970s Los Angeles, La Llorona is stalking the night…and the children. Ignoring the eerie warning of a troubled mother, a social worker is soon drawn into a terrifying supernatural realm, with the lives and souls of her own kids at stake.Cast: Linda Cardellini, Raymond Cruz, Patricia Velasquez, Marisol Ramirez, Sean Patrick Thomas, Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen, Roman Christou (World Premiere)
Pet Sematary
Directors: Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer, Screenwriter: Jeff Buhler
Based on the seminal horror novel by Stephen King. The new Pet Sematary trailer premieres online tomorrow! Click here to be one of the first to see it. Cast List: Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, Jeté Laurence, Hugo Lavoie, Lucas Lavoie, John Lithgow
Stuber (Work-in-Progress)
Director: Michael Dowse, Screenwriter: Tripper Clancy
When a mild-mannered Uber driver (Kumail Nanjiani) picks up a cop (Dave Bautista) hot on the trail of a brutal killer, he’s thrust into a harrowing ordeal where he has to keep his wits, his life and his five-star rating. Cast: Kumail Nanjiani, Dave Bautista, Iko Uwais, Natalie Morales, Betty Gilpin, Jimmy Tatro, with Mira Sorvino and Karen Gillan
DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT
Shining a light on new documentary features receiving their World, North American or U.S. premieres at SXSW.
I Am Richard Pryor
Director/Screenwriter: Jesse James Miller
I Am Richard Pryor tells the life story of the legendary performer and iconic social satirist, who transcended race and social barriers by delivering his honest irreverent and biting humor to America’s stages and living rooms until his death at 65. (World Premiere)
Salvage
Director: Amy C. Elliott
The Yellowknife dump, and its massive, unrestricted salvage area, has long played a central role in this remote Canadian city’s civic and social life. Can a colorful group of thrifty locals save it from city bureaucrats determined to close it down? (World Premiere)
State of Pride
Director/Screenwriters: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
Fifty years after the Stonewall uprising, Oscar winning filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman travel to three diverse communities – Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama – for an unflinching look at LGBTQ Pride. (World Premiere)
24 BEATS PER SECOND
Showcasing the sounds, culture and influence of music and musicians, with an emphasis on documentary.
Iris: A Space Opera by Justice (France)
Directors: Andre Chemetoff, Armand Beraud
Iris is a film adaptation of Justice’s Woman World Wide live show from 2017-2018, which is widely regarded as the greatest live electronic concert created. Recorded in an empty and invisible space, Iris focuses on the impressive production and music. (World Premiere)
SPECIAL EVENTS
Live soundtracks, cult re-issues and much more. Our Special Events section offers unusual, unexpected and unique one-off film events.
Broad City Finale Screening
Created by, written by and starring Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer, the critically acclaimed Broad City follows Abbi and Ilana as they navigate life in New York, capturing their hookups, relationships, crappy jobs, and, ultimately, their badass friendship. In the final season, Ilana starts her own business and learns about her ancestors, while Abbi turns 30 and…tries to pull off a hat. And finally, we say goodbye to Abbi, Ilana and this iconic series. Join Abbi and IIana for a special sneak screening of the final three episodes of the series. Cast: Abbi Jacobson, Ilana Glazer, Arturo Castro, John Gemberling, Hannibal Buress, Paul W. Downs, Susie Essman.
Cobra Kai Season 2 Outdoor Screening
We are proud to present a special screening of the second season of Cobra Kai, the hit YouTube Premium Original Series, starring Ralph Macchio and William Zabka. Exclusively premiering at SXSW, YouTube and Sony Pictures Television will screen the first two episodes of the second season followed by a Q&A panel with series stars Ralph Macchio (Daniel LaRusso), William Zabka (Johnny Lawrence) and Martin Kove (Kreese) along with the Cobra Kai series creators and executive producers Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg.
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate SXSW Event
Showrunner and best-selling author Neil Gaiman is joined by director Douglas Mackinnon and cast including Michael Sheen, David Tennant, and Jon Hamm to give attendees the most in-depth look at Good Omens to date and watch never-before-seen exclusive clips from the entire series. The six-episode series coming to Amazon Prime Video is based on the beloved satirical novel Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Good Omens is a dark, comedic story set in modern-day Britain that centers on a fussy angel Aziraphale (played by Sheen) and the loose-living demon Crowley (played by Tennant) as they join forces to prevent the coming of the Apocalypse.
SHORTS PROGRAM
NARRATIVE SHORTS
A selection of original, well-crafted films that take advantage of the short form and exemplify distinctive and genuine storytelling.
Bodega
Director/Screenwriter: Rebecca Halfon
A Syrian deli owner and two teen girls with a fake ID find common ground on one winter night in Brooklyn. (World Premiere)
Framework (Switzerland)
Director: Jasmin Gordon, Screenwriter: Julien Bouissoux
It’s summertime in rural France. A charismatic stranger happens upon three teenage boys. He has a gun in his car. Are they ready to go for a ride? (North American Premiere)
Fuck You (Sweden)
Director/Screenwriter: Anette Sidor
Alice is together with Johannes but she doesn’t have enough space to be herself. On a night out with friends, she steals a strap-on and challenges her boyfriend’s thoughts about girls.
Heroines
Director: Katia Badalian, Screenwriters: Sara Bower, Katia Badalian
A young girl with blooming awareness, Nina, interacts with her crass neighbor who explains the tangled world of intimacy and love. Drawing on her own experiences, Nina understands more than she thought.
Incel
Director/Screenwriter: John Merizalde
After countless failed attempts at finding love, a reclusive young man turns to an anonymous community of the “involuntarily celibate” for help, but instead finds himself increasingly pushed towards extremism.
The Jog
Director/Screenwriter: Joseph Lee Anderson
A man gets the news of a lifetime, but his morning jog doesn’t go as planned. (World Premiere)
Lavender
Director/Screenwriter: Matthew Puccini
A young gay man grows increasingly entangled in the marriage of an older couple.
Liberty
Director/Screenwriter: Faren Humes
Alex and Milagros deal with great life upheaval as they prepare to dance at their community’s redevelopment groundbreaking ceremony. (World Premiere)
Little Grey Bubbles (Canada)
Director/Screenwriter: Charles Wahl
Devastated by her best friend’s death, Kim travels from NYC to Canada to attend his funeral. There she meets his family and friends and awkwardly tries to explain how she had never met him in person because their friendship was exclusively online. (North American Premiere)
Lockdown
Directors/Screenwriters: Celine Held, Logan George
Struggling with feelings for her best friend, 14 year-old Marie stages an almost perfect plan.
Manila is Full of Men Named Boy
Director: Andrew Stephen Lee, Screenwriters: Andrew Stephen Lee, Neda Jebelli, Emre Gulcan
An estranged son buys a child that can drink and smoke to impress his father. However, when the patriarch embraces his new grandson as the favorite, what determines who is more valuable of attention? (U.S. Premiere)
May
Director/Screenwriter: Julian Turner
A weary white French professor and a young black drug dealer share an impalpable connection on a single night in Philadelphia. (World Premiere)
Milton
Director/Screenwriter: Tim Wilkime
A guy makes a bad first impression when he meets his girlfriend’s family as they gather at her grandfather’s deathbed. (World Premiere)
Nice Talking to You
Director: Saim Sadiq, Screenwriters: Saim Sadiq, Joseph Capotorto
Two strangers form a silent bond in the world’s loudest city. (World Premiere)
The Orphan (Brazil)
Director/Screenwriter: Carolina Markowicz
Jonathas has been adopted but then returned due to his ‘different’ way. Inspired by true events.
Outdooring
Director/Screenwriter: Maxwell Addae
A young man attends his new nephew’s baby naming ceremony with a plan to steal the money collected from family and friends to run away and keep a deep secret hidden from them. (World Premiere)
Snare (Australia)
Director: Madeleine Gottlieb, Screenwriters: Madeleine Gottlieb, James Fraser
It’s 1997. Distorted guitars rule the world. In an ageing Chinese restaurant, a father and his punk-rock son struggle with their familial roles as they realise they each desperately need something from one other. (World Premiere)
Something Like Loneliness
Directors: Seth Epstein, Ben Epstein, Screenwriters; Seth Epstein, Ryan Dowler
Upstairs-downstairs neighbors barter sounds captured in food storage containers. With the sounds come fragments of past relationships and the hopes and disappointments that remain. (World Premiere)
Stepdaddy
Director: Lisa Steen, Screenwriter: Anna Greenfield
Two estranged friends rediscover their profound incompatibility over dinner, only to learn that the one thing they share might force them together, forever. (World Premiere)
Sundays
Director/Screenwriter: José Andrés Cardona
Jonny teaches Tommy how to drive.
Virgins4Lyfe (Norway)
Director: Thea Hvistendahl, Screenwriters: Sofia Lersol Lund, Thea Hvistendahl
The friendship of two Norwegian girls are put to the test. While one holiday in Southern Europe they both want to explore their own sexuality, but only one of them seem to succeed. (North American Premiere)
Washed Away
Director/Screenwriter: Ben Kallam
A teenage girl in an evangelical church youth group must deal with the fallout when her trust is publicly betrayed. (World Premiere)
Youth (Egypt)
Director/Screenwriter: Farida Zahran
A teenage girl takes a step toward adulthood in contemporary Cairo. (World Premiere)
DOCUMENTARY SHORTS
Slices of life from across the documentary spectrum.
All Inclusive (Switzerland)
Director/Screenwriter: Corina Schwingruber Ilić
Under the spell of mass entertainment on the high seas.
Anas v. the Giant
Director: Adrienne Collatos
What happens when an 18-year-old who thought he had nothing more to lose, becomes embroiled in fake news on Facebook? (World Premiere)
Exit 12
Director: Mohammad Gorjestani
After two tours in Fallujah in the Iraq war, US Marine Roman Baca came home a different person. To deal with the effects of war, Roman turned to an unlikely place, ballet.
Ghosts of Sugar Land
Director: Bassam TariqIn
Sugar Land, Texas, a group of young Muslim-American men ponder the disappearance of their friend “Mark,” who is suspected of joining ISIS.
Guns Found Here
Director: David Freid
A surprisingly non-fictional tragicomedy about how America traces a gun involved in a gun crime back to its owner.
In the Dark
Director: Jessie King
Reading isn’t natural. It’s a struggle for each of us to master, but those with dyslexia fight to read their entire lives. In the Dark is about performance, persistence and Phyllis, a woman in Austin, Texas, who says she can reverse dyslexia. (World Premiere)
Life in Miniature (United Kingdom)
Director: Ellen Evans
A celebration of one woman’s mission to document the everyday, as she carves a place for herself in the precious world of miniatures.
Lowland Kids
Director: Sandra Winther
As climate change erases the Louisiana coast, the last two teenagers on Isle de Jean Charles fight to stay on an island that’s been their family home for generations. (World Premiere)
The Separated
Director: Jeremy Raff
An unflinching look at one family’s experience being forcibly separated at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Trans In America: Texas Strong (United Kingdom, U.S.)
Director: Daresha Kyi
An intimate portrait of Kimberly and Kai Shappley in Texas: a Christian mother rejects her community’s beliefs as her 7-year-old transgender daughter navigates life at school, where she’s been banned from the girls’ bathroom.
The Trial (United Kingdom, U.S.)
Director: Johanna Hamilton
Meet the lawyers tasked with defending 9/11 suspects against the U.S. government.
ANIMATED SHORTS COMPETITION
An assortment of stories told using traditional animation, computer-generated effects, stop-motion, and everything in-between.
The Coin
Director/Screenwriter: Siqi Song
In Chinese New Year holidays, finding the coin inside the dumplings means having a blessed year ahead. A young woman loses a jar on her journey to a new country, which contains the lucky coins she has been collecting growing up. Her new life begins with a search to find the coin. (World Premiere)
Facing It (United Kingdom)
Director: Sam Gainsborough, Screenwriters: Sam Gainsborough, Louisa Wood
As Sean anxiously awaits a meeting in the local pub, he is forced to explore his own unhappy memories and relationships in an evening that will that will leave him changed forever. (U.S. Premiere)
Guaxuma (Brazil)
Director/Screenwriter: Nara Normande
Tayra and I grew up on a beach in the north east of Brazil. We were inseparable. The sea breeze brings me back happy memories.
Je sors acheter des cigarettes (France)
Director: Osman Cerfon
Jonathan, twelve years old, lives with his sister, his mother and also some men. They all have the same face and nest in closets, drawers, TV set… (North American Premiere)
Las Del Diente
Director/Screenwriter: Ana Perez Lopez
Three women discuss the social pressure of having kids while celebrating the uniqueness of their bodies during flamenco covens.
Obon (Germany)
Directors: André Hörmann, Samo (Anna Bergmann), Screenwriter: André Hörmann
Akiko Takakura survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima – in the midst of total destruction she finds a moment of happiness.
Reneepoptosis
Director: Renee Zhan
Three Renees go on a quest to find God, who is also Renee. As they traverse the great mountains and valleys of Renee, they discover all the joys, mysteries, and sadnesses of being Renee.
Skybaby
Director: Julian Glander
Look at clouds. You’re 12.
Slug Life (United Kingdom)
Director/Screenwriter: Sophie Koko Gate
Tanya has finally created the perfect sexual partner, who happens to be a beautiful giant slug. (North American Premiere)
Wild Love (France)
Directors: Paul Autric, Quentin Camus, Maryka Laudet, Léa Georges, Zoé Sottiaux, Corentin Yvergniauz
Alan and Beverly, away hiking on a romantic getaway, cause the death of a marmot without noticing it. But this incident will not stay unpunished… (U.S. Premiere)
MIDNIGHT SHORTS
Bite-sized bits for all of your sex, gore, and hilarity cravings.
La Bête (France)
Director/Screenwriter: Filippo Meneghetti
A village far away in time and land. Nearby, in a forest thought to be haunted, a child falls into a pit. His grandfather, an old and nearly blind shepherd, tries to convince the villagers to go rescue him, facing the darkness of the night and their. (World Premiere)
Bronzed
Director/Screenwriter: Mike Egan
Neo-sun worshiper Martin prepares to appease the solar Gods with ritual human sacrifice. But first he needs a spray tan. (World Premiere)
Deep Tissue
Director/Screenwriter: Meredith Alloway
A girl orders a special massage. (World Premiere)
The Do It Up Date
Directors: Emily Ting, Andrew Barchilon, Screenwriter: Josh Fadem
Kip and Shayla go on a big date! (World Premiere)
First Kiss
Director/Screenwriter: Emily Hagins
When two anxious teens sneak away from a Halloween party to share their first kiss, they soon realize someone…or something…may be watching them.
How To Be Alone
Director/Screenwriter: Kate Trefry
One woman’s simple, three-step guide to surviving a night on your own. (World Premiere)
It’s Not Custard (United Kingdom)
Director/Screenwriter: Kate McCoid
Louise, a teenager suffering unrelenting acne and continual bullying, is granted a delicious revenge. (U.S. Premiere)
Montana, GA
Director/Screenwriter: Ryan Dickie
In the middle of nowhere, three best friends grow closer when a chill vacation weekend turns supernatural. (World Premiere)
Other Side of the Box
Director: Caleb J. Phillips, Screenwriters; Caleb J. Phillips, Nick Tag
A couple receives a terrifying gift from an old friend. (U.S. Premiere)
Right Place, Wrong Tim (United Kingdom)
Director/Screenwriter: Eros Vlahos
England’s 2nd most popular sitcom ‘Right Place, Wrong Tim’ is besieged by bloodthirsty killer clones live on air. Starring Asa Butterfield, Ella Purnell & Adam Buxton.
The Video Store Commercial (Canada)
Directors: Cody Kennedy, Tim Rutherford, Screenwriter: Tim Rutherford
A desperate video store owner hires a crew to shoot a commercial in his shop. (World Premiere)
TEXAS SHORTS
An offshoot of our regular narrative shorts program, composed of work shot in, about, or somehow relating to the Lone Star state.
Chicle (Gum)
Director: Lizette Barrera, Screenwriters: Lizette Barrera, Renier Murillo, Vittoria Rodriguez, Katy Atkinson, Elyssa Chapa
An ill-tempered teenager attempts to find peaceful solitude on the day of her grandfather’s passing until an estranged friend pays her a visit. (World Premiere)
A Good Son
Director/Screenwriter: Suzanne Weinert
When Tommy, 75, asks his son Mike to put a Hefty bag over his head and suffocate him to death, neither believes the other will really go through with it. Until MIke’s son Chris, 17, devises a plan that will satisfy both his father and grandfather. (World Premiere)
I Am Mackenzie
Director: Artemis Anastasiadou, Screenwriter: Brittany Worthington
Caught among toxic masculinity, a sequin dress and a teenage crush, a teen skater, growing up in rural Texas, will have sex for the first time in the back of their dad’s truck. (World Premiere)
A Line Birds Cannot See
Director: Amy Bench
Separated from her mother at the border, a determined 12-year-old sets out across the desert with only a plastic sack, survives starvation on the streets of Ciudad Juarez, and escapes kidnappers to find her mother and a place where they can be safe. (World Premiere)
Mack Wrestles
Directors: Erin Sanger, Taylor Hess
Mack Beggs broke records and changed history when he won the Texas state title as a transgender wrestler. Now with high school ending and college on the horizon, the sports champion and national activist, must grapple with what comes next. (World Premiere)
Sweet Steel
Director/Screenwriter: Will Goss
A depressed man puts off an important task. (World Premiere)
Sweet Sweet Kink: A Collection of BDSM Stories
Director: Maggie M. Bailey
Sweet Sweet Kink takes a sweet, sweet peek into the kinky world of bondage, dominance, and sadomasochism through stories of intimate connection, consensual exploration, and deep self-reflection. (World Premiere)
Yirga
Director/Screenwriter: B.B. Araya
Before she can leave town for a fresh start, Yirga must get one problem out of her head. (World Premiere)
TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL SHORTS
A preview of the next filmmaking generation, as Texas High Schoolers present shorts of five minutes or less.
Abby
Directors: Tyniya Perryman, Brenna Rinehart, Screenwriter: Tyniya Perryman
Being a kid can be a little lonely sometimes, but this young girl has her best friend, Abby. (World Premiere)
Astray
Director: Mystery Clemons, Screenwriters: Mystery Clemons, Shannon Angeletti
A young man stumbles upon an unexpected situation finding one in need. The two build upon their friendship after the young man helps with his situation. After the young man realizes his friend is a bad influence he gets caught up in his past. (World Premiere)
BlueInk
Directors: Miranda Potter, Jade Jess, Screenwriter: Jade Jess
A victim of human trafficking tells her story. (U.S. Premiere)
By the Pool
Director/Screenwriter: Neo Bramlett
A high school student tells his friend about an awkward experience he had. (World Premiere)
Double Cross
Director/Screenwriter: Amiri Scrutchin
In a championship basketball game, our hero goes through a spiritual experience to gain an immense power to overpower his adversary. (World Premiere)
Fifteen
Director/Screenwriter: Louisa Baldwin
Fifteen is the story of first love for two teenage girls.
Forbidden Fruit
Director/Screenwriter: Sophia Rigg
A cat and her witch encounter a strange, sinister presence in the forest. (World Premiere)
Galene (China)
Director/Screenwriter: Emily Ma
A teenage girl manages her stress through the power of the ocean. (World Premiere)
A Grand Gesture
Directors: Tanish Venkatesh, Tyniya Perryman, Screenwriter: Tanish Venkatesh
Two best friends, Harold and Gunter, form a plan to win back Gunter’s ex-girlfriend. (World Premiere)
Infallible
Director/Screenwriter: Emma Evans
A girl obsessed with secret agents has the chance to become one, until she realizes that things are not as they seem. (World Premiere)
Learning to Swim
Director/Screenwriter: Susannah Joffe
This experimental drama covers the relationship between romance and substance between two teens.
The Making of Chase Humes
Director: Grace Humes
A student who has come out as transgender, talks about experiences and hardships he’s had through his journey.
Pájaro
Directors/Screenwriters: Kayla Kummerl, Krista Kummerl, Richard Ahn
“The caged bird sings / with a fearful trill / of things unknown / but longed for still / and his tune is heard / on the distant hill / for the caged bird / sings of freedom.” -Maya Angelou (World Premiere)
A Pinch of Love
Director/Screenwriter: Cassie Greer
After letting their relationship drift apart, a young newlywed couple attempt to rekindle the relationship they once had.
Revue
Director/Screenwriter: Myles Kovalik
An experimental short on gender and gender relationships in the modern entertainment industry. (World Premiere)
Sex is Weird
Director/Screenwriter: Michael Payton
When her well-intentioned boyfriend suggests sex, a teenage girl opens up about baggage from a past sexual experience. He is receptive to her words, and the two agree that sex can wait until the time is right.
Trepidation
Director/Screenwriter: Zachary Goodwin
A look into the anxiety a teenage high school girl feels towards the possibility of a school shooting. (World Premiere)
Yellow Fever
Director/Screenwriter: Michelle Liang
Five friends fight over who gets to pay the bill at dinner.
Baby Love
Director: Deena Adar, Screenwriters: Danielle Weeks, Miranda Kent
A single camera ½ hour comedy about two besties since childhood, one a struggling artist, the other an idealistic professional, both unlucky in love and fertility, who decide to stop waiting for Mr. Right and have a baby together. (World Premiere)
A Cure For Fear
Director: Lana Wilson
A doctor has come up with a way to knock out phobias and trauma overnight. But what if being afraid is a fundamental part of who we are?
East of La Brea
Director: Sam Bailey, Screenwriters: Sameer Gardezi, Halima Lucas, Tanha Dil, Nia Malika Dixon, Thandisizwe Chimurenga
East of La Brea follows the stories of two twenty-something working class Muslim women, Aisha and Farha, as they struggle to navigate the changing landscape of their native Los Angeles home. (World Premiere)
Hammerhead
Director/Screenwriter: Dean Imperial
An ambitious, driven and deceptively cunning young man — with a deformed forehead — leaves home after graduate school determined to become a success in New York City — and find a mate — against all odds.
M (Argentina)
Director: Javier Devitt, Screenwriters: Mateo Ingouville, Ezequiel Schmoller
A young American couple travels to Patagonia to search for his father, but as they enter the woods with the help of a local con man, they soon discover that something supernatural is lurking… (North American Premiere)
Maggie
Director/Screenwriter: Sasha Gordon
A struggling new mom ditches her dreary postpartum group for the stand up class next door.
Moderately Put Together
Director: Leigh Ann Biety, Screenwriter: Erin Alexis
A charmingly messy woman in her 30’s comes face to face with reality when she discovers that both of her biological parents are looking for her. (World Premiere)
Queering
Director: Leticia De Bortoli
Queering is a LGBTQ comedy web series that follows Harper, who is ready to live the best phase of her lesbian life until the tables turn when her mom unexpectedly comes out as queer.
Rainbow Ruthie
Director/Screenwriter: Ruthie Marantz
Now in her mid-thirties, an ex-teen star from Manhattan public access television in the 90s decides to relive her glory days. (U.S. Premiere)
Revenge Tour
Directors: Andrew Carter, Kahlil Maskati, Screenwriter: Kahlil Maskati
Derek “Milkshake” Qamar is angry. He’s been dumped, living in a friend’s living room, and stuck at a dead-end job. But one night he finds an unlikely stress-reliever…rapping.
Sterling
Director: Ryan Zaragoza, Screenwriters: Bryce Ahart, Stephanie McFarlane
A small West Texas town struggles to pick up the pieces after a devastating mass shooting at their local high school. (World Premiere)
Who You Are
Director: Joel Jay Blacker, Screenwriter: Samuel Roots
The accidental invention of an asshole AI spells trouble for a tech startup in the late 80’s.
Anderson .Paak – ‘Bubblin’ / Director: Calmatic
BadBadNotGood – ‘”I Don’t Know” feat. Samuel T. Herring’ / Director: Will Mayer
Bishop Briggs – ‘Baby’ (United Kingdom, U.S.) / Director: Malia James
Childish Gambino – ‘This Is America’ / Director: Hiro Murai
Cipherella – “Dumb Dumb” / Director: Zoe
Cuco – ‘Amor de Siempre (Mariachi Version)’ (Hungary) / Director: Kinopravda, Screenwriter: Viktor Horvath
Dhruv Visvanath – ‘Wild’ (India) / Director: Tanvi Gandh,Screenwriters: Tanvi Gandhi, Jahaan Noble
Gaz Coombes – ‘Walk the Walk’ / Director: Najeeb Tarazi
Hurray For The Riff Raff – ‘Pa’lante’ (Puerto Rico) / Director/Screenwriter: Kristian Mercado
Japanese Breakfast – ‘Boyish’ / Director/Screenwriter: Michelle Zauner
Jenny Wilson – ‘Rapin*’ (Sweden) / Director/Screenwriter: Gustaf Holtenäs
Kali Uchis – ‘After The Storm’ / Director: Nadia Lee Cohen
Kaskade ft. Madge – ‘Tight’ / Director/Screenwriter: Will Kindrick
Miya Folick – ‘Stop Talking’ / Director: Ariel Fisher, Sarah C. Prinz
Moses Sumney – ‘Quarrel’ / Director: Allie Avital
Rainbow Kitten Surprise – ‘Hide’ / Director: Kyle Thrash
Sex Planet – ‘Lacie’ / Director: Zach Strum
So Loki – ‘Athletes World’ (Canada) / Director/Screenwriter: Lucas Hrubizna
Tahir – ‘Get mine/Golden Ticket’ (Poland, United Kingdom) / Directors: Milo Blake, Magdalena Zielinska
tUnE-yArDs – ‘Heart Attack’ / Director: Mimi Cave
-22.7°C (France)
Director: Jan Kounen, Screenwriter: Molécule
Guided by the sounds, we explore the powerful nature of the polar regions and face our inner self until we enter a state of harmony. (World Premiere)
Ahorse! (Netherlands)
Director: Wendy Gutman, Screenwriters: Lenina Ungari, Wendy Gutman, Edwin Gardner
A playful cinematographic VR installation inviting us to experience the various phases of what we see as reality. Ahorse! takes us on a journey through the development of human perception using as its vehicle the history of our vision of the horse. (North American Premiere)
The Atomic Tree
Directors: Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee, Adam Loften, Screenwriters: David Haskell, Adam Loften, Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee
The Atomic Tree is a virtual reality journey into the memories of one of the most revered trees in the world—a 400-year-old Japanese White Pine bonsai that survived the atomic blast in Hiroshima. (World Premiere)
Border Stories
Director: Nonny de la Pena
Border Stories puts people along the US-Mexico border to not only experience real stories but to make their own volumetric pieces that can be created online using Emblematic Group’s webVR platform REACH and shared with a simple web link. (World Premiere)
Chronicle of a Vanished City (Colombia)
Director: Jorge Caballero, Screenwriters: Jorge Caballero, Anna Giralt
An experience in virtual reality within the most typical streets of Bogota city, told through seven stories of one of the pioneers of the “red chronicle” in Colombia, José Joaquín Jiménez “Ximénez”. A trip through a vanished city. (World Premiere)
Cypher
Directors: Guvenc Ozel, Benjamin Ennemoser
Cypher is a shape-shifting sculptural installation that creates an interactive and cinematic experience through synchronizing virtual reality, robotics and sensor interaction. (World Premiere)
Diorama No.4: Die Fernweh Oper (Netherlands)
Director: Daniel Ernst, Screenwriter: Maud Vanhauwaert (song lyrics)
In Die Fernweh Oper you will visit a perpetual opera performed by a star in the form of a 50 ft tall opera singer named Asteria, who sings especially for you. Just as with the stars you see at night, she has already died light years ago. (World Premiere)
Eclipse (France)
Directors: Jonathan Astruc, Aymeric Favre, Screenwriter: Frederic Cussey
> Eclipse is a collaborative hyper reality VR experience. For 40 minutes, four players embody the crew of Eclipse II, sent in space to rescue a previous space crew who disappeared. The set up integrates 4D effects and full body awareness. (North American Premiere)
Eleven Eleven (United Kingdom, U.S.)
Showrunner: Mehrad Noori, Screenwriter: Lucas Taylor
A ground-breaking, feature-length science fiction story, written and designed for VR and AR, Eleven Eleven is a multi-linear narrative experience inspired by immersive theatre, from NBCUniversal International Networks. (World Premiere)
Forest
Directors: Kelsey Boncato, Daniel Oldham
A meditative visual music experience in a hand-drawn landscape of ancient bristlecone pine trees, sculpted organic matter, and transmuted earthy-electro sounds; get lost in an interactive sacred space. (World Premiere)
Girl Icon
Director: Sadah Espii Proctor
Around the world, over 130 million girls do not go to school. Step into the life of Rani, a girl from India who is part of a growing movement of girls inspired by Malala Yousafzai to change their path and become educated community leaders. (World Premiere)
Gloomy Eyes (Argentina, France)
Directors/Screenwriters: Jorge Tereso, Fernando Maldonado
Gloomy Eyes is a 3D real-time animated VR experience in 6DOF.
Home After War (India)
Directors: Gayatri Parameswaran, Felix Gaedtke, Screenwriter: Gayatri Parameswaran
What if your home becomes the place you fear? An Iraqi father returns to Fallujah to face the threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Join him in his home and discover the unfolding of a tragic event. (North American Premiere)
Incitement ( Netherlands)
Director/Screenwriter: Wiebe van den Ende
When Sara returns from a business trip only to announce she has more travel lined up, her boyfriend Luis comes clean for a very peculiar reason. (World Premiere)
Kaleidoscope Funding Showcase
The Kaleidoscope Funding Showcase features new projects currently in-development by some of the world’s most innovative XR Creators. Meet the artists, see work-in-progress, and help fund the next wave of great XR projects.
Last Whispers: An Immersive Oratorio
Director: Lena Herzog
At an unprecedented speed, we are losing our linguistic diversity—and the very means by which we know ourselves. This immersive oratorio is an invocation of the languages that have gone extinct and an incantation of those that are endangered.
The Making Of (Taiwan)
Director/Screenwriter: Midi Z
In front of the VR camera are the actors playing in the film while the crew are shooting the scene behind the VR camera. Midi Z and his crew are filming the other crew on both sides of the camera. (North American Premiere)
Mars Home Planet
Directors: Brian Frager, David Witters, Screenwriter: Leland Frankel
The year is 2176, and you are the newest resident of the thriving Martian community. The planet is still hostile to human life, yet we have carved out a habitable section of the red planet, finally transforming ourselves into a multi-planetary species. (U.S. Premiere)
Mechanical Souls (France, Taiwan)
Director: Gaëlle Mourre, Screenwriters: L.P. Lee, Gaëlle Mourre
Glimpse of a soul in a mechanical heart. Produced by Digital Rise and Serendipity Films.
Mercy
Director: Armando Kirwin
Mercy is the story of a young woman from Cameroon who journeys from her village to a hospital ship docked on the nearby coast in order to receive a life-saving surgery. (World Premiere)
Metro Veinte: Cita Ciega (Argentina)
Director: Maria Belen Poncio, Screenwriters: Rosario Perazolo Masjoan, Ezequiel Lenardón, Elisa Gagliano, Agustin Peralta Pando, Maria Belen Poncio
Juana, an 18 year-old girl bound to a wheelchair, is anxious to explore her sexuality.
Nothing to be Written (United Kingdom)
Director: Lysander Ashton, Screenwriter: Mark Grimmer
Moving, haunting and emotive, Nothing to be Written tells the stories behind ‘field postcards’ one of the few communication options in WWI between soldiers and their families. Part artwork, part documentary, NTBW pushes the boundaries of mobile VR. (U.S. Premiere)
Re-Animated (Denmark, United States)
Director: Jakob Kudsk Steensen, Re-Animated is a virtual reality and video installation that investigates extinction, preservation, and immortality. It is a virtual ecosystem based on real plant and animal specimens that mixes primal habitats with emerging ecological realities. (North American Premiere)
Runnin’
Directors: Kiira Benzing, Reggie Watts, Screenwriter: Kiira Benzing
This interactive dance experience takes you on a journey of musical expression. Play along with music in a record store and be transported to a retro-future dance party. Show off your moves on a dance floor with a troupe of dancers and Reggie Watts.
Send Me Home
Director: Cassandra Evanisko
Send Me Home is a 360 portrait of Rickey Jackson, one of the longest-serving exonerees in U.S. history, in his surreal, new life post-prison.
Traverse
Director: Jessica Brillhart
Traverse is a platform for spatial audio experiences. Using a mobile device and audio-driven AR technology, each Traverse experience takes an audio recording and makes it something you can physically move through. (World Premiere)
A Handful of Dust (Australia) / Company: Its Got Stealth / Title Designer: Jordan Turner
Aquaman / Company: Filmograph / Title Designers: Aaron Becker, Simon Clowes
Babylon Berlin (Germany) / Title Designer: Saskia Marka
Black Panther Main on End Title Sequence / Company: Perception / Title Designers: John LePore, Russ Gautier, Justin Molush, Alex Rupert, Sekani Solomon
Bonanza Festival Titles 2018 (Austria) / Company: Clemens Wirth Motion Design / Title Designer: Clemens Wirth
Bucketheads (Australia, Canada) / Company: Its Got Stealth / Title Designer: Jordan Turner
Castle Rock / Company: Imaginary Forces / Title Designer: Jeremy Cox
Curtiz – Title Sequence (Hungary, United States) / Company: JUNO11 Pictures / Title Designers: Emil Goodman, Tamás Yvan Topolánszky
Deadpool 2 Main Titles Sequence / Company: Method Studios / Title Designer: John Likens
Game Night / Company: Aspect / Creative Director: Jon Berkowitz, Title Designer: Kimberly Tang
La Casa de las Flores (Mexico) / Company: Diecinueve36 / Creative Director: Maribel Martinez
Lost In Space / Company: Imaginary Forces / Title Designer: Karin Fong
Motherland / Company: Picturemill / Title Designers: Cecilia DeJesus, William Lebeda
Mowgli (United Kingdom) / Company: MOMOCO / Title Designers: Nic Benns, Miki Kato
Novoland Eagle Flag (China) / Company: Linmon Digital Images / Title Designer: Lei Han
OFFF CDMX Title Sequence (United Kingdom) / Company: Framestore / Title Designer: Sharon Lock
Personality (Şahsiyet) (Turkey) / Title Designers: Ethem Cem, Enes Özenbaş
Phenoms / Company: Coat Of Arms / Creative Directors: Clara Lehmann, Jonathan Lacocque
Sacred Games (India) / Company: Plexus Post / Title Designer: Vintee Bansal
Semi Permanent 2018 – Opening Titles / Title Designer: Joyce N. Ho
Smoke (India) / Company: Plexus / Title Designer: Yashoda Parthasarthy
Spider-Man Homecoming Main On End Titles / Company: Perception / Title Designers: John LePore, Doug Appleton, Chris Carboni, Handel Eugene
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Main on End Titles / Company: Alma Mater / Title Designers: Brian Mah, James Ramirez
Take Your Pills / Company: Blue Spill / Title Designers: Allison Brownmoore, Anthony Brownmoore, Joe Nowacki, Oliver Weinfeld
TEDx Sydney 2018: Humankind (Australia) / Company: Substance / Title Designer: Scott Geersen
The Darkest Minds / Company: Imaginary Forces / Creative Director: Michelle Dougherty
Touch of Class (Germany) / Title Designer: Yorgos Karagiorgos
Unspeakable / Title Designer: Harshit Desai
Veneno: The First Fall (Dominican Republic) / Company: La Visual Sonora / Title Designer: Marc Cordoba, MODAFOCA
Villains / Company: Star Thrower Entertainment, The Realm / Title Designer: Matt Reynolds
COMPETITION AWARDS AND CEREMONY
The films in the Short Film Program are eligible for Jury Awards within their respective screening categories, announced during the SXSW Film Awards on Tuesday, March 12 at 8:00 pm at the Paramount Theatre. Other awards announced will include the Narrative Feature Competition, the Documentary Feature Competition, Design Awards, and Special Awards. All feature film categories, except Special Events, will be eligible for category-specific Audience Awards, announced via sxsw.com on Saturday, March 17. SXSW is proud to be an official qualifying festival for the Academy Awards® Short Film competition. Winners of our Best Animated, Best Narrative and Best Documentary Short Film categories become eligible for Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards (Oscars). Any British Short Film or British Short Animation that screens at SXSW is eligible for BAFTA nomination.
