Fucktoys
Director/writer/star Annapurna Sriram is AP, a woman with a curse that’s seriously fucking up her life. When a bayou mystic - Big Freedia - tells her that she can shed this burden for $1000 and the life of a baby goat, AP is all about it and her messed up - sexed up odyssey begins. Shot in lustrous 16mm, Fucktoys is the grimy, glorious, fuck you to propriety that every film festival needs. -- J Hurtado
One More Shot
Emily Browning "discovers a bottle of time traveling tequila"? Sold!
Hailing from Australia, the movie looks like a sheer delight. It's set on New Year's Eve, 1999, which invokes all kinds of awful/terrific Y2K memories. Also of note: 99 minutes!
That's the listed running time for the movie, directed by Nicholas Clifford, making his feature debut. Another intriguing name is Ashley Zukerman, who's done fantastic work in both comedies and dramas, and lends hope that the film, though relatively brief, will do as much as possible with its premise. -- Peter Martin
Ash
Eiza González, Aaron Paul, and Iko Uwais star in musician/auteur Flying Lotus's sci-fi horror about a woman investigating murders on a far flung space station. If FlyLo's previous feature Kuso is any indication, things are gonna get crazy. The film is produced by XYZ, EPed by Neil Blompkamp, and will be released by RLJE + Shudder. -- Ryland Aldrich
I Really Love My Husband
A belated honeymoon is a delayed disaster in G.G. Hawkins' acerbic and wise romantic(?) comedy of "we saw you across the bar and really like your vibe". The clashing couple find themselves mutually attracted to their charismatic nonbinary beach hut host, and decide to pursue them, both together and individually. But what these affairs unlock will change everything. -- Blake Simons
Creede U.S.A.
Creede is a small, remote mining town in Colorado that built a theatre in the 1960’s in order to revitalize its economy. Such a tradition-based community was perhaps not ready for the changing attitudes and beliefs that newcomers often bring. But this documentary maintains its steady gaze even as passions run high, illuminating how the daily situation is not as simple as being on one side of a political spectrum or another: the reality of coexistence is far more complex. When you’re all neighbours, your lives become intertwined. It shows how this town acts as a microcosm for socio-political debates happening around dinner tables, across town halls and in the larger social discourse. -- Barbara Goslawski
The Studio
Seth Rogen leads an all-star cast an a comedy series from Apple TV+ that is set at a modern-day movie studio. The in-jokes and 'theatrical experience versus streaming' comparisons promise to be plentiful, but the supporting cast is very good and almost always very funny.
What new things can Seth Rogen and directing partner Evan Goldberg bring to the table? Note that the writers include Peter Huyck and Alex Gregory, who have done outstanding, very funny, cynical and insightful work for many years, including Veep. My expectations are high, and a SXSW crowd should be a bonus. -- Peter Martin
The Python Hunt
This wild-looking documentary follows a group of hunters as they embark on a state sanctioned 10-day trip into the Everglades to round up as many dangerous snakes as humanly possible. It's directed by Xander Robin of Are We Not Cats fame. -- Ryland Aldrich
Mermaid
Butt Boy director Tyler Cornack returns to the big screen with the charming story of a pill popping Florida man who finds an ailing mermaid with whom he feels his life has become complete. However, when a very bad dude - played by the inimitable Robert Patrick - discovers his secret, a whole bunch of fucked up hijinks ensue. -- J Hurtado
Descendent
Peter Cilella's feature debut stars celebrated voice actor Ross Marquand as a man visited by visions from another world upon the imminent arrival of his first child. This is the latest Rustic Films joint (Touch Me, Something in the Dirt, The Endless) and looks to continue their tradition of fantastically creepy and innovative indie genre filmmaking. -- Ryland Aldrich
Corina
The idea of a young woman who works at a publishing house being the protagonist of a movie from Mexico immediately appeals to me. The further idea that she must "embark on a journey in search of a mysterious writer to save her job and the whole company" further appeals to me.
Urzula Barba Hopfner directed; this is her feature debut. Naian González Norvind stars as the titular character, a publishing house worker. Cristo Fernández, who I just saw playing a bit part in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and, and recently played a key role in Ted Lasso, plays Carlos, who helps Corina "overcome her fears." It all sounds like a lovely story that I want to see. -- Peter Martin
She's the He
The trans answer to Bottoms, Siobhan McCarthy's debut sees two high school guys pretend to be trans women to gain access to women's spaces. A dangerous premise in the present moment, but She's The He handles itself with care as it stumbles and fumbles for the film that it was born to become. As the Ingrid Michaelson song that soundtracks reminds us: it's all the same thing. Girls chase boys chase girls. -- Blake Simons
The Astronaut
Lt. Sam Walker (Kate Mara) has just returned from her first flight as an astronaut, but it seems that she may have brought something back with her from space. A paranoid sci-fi thriller with a fantastic supporting cast featuring Lawrence Fishburne, Gabriel Luna, Macy Gray, and others, The Astronaut is a super tense ride that will keep you guessing right into the final reel. -- J Hurtado
Ghost Boy
Gifted documentarian Rodney Ascher (Room 237, Glitch in the Matrix) returns to Austin with this story of a man who fell into a coma as a boy and awoke with no memories of his past. -- Ryland Aldrich
New Jack Fury
When Dylan Gamble’s beautiful girlfriend Tanisha is abducted by the ruthless Styles Syndicate, he recruits a pair of jheri-curled hoodlums to help him get her back. A gloriously daft cross between Manborg, Black Dynamite, and the classic side-scrolling video game Streets of Rage, New Jack Fury is bound to be a lo-fi crowd pleaser. -- J Hurtado
Government Cheese
Great ideas can come from anywhere. In this surreal comedy series from Apple TV+, David Oyelowo stars as a man who comes up with a great idea while serving a state prison sentence.
The real drama comes when he must try to reconcile with his wife (Simone Messick), who is understandably guarded and cautious when he comes home. Add two teenage sons with different temperaments, and the strains upon this nuclear family unit are mighty.
The series is set in the San Fernando Valley, where I grew up in suburban Los Angeles, so naturally my interest level is high. I'm very curious about Oyelowo as the lead in a surreal comedy that is set in the late 1960s. -- Peter Martin
Glorious Summer
Tensions mount in a seemingly idyllic palace where three women experience a summer that never ends. The only problem is they aren't allowed to leave. This Polish film from Helena Ganjalyan and Bartosz Szpak is wonderfully shot by Cinematographer Tomasz Woźniczka. -- Ryland Aldrich
My Uncle Jens
Surprise! Family relations are always a ripe subject for discussion at SXSW, and in this entry from Norway, a young teacher is surprised by an estranged relative who shows up for an unexpected visit. The twist here is that the older relative has arrived directly from the teacher's native Kurdistan, which immediately raises questions. Why did he just show up without any advance warning? Is he part of some criminal enterprise?
Immigrants and emigrants are hot-button issues in the U.S. right now, so the timing for this movie couldn't be better. Director Brwa Vahabpour is a Kurdish Norwegian filmmaker, so he brings some knowledge to comedy/drama, which is all the better. -- Peter Martin
The Baltimorons
Jay Duplass is a well known name in indie directing as half of the Duplass Brothers. He's also had a rich career as an actor and director for TV shows such as Togetherness. Remarkably, this Christmas dramedy is his first time as solo director of a feature film and it looks to be a total hoot. -- Ryland Aldrich
Good Boy
Anyone who has ever lived with a dog has experienced their strange habit of staring at empty corners or barking at things that definitely aren’t there. Ben Leonberg’s Good Boy asks, what if we’re wrong? Starring his own pooch, Indy, this is a canine-centric haunted house movie with bite. -- J Hurtado
Odyssey
This London underworld thriller from Gerard Johnson (Hyena) follows a "sharp-tongued, coke-fuelled" estate agent as she turns to the dark(er) side. -- Ryland Aldrich
Brother Verses Brother
Real-life brothers Ari and Ethan Gold star in this super charming experimental partially improvised musical adventure through the North Beach and Chinatown areas of San Francisco. When Ethan’s plan to perform for his 96-year-old father falls flat after Dad doesn’t show up, the pair go on an adventure to track him down and learn a lot about each other in the process. -- J Hurtado
Magic Hour
Katie Aselton's (The Freebie, Black Rock) latest is a mysterious looking drama about a couple in the desert. It stars Daveed Diggs as well as Aselton and is notably produced by her brother-in-law Jay Duplass, who also has a film he directed in this year's program (along with longtime collaborators Mark and Mel, obv). -- Ryland Aldrich
Mix Tape
Appropriate to the music-themed SXSW as a whole. Mix Tape stars Jim Sturgess and Teresa Palmer as the grown-up version of two teenagers who fell for each as music-loving teenagers in 1989 Sheffield, England. In their youth, they were separated by a gulf between their family lives and their respective economic situations.
In their middle-aged present, they are separated by literal oceans. Palmer has moved to Sydney, Australia, where she lives with her husband and children, and has just published a well-received book. Sturgess has remained in Sheffield, where he's a freelance music journalist with a partner and a desire to do more. Can they somehow reunite?
Teresa Palmer is the draw for me here, since she's done more shows and movies in recent years that I've seen and enjoyed, so I'm hopeful that the two episodes of the show that will be presented can lay enough groundwork in 57 combined minutes to pique further interest. If nothing else, I'm hoping for some tasty music: Sheffield in 1989 was a lively hot spot and deserves a spotlight. -- Peter Martin
It Ends
This horror-thriller from first time feature director Alexander Ullom follows a group of recent grads on a road trip-turned hellscape. It's produced by the good folks at Snoot. -- Ryland Aldrich
