SXSW 2026 Doc Roundup: CEREMONY, FIRST THEY CAME FOR MY COLLEGE, ONE ANOTHER, YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE
This year, SXSW Film and Television programming was compacted into just seven, intense days, filled to the brim with narrative features, short films, episodic television shows, and documentaries.
Our site's primary focus has been on thrillers, horror and otherwise -- my fellow editor J Hurtado has been crushing it with his coverage -- and we'll have more reviews upcoming, but we don't want to ignore or slight the excellent documentary selections.
I've already posted my reviews of three: sparkly, engaging music doc Summer 2000: The X-Cetra Story, illuminating music bio The Man With the Big Hat, and climbing/true crime story The Ascent. Here are capsule reviews of four more fine documentaries.
Ceremony
The film enjoyed its world premiere at SXSW 2026. Visit its official festival page for more information.
The film begins by mourning the disappearance of the annual run of the ooligan fish in Bella Coola, British Columbia, Canada. The fish were an important element in the life of the Indigenous Nation that has lived in an absolutely gorgeous valley for generations.
Why did the ooligan disappear? That becomes the lynchpin for exploration, research, and discovery by local residents, who dig into what happened and, more importantly, why. Sneaky quiet in its opening scenes, and apparently solely nostalgic for a lost way of life, director Banchi Hanuse steadily expands the film's focus to embrace a history lesson that becomes more and more infuriating as it goes, becoming essential viewing.
First They Came for My College
The film enjoyed its Texas premiere at SXSW 2026. Visit its official festival page for more information.
From all appearances, including interviews of students and professors, New College of Florida was an idyllic institute of higher learning until it came under attack by conservative politicians, intent on bending it to their will.
Directed by Patrick Bresnan, the film records the moment things began to change for the college as ill political winds began to blow, soon becoming a tornado of mean-spirited men and women who wanted to reshape the liberal-arts college into a school for buffoons and athletes.
It's an angry film, not least because its core idea, as indicated by its title, is that what happened at New College of Florida can, and has already begun, happening at other institutions of higher learning. Is there such a thing as a poignant call to action? If so, this is it.
One Another
The film enjoyed its world premiere at SXSW 2026. Visit its official festival page for more information.
Everybody needs friends, right? There's a profound difference, though, between friendly acquaintances, friendly co-workers, friendly neighbors, and what I call 'true friends' and others call BFFs -- companionship, yes, but also trust and (platonic) intimacy.
Capturing that feeling exactly, director Amber Love follows three sets of friends as they deal with circumstances that are life-changing and entirely relatable: moving cross-country, adjusting to life without children, and dealing with a serious mental issue. Beyond the personal challenges, those circumstances also create hurdles that makes it difficult to maintain intimate friendships.
The affecting film acknowledges these challenges as inherent to modern life and, over a period of three years, looks at how the friends respond to them; naturally, some are more resilient than others, but all are willing to break down their feelings without needless drama.
Your Attention Please
The film enjoyed its world premiere at SXSW 2026. Visit its official festival page for more information.
Watching this film made me feel like I got run over by a steamroller.
That's a good thing, though. Director Sara Robin makes no bones about her intentions. Yes, technology is advancing, and its march forward toward becoming even more invasive in our lives seems inevitable. But what can be done about it?
Weaving together highly-charged narrative threads, especially the one that follows Kristin, a mother who lost her son to forces that arose against him on social media, the film accumulates outrage, interspersed by unexpected kindness, as it pursues its Big Tech targets.
As someone who was raised in the pre-internet age, I could relate very well to the early claims for good that were fostered by the first wave of internet advocates. Yes, it all sounded good and pure and wonderful in the 1990s, before the tide turned in the next decade and the internet became a commercial engine that soon soured most of the promises that had been made.
Like other top-flight documentaries at SXSW 2026, Your Attention Please is designed to enrage and motivate to action. In that, it succeeds entirely.
