SXSW dropped one last salvo on us today with the addition of 15 features and 4 shorts to their film festival lineup.
With these additions, the 2012 SXSW Film Festival will host a total of 132 features, consisting of 74 World Premieres, 17 North American Premieres and 11 U.S. Premieres, with 58 films from first-time directors. 138 shorts will screen as part of 12 overall shorts programs. The nearly 275 films were selected from a record number of overall submissions, over 5,300, comprised of approximately 2,000 features and 3,300 shorts. This was a 7% increase over 2011 despite moving submission deadlines a month earlier than in previous years.
A few Sundance faves are in the mix, including LCD docu Shut Up and Play the Hits (Review), fest darling Safety Not Guaranteed (Review), and Mike Birbiglia's Sleepwalk With Me (Review). See the full additions including Todd Rohal's Nature Calls with its impressive comedian-packed cast (Patton Oswalt, Johnny Knoxville, Rob Riggle, and more) below.
NARRATIVE SPOTLIGHT
Blue Like Jazz
Director: Steve Taylor, Screenwriters: Donald Miller, Steve
Taylor, Ben Pearson
A Texas college student flees the hypocrisy of his religious
upbringing for life in the Pacific Northwest at 'the most godless campus in
America.' Based on the New York Times bestseller by Donald Miller.
Cast: Marshall
Allman, Claire Holt, Tania Raymonde, Justin Welborn, Eric Lange (World Premiere)
Nature Calls
Director/Screenwriter: Todd Rohal
Polar-opposite brothers Randy (Oswalt) and Kirk (Knoxville) never saw eye-to-eye, but their rivalry is taken to a new level when Randy hijacks Kirk's son's sleepover, taking the boys on a Scout Trip to remember. Cast: Patton Oswalt, Johnny Knoxville, Rob Riggle, Maura Tierney, Patrice O'Neal, Darrell Hammond (World Premiere)
EMERGING VISIONS
King Kelly
Director: Andrew Neel, Screenwriter: Mike Roberts
Made entirely from camera-phone footage, King Kelly is a sensational journey into
hedonistic American youth culture and the YouTube generation.
Cast: Louisa
Krause, Libby Woodbridge, Roderick Hill, Will Brill, Patrick Murney (World Premiere)
LOW & CLEAR
Directors: Kahlil Hudson, Tyler Hughen
Two formerly close friends reunite for a fly-fishing trip
and struggle to understand how much they've each changed - and how these
changes now threaten the friendship. (World Premiere)
24 BEATS PER SECOND
Lost and Sound (UK)
Director: Lindsey Dryden
Music may be an essential part of being human - but what if
you lost the ability to hear it? A dancer, a pianist and a music critic attempt
to re-discover music after deafness, with astonishing results.
(World Premiere)
Searching for Sugar Man (Sweden/UK)
Director: Malik Bendjelloul
The true story of the greatest '70s US rock icon who never
was, how he was rediscovered and finally became the legend he deserved to be. A
story of hope, inspiration and the power of music.
SX GLOBAL
GLOBAL HOME (Germany)
Director: Eva Stotz
Director Eva Stotz visited interesting people all over the
world whom she found through online-host-networks and emerged for a limited
time in their every-day-life.
(World Premiere)
The Will
Director: Christian
Sønderby Jepsen (Denmark)
Henrik
dreams of a new beginning. But when Henrik's grandfather dies, leaving behind a
fortune of millions, old skeletons come to light. (North American Premiere)
FESTIVAL FAVORITES
Chasing Ice
Director: Jeff Orlowski
Photographer James Balog was once a skeptic about climate
change, but he discovers undeniable evidence. Balog reveals hauntingly
beautiful, time-lapse videos of vanishing glaciers, while delivering hope to
our carbon-powered planet.
Monsieur Lazhar
Director/Screenwriter:
Philippe Falardeau,
Based on the Stage Play by: Evelyne de la Chenelière
The
story of an Algerian immigrant substitute teacher who brings emotional
stability to a Montreal middle school class shaken by the tragic death of their
well-liked teacher. Cast: Mohamed Fellag, Sophie
Nélisse, Emilien Néron, Danielle Proulx, Brigitte Poupart
Safety Not Guaranteed
Director: Colin Trevorrow, Screenwriter: Derek Connolly
A trio of magazine employees investigate a classified ad
seeking a partner for time travel.
Cast: Aubrey
Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson, Karan Soni
Shut Up and Play the Hits (UK)
Directors: Will Lovelace, Dylan Southern
The final days of LCD Soundsystem.
Sleepwalk With Me
Director/Screenwriter: Mike Birbiglia, Screenwriter: Ira
Glass, Joe Birbiglia, Seth Barrish
An aspiring comedian reluctant to confront his fears of
love, honesty, and growing up; a budding standup comedian has both a hilarious
and intense struggle with sleepwalking.
Cast: Mike
Birbiglia, Lauren Ambrose, James Rebhorn, Carol Kane, Cristin Milioti
SPECIAL EVENTS
Coffin Joe's "This Night I Will Possess
Your Corpse" with live score by Gary Lucas (Brazil)
Director/Screenwriter: Jose Mojica Marins, Screenwriter:
Aldenora De Sa Porto
Gary Lucas' live original solo guitar soundtrack
accompanying the legendary 1967 Brazilian cult horror film classic directed by
and starring Jose Mojica Marins a/k/a Coffin Joe.
Cast: Jose Mojica
Marins a/k/a Coffin Joe, Tina Wohlers, Nadia Freitas, Antonio Fracari, Jose
Lobo
Yellow Submarine (1968)
Newly Restored (UK)
Director: George Dunning
Once upon a
time in an unearthly paradise called Pepperland, the Blue Meanies threaten to
destroy all that is good. Enter John, Paul, George and Ringo to save the
day! Armed with their humour, songs, and yellow submarine, the Fab Four tackle
the rough seas in an effort to bring down evil.
Cast: The Beatles,
Paul Angelis, John Clive
NARRATIVE SHORTS
Inquire
Within
Director:
Jay Rosenblatt
A
hypnotic, apocalyptic film about false choices and faith.
MIDNIGHT SHORTS
going to
the store
Director:
David Lewandowski
A normal
man walks to a place.
SX GLOBAL SHORTS
The
Little Team (Spain)
Directors:
Roger Gómez, Daniel Resines
Fourteen
little kids go over an unsolved football mystery, and they end up teaching an
unexpected life lesson to grown-ups.
The
Perfect Fit (Scotland,
UK)
Director:
Tali Yankelevich