SXSW 2014 Preview: ScreenAnarchy Picks 22 Can't Miss Films

Open Windows

Nacho Vigalando made a spectacular debut with Timecrimes, a dazzling thriller, then surprised everyone with the sci-fi comedy Extraterrestrial, which left my half-Mexican side rolling on the floor. His first foray in English-language features sound gimmicky, but Elijah Wood has great versatility as an actor, and I'm hoping for a surprising smack in the face. -Peter Martin

Big in Japan

John Jeffcoat had his first feature Outsourced turned into a hit TV-series. That points to good things for this docu-dramedy about a real band on a fictional tour in Japan. -Ryland Aldrich

Chef

I recently rediscovered Swingers, and especially after reading a Grantland oral history about the project's genesis, I can honestly say I'm very excited for a Jon Favreau directing/writing/lead performance triple punch. Plus, who doesn't get excited about food trucks? -John Jarzemsky

Because who doesn’t want to see Jon Favreau in a kitchen? Even if it’s a small one in a truck. -Valentini I. Valentini

Starry Eyes

A desperate actress willing to do anything, a mysterious film that may transform her in ways she can't imagine ... yes, please. Those are good ingredients that could be baked up into a variety of shapes and forms, and I hope to be pleasantly surprised. Producer Travis Stevens has a good track record with genre film, so I'm on board for this vehicle into the occult. -Peter Martin

Dance of Reality

While I'd been long-hoping that Jodorowsky's first film in over 20 years would be Son of El Topo, the much-rumored sequel to his career-making surrealist masterpiece El Topo (1970), I'm not remotely disappointed that Alejandro is breaking the silence with this Fellini-on-peyote self-portrait. Funnily, instead of real life son Brontis Jodorowsky playing the 'son of El Topo' as reported, in Dance of Reality, Brontis plays his own grandfather. -Zach Gayne

Space Station 76

Patrick Wilson, Liv Tyler, and Matt Bomer star in this pastiche-filled future vision -- via the 1970s -- of life on a space station, by first-timer Jack Plotnick. -Ryland Aldrich

That Guy Dick Miller

Anyone who has ever seen any film produced by Roger Corman, and that figures in about 98% of the world's population, has seen Dick Miller. That Guy Dick Miller looks at the long, LONG career of one of America's great character actors. From Corman to Scorsese, That Guy Dick Miller has the potential to tell one hell of a story -J Hurtado

Patrick’s Day

The indie film scene resurgence from Ireland has produced some great films over the last few years, with cross-cultural successes like Once and The Guard. So basically anything hailing from the Green Isle is going to get me in that movie theater seat. But add mental illness and a suicidal flight attendant, and I’m running to be first in line. -Valentini I. Valentini

Boyhood

After hearing rumblings about this project for over a decade, I can barely contain my excitement for Linklater's 12-years-in-the-making coming-of-age epic. As many consider the Before Sunrise trilogy the crowning meditation on the subject of love (not to be confused with a love story), could Linklater's latest be the definitive youth film? Early Sundance reports point to yes! This, of course, isn't remotely surprising, given that each new Linklater film cements his status as the most interesting filmmaker in 'show business.' -Zach Gayne

Butterfly Girl

One of the most fascinating sounding docus on this year's roster is Cary Bell's look at a teenage girl trying to live a normal life with a rare disease. -Ryland Aldrich

13 Sins

A cryptic phone call, a down-on-his-luck salesman, and 13 increasingly diabolical tasks that promise rich rewards. Daniel Stamm's debut, A Necessary Death, got under my skin (and not in a good way) years ago, so I'm trusting that his newest concoction will provoke a strong reaction, which is about all I can ask from a film nowadays. -Peter Martin

Beginning With The End

Hospice care is something I have unfortunately had to deal with personally in the last few years of my life. It's difficult work for anybody, much less somebody who is not yet a fully formed and functioning adult, so I'm eagerly awaiting what is sure to be a fascinating portrait of some very interesting people. -John Jarzemsky

The Infinite Man

I've heard great buzz about Aussie Hugh Sullivan's directorial debut about a scientist who loses his girlfriend to time travel and must team up with multiple selves to find her. -Ryland Aldrich

I Believe in Unicorns

If not for the title itself, then some good old teen drama should make you get a ticket to Leah Meyerhoff’s feature directorial debut. -Valentini I. Valentini

Yakona

Anlo Sepulveda and Paul Collins reteam (Otis Under Sky) for this impressionistic journey above and below water on Texas's San Marcos headwaters. -Ryland Aldrich

Faults

There's nothing like a good cult story, and when you throw in some kidnapping and a "nothing is what it seems" theme, you've got the recipe for something riveting. Very interested to see how this one unfolds. -John Jarzemsky

Among the Living

I firmly believe there is no country producing better horror films in recent years than France. With titles like Sheitan, Calvaire, and Martyrs in mind, French new wave horror offers an experience akin to a hammer in the face. There is perhaps no better example of the calibre of extreme suspense and madcap shock characteristic of the genre than Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo's Inside (2007). I know precious little about Maury and Bustillo's new film Among the Living, other than that it stars French icon Beatrice Dalle. Though plot summaries are readily available, a hammer in the face is far more effective without warning. -Zach Gayne

The Heart Machine

Village Voice critic Zachary Wigon put together a fantastic cast for his first feature romantic thriller that stars The Newsroom's John Gallagher Jr. and recent star of House of Cards Kate Lyn Sheil. -Ryland Aldrich

Wetlands

Ever since Combat Girls ripped out my heart and showed it to me before landing firmly on my top ten of 2012 film list, I've been waiting for David Wnendt to make a follow-up. Wetlands, a perverted sex comedy about acceptance and the lengths to which we'll go to get it, is about as far from Combat Girls in form as you can possibly get, but I'll be damned if Wnendt hasn't earned my eternal interest. -J Hurtado

Fort Tilden

This film is on my must-see list partly because it has the potential to totally suck or totally rock. I am not sure there will be room for middle ground for a story so centered on two (I repeat) potentially annoying or potentially brilliant characters. Allie and Harper “cope with creepy neighbors, unpredictable traffic patterns, indignant cabbies, and each other” on their way to the beach. Sounds like #whitegirlproblems to me. But if done right, perhaps it will leave us with something to think about other than the void that is two hipsters from Brooklyn. -Valentini I. Valentini

The Immortalists

In their feature debut documentary, Jason Sussberg and David Alvarado tell the story of two eccentric scientists obsessed with secrets of aging. -Ryland Aldrich

Bonus Double Pick!
Mateo and Que Caramba la Vida

How often is it that a film festival offers not one, but two documentary features about underdog mariachis? Not often. However, if that's your bag (and it is mine), SXSW 2014 has you covered. In Mateo, a white mariachi performer looks for acceptance, and in Que Caramba la Vida, the filmmakers look at the challenges facing female mariachis. -J Hurtado