Despite the fact that this year's edition of the South By Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) got disrupted by the pandemic outbreak, the organizers are salvaging the many hours of love and labor by making selected parts of the programming available to the public. The official short films selection went live and Amazon Prime was tapped to introduce selected films in late April. And now Vimeo is currently hosting a sextuplet of episodic pilots.
“We saw a need to pivot on the cancellation of SXSW and open up conversations with online platforms about how to now connect with an audience — at a time when connection feels more important than ever,” said Coral Amiga and Nicole Hartley, co-creators of the pilot Bored. Half of the content and creators represent LGBTQ community.
Here is the official run-down:
SXSW 2020 Pilot Showcase
Bananas
Documentary, LGBTQ | Australia
Director: Rachel Anderson; Screenwriters: Rachel Anderson, Mary Duong
A curious and playful look at growing up between two cultures in Queensland – the Sunshine State – with particular focus on food and family, presented by two Australian-born Asian friends who are awkward, honest, and warm in equal parts.
Bored
Comedy, LGBTQ | United Kingdom
Director: Georgia Oakley; Screenwriters: Coral Amiga, Nicole Hartley
Jamie and Eve are best friends who’ve always shared everything… and after drowning their post-Brexit, January sorrows at a party, they really do end up sharing everything. In the sober light of day will things ever be the same again?
Cooper’s Bar
Comedy | United States
Director: Alfredo de Villa; Screenwriters: Nick Morton, David Conolly
When Cooper Marino’s career falls apart, he takes refuge in the backyard tiki bar he has painstakingly constructed over 15 years and there finds an unlikely path to his own resurgence.
The Dream
Comedy | United States
Director: Ron Najor; Screenwriters: Trevor Fernando, Ron Najor
The Dream follows Daryl, a broke aspiring film director who’s just moved to Los Angeles, taking his first job as a Production Assistant, and the ragtag gang of PAs that school him on how to survive in this insane and unpredictable work environment.
Homecoming: The Journey of Cardboard
Documentary | Japan
Directors: Yuko Shiomaki, Anna Thorson Mayer
Fuyuki Shimazu is an artist and cardboard lover who travels around the world to pick up cardboard he likes. His charming up-cycling art activities are depicted in the feature film From All Corners in 2018 and now his new chapter of journey starts.
This Isn’t Me
Comedy, LGBTQ | United States
Director: Adrian Rojas Elliot; Screenwriter: Ben Kawaller
An earnest West Hollywood homosexual with a skewed sense of decorum chases meaning and intimacy, routinely humiliating himself and occasionally stumbling into moments of grace.