It’s incredible to consider that when the 37th South by Southwest Film Festival kicked off on March 10, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” was just two days away from winning a slew of Oscars one year removed from its own premiere in Austin (March 11, 2022). The A24 multiverse indie, which had gone into the Oscars with 11 nominations, also ended up with the lion’s share of the evening’s trophies, nabbing Best Picture, Director (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), Actress (Michelle Yeoh), Supporting Actor (Ke Huy Quan), Supporting Actress (Jamie Lee Curtis), Original Screenplay, and Editing (Paul Rogers).
“To Leslie,” the alcoholism drama about a single mom from West Texas starring Best Actress nominee Andrea Riseborough also began its, albeit much quieter, road to the Oscars at the festival a year ago. But don’t think SXSW’s awards are any sort of harbinger, as the Narrative Feature Prize went to “I Love My Dad,” a dark comedy starring Patton Oswalt as a father who catfishes his son. Amazon released the movie over the summer and we haven’t heard much about it since. In other words, the trophy is no TIFF People’s Choice.
Nevertheless, SXSW’s representation at the 95th Academy Awards will shine a brighter spotlight on the event moving forward and perhaps transform it into a viable springtime alternative to the year-end circuit. Additionally a music fair and tech expo, SXSW is truly unlike any other film festival. View the photo gallery above (or click here for direct access) to see which movies we’re most eager to check out at this year’s edition, running March 10 – 19, 2023.
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“Parachute”
Image Credit: SXSW Film Festival Discharged from rehab after a suicide attempt, Riley (“Yellowjackets” star Courtney Eaton) replaces her addiction to food with another kind of vice when she meets Ethan (Thomas Mann). “Parachute,” originally titled “September 17th,” marks the directorial debut of Brittany Snow, an actress most readers probably know from “John Tucker Must Die,” “Pitch Perfect,” and “X” (which contains a memorable scene about shot composition that intimates Snow’s filmmaking aspirations). In addition to Eaton and Mann, the film stars Gina Rodriguez, Dave Bautista, Joel McHale, Jennifer Westfeldt and Snow’s “X” co-star, Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi.
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“Down Low”
Image Credit: SXSW Film Festival Despite, or perhaps because of, “Down Low’s” cryptic description online–”an outrageous comedy about one wild night, a deeply repressed man (Zachary Quinto), the twink who gives him a happy ending (“The White Lotus” Season 1’s Lukas Gage), and all the lives they ruin along the way”–we’re willing to bet this will end up one of the fest’s most mentioned selections. “Down Low” marks “Bonding” creator Rightor Doyle’s feature filmmaking debut.
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“Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves”
Image Credit: SXSW Film Festival A band of misfits seeks a powerful relic while traversing the world of the beloved RPG and steering clear of its nefarious forces. Paramount is following “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” with a spin-off series on its streaming platform. The impressive cast is led by Chris Pine and also features Michelle Rodriguez, Sophia Lillis, Regé-Jean Page, Hugh Grant and Justice Smith.
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“Flamin’ Hot”
Image Credit: SXSW Film Festival Eva Longoria’s freshman feature is about, of all things, the invention of the spicy Cheeto—or, at least, the Frito-Lay janitor, Richard Montañez (Jesse Garcia), who claims to have invented it. Montañez’s account has recently been disputed—apparently, not a single member from the product team that launched Flamin’ Hot Cheetos can recall his purported tie to either the snack’s inception or development—so it’ll be interesting to see how the conversation around “Flamin’ Hot” unfolds. The truth, however, needn’t get in the way of a solid rags-to-riches story. Most of us will get to watch “Flamin’ Hot” on Hulu beginning June 9. Any good ideas for a viewing-party snack?
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“Scrambled”
Image Credit: SXSW Film Festival Broke, single, and disillusioned, a woman in her thirties “unleashes an existential crisis” when she chooses to freeze her eggs. What that crisis entails is unclear, but based on previous work from writer-director and star Leah McKendrick–she penned 2017’s “M.F.A,” which also premiered at SXSW and is credited as “the first horror movie to speak to the #MeToo era” (Jason Zinoman, The New York Times)–we can assume ”Scrambled” won’t be for the faint of heart. The movie sounds like a dark and timely satire about reproductive cryopreservation, as well as the perpetual state of economic uncertainty that has turned it into a lucrative industry. Yvonne Strahovski, Ego Nwodim, Clancy Brown, Adam Rodriguez and Andrew Santino co-star.
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“Hypnotic”
Image Credit: SXSW Film Festival A late addition to the lineup, Robert Rodriguez’s Austin-shot “Hypnotic” follows a detective’s (Ben Affleck) search for his daughter and the wide-ranging government conspiracy in which it entangles him. It will screen as a rough cut. Alice Braga, Jackie Earle Haley and William Fichtner co-star.
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“Mustache”
Image Credit: SXSW Film Festival In 1990s California, a teenager (Atharva Verma) experiences a culture shock and accompanying waves of newfound self-consciousness when his parents transfer him from the Islamic private school he’s always known to a secular public one. Particularly otherizing him among his peers is a prepubescent crest of upper-lip hair his parents won’t permit him to shave. “Mustache” sounds like a hilarious fish-out-of-water comedy about the collision between inherited cultural customs and embraced social norms.
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“Story Ave”
Image Credit: SXSW Film Festival A teenage runaway’s (Asante Blackk) attempted mugging of a New York City transit worker (Luis Guzmán) takes an unexpected turn when he’s invited to share a meal in exchange for the cash he desperately needs. Developed with Sundance Labs, the movie is Aristotle Torres’ feature debut and based on his autobiographical short film of the same name. “Story Ave” could make a star out of Blackk, an Emmy nominee for Ava DuVernay’s Netflix limited series about the Central Park Five, “When They See Us.”
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“The Wrath of Becky”
Image Credit: SXSW Film Festival 2020’s “Becky” was an unexpectedly effective home-invasion thriller with a revelatory and disturbing turn from comedian Kevin James as a white supremacist who takes the wrong 13-year-old’s (Lulu Wilson) family hostage. “The Wrath of Becky” finds the eponymous teenage wrecking ball trying to keep a low profile before facing off against the leader of a fascist organization (Sean William Scott). Maybe you didn’t immediately think after “Becky’s” closing frame that the movie needed a sequel, but can you really be mad that it exists?
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“Joy Ride”
Image Credit: SXSW Film Festival Stephanie Hsu arrived in Austin one year ago as a relative unknown but returns this year an Oscar nominee. Her latest, “Joy Ride,” is about four friends (Ashley Park, Sabrina Wu, Sherry Cola and Hsu) who journey through Asia to find one of their birth mothers. It’s great to see Cola, one of the best things about Randall Park’s “Shortcomings,” appearing in more projects. The comedy adventure’s producers include “Superbad” writing duo Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Lionsgate will release the film June 23.
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“Late Bloomers”
Image Credit: SXSW Film Festival A drunken stunt lands an aimless twentysomething (Karen Gillan) in physical therapy, where she meets a cranky elderly woman (Margaret Sophie Stein, probably most familiar to Polish audiences) for whom she eventually gets a job caretaking. The odd-couple arrangement forces both of them to, in their own ways, do a bit of growing up.
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“Evil Dead Rise”
Image Credit: SXSW Film Festival More than one beloved horror franchise is relocating to a metropolitan zip code this year. Just as Ghostface will terrorize the Big Apple, the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis is unleashing the undead unto the City of Angels. “Evil Dead Rise,” the fifth entry in Sam Raimi’s “The Evil Dead” series, is probably among the festival’s three or four most anticipated titles. Directed by Lee Cronin (“The Hole in the Ground”), the latest installment serves a new cast of characters up to the cursed Sumerian text and its underworld army. A mother of three (Alyssa Sutherland) comes under demonic possession just as her sister (Lily Sullivan) arrives in LA for a visit. The series, which increasingly leaned into camp as it evolved, looks like its returning to the grizzly horror roots of the 1981 original. As long as it doesn’t abandon the franchise’s fidelity to practical effects, you can count on the movie being a success with Raimi’s fans. Warner Bros. is releasing it nationwide April 21.
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“Bottoms”
Image Credit: SXSW Film Festival Emma Seligman and Rachel Sennott, the rockstar director-actor duo 2020 SXSW premiere “Shiva Baby” introduced us to, are returning to Austin with “Bottoms.” A queer “American Pie,” the festival headliner is about two high school outcasts (Sennott, also credited as a co-writer, and “The Bear’s” Ayo Edebiri) who begin a competition to hook up with as many cheerleaders as possible before graduation. Kaia Gerber, Ruby Cruz, Havana Rose Liu, Dagmara Dominczyk and former Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch co-star. Elizabeth Banks produces.
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“I Used to Be Funny”
Image Credit: SXSW Film Festival Rachel Sennott is also at the festival to represent “Schitt’s Creek” writer Ally Pankiw’s feature debut, “I Used to Be Funny.” The movie is about a young stand-up comic (Sennott) struggling with PTSD and deliberating whether to join the search for a teenager (Olga Petsa) she used to babysit. Between “Shiva Baby,” “Bodies Bodies Bodies” and the two films she’s in town to promote this year, Sennott is becoming something of an Austin staple.
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“Northern Comfort”
Image Credit: SXSW Film Festival An occupationally and generationally eclectic bunch endures the wintry hell of an Icelandic layover after signing up for a course designed to help participants master aerophobia. “Northern Comfort” stars Lydia Leonard, Timothy Spall, Ella Rumpf, Sverrir Guðnason, Simon Manyonda and Rob Delaney. The biggest name is undoubtedly Spall’s, and any opportunity to see the actor play curmudgeonly in a comedy is too good to pass up.
