With Sundance just wrapping up and Berlin starting up in a few days, we are now immersed in the year-long barrage of film festivals. One such festival in South By Southwest. A few weeks back they announced the first seven films of their program, including the opening night film BRAND: A Second Coming. Today, they have revealed the rest of the features to be shown in March (except for the midnight program), and some of it has me very excited.
The bigger titles announced do not do much for me. Paul Feig‘s Spy, starring Melissa McCarthy, and the Will Ferrell/Kevin Hart starrer Get Hard leave a lot to be desired in terms of anticipation, as does a work in progress cut of Judd Apatow‘s latest film Trainwreck. I’m guessing an Apatow work in progress is probably around three and a half hours.
Other headliners announced include the Brian Wilson biopic Love & Mercy, Alex Gibney‘s latest documentary Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine, and TIFF alum Manglehorn by David Gordon Green.
The (potentially) more interesting stuff is looking a little lower on the list. One title that really made me raise an eyebrow is a documentary called The Sandwich Nazi. Just read this description and tell me you wouldn’t be first in line:
Deli owner Salam Kahil is an art collector, a former male escort, an amateur musician, and a sandwich maker to the homeless in Vancouver’s poorest neighbourhood but his true passion is talking about blowjobs.
I hear at least four of you buying badges for the festival immediately. Along with that film, others making their world premiere that caught my attention include the Karey Dornetto (Community, Portlandia) penned comedy Fresno, starring Judy Greer, Natasha Lyonne, Aubrey Plaza, and many other funny people. Another is Robert Duvall‘s return to the director’s chair with Wild Horses.
There is a whole host of movies I cannot wait to see and movies I don’t really want to but will see anyway. Below and on the next three pages, you will see the full list of features being shown at this year’s SXSW. Again, that is excluding the midnights program and probably a few other titles they’ll add at the last second. They usually do. What from the following list interests you? What are films you want to see me review? Take a look. When we get a little closer to the festival and more films have been announced, I will do my most anticipated list for the fest.
Narrative Feature Competition
- 6 Years (dir. Hannah Fidell)
A young couple bound by a seemingly ideal love begins to unravel as unexpected opportunities spin them down a volatile and violent path and threaten the future they had always imagined. - THE BOY (dir. Craig Macneill)
THE BOY is an intimate portrait of a 9-year-old sociopath’s growing fascination with death. - Creative Control (dir. Benjamin Dickinson)
In near future Brooklyn, an ad executive uses a new Augmented Reality technology to conduct an affair with his best friend’s girlfriend…sort of. - Funny Bunny (dir. Alison Bagnall)
Funny Bunny is a serious comedy about a friendless anti-obesity crusader and a trust fund manchild who vie for the heart of a reclusive animal activist and incest survivor, releasing her demons and forming an unlikely ‘family’ in the process. - The Grief of Others (dir. Patrick Wang)
Based on Leah Hager Cohen’s critically-acclaimed novel, a family struggles with a tragic loss when an unexpected visitor arrives. She stirs the pain of past betrayals but might also offer an unforeseen gift: a way out of their isolating grief. - KRISHA (dir. Trey Edward Shults)
When Krisha returns for a holiday gathering, the only things standing in her way are family, dogs, and turkey. - Manson Family Vacation (dir. J. Davis)
The story of two brothers: one who’s devoted to his family, the other who’s obsessed with the Manson Family. - Quitters (dir. Noah Pritzker)
A teenager’s family falls apart, so he goes in search of a better one. - Sweaty Betty (dir. Joseph Frank, Zachary Reed)
On the border of Washington DC, two stories of big dreams take place – a family is determined to turn their 1000 pound pig into the Redskins’ football team mascot, and two teenage fathers scheme a better life for themselves and their children. - Uncle John (dir. Steven Piet)
Uncle John is an intimately told story that revolves around the struggle to keep a mysterious disappearance unsolved.
Documentary Feature Competition
- Breaking a Monster (dir. Luke Meyer)
Breaking a Monster chronicles the break-out year of the band Unlocking The Truth, as the 12 and 13-year-old members first encounter stardom and the music industry, transcending childhood to become the rock stars they always dreamed of being. - Deep Time (dir. Noah Hutton)
Ancient oceans teeming with life, Norwegian settlers, Native Americans and multinational oil corporations find intimacy in deep time. - FRAME BY FRAME (dir. Alexandria Bombach, Mo Scarpelli)
After decades of war and an oppressive Taliban regime, four Afghan photojournalists face the realities of building a free press in a country left to stand on its own – reframing Afghanistan for the world and for themselves. - Madina’s Dream (dir. Andrew Berends)
An unflinching and poetic glimpse into a forgotten war, Madina’s Dream tells the story of rebels and refugees fighting to survive in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains. - Peace Officer (dir. Scott Christopherson, Brad Barber)
A former sheriff will stop at nothing to confront the SWAT team he founded. - Poached (dir. Timothy Wheeler)
Obsessive egg thieves rob the nests of rare birds while a UK national police force tries to stop them. Poached delves into the psychology of these criminals, showing that when passion turns it can destroy the very object of one’s desire. - The Sandwich Nazi (dir. Lewis Bennett)
Deli owner Salam Kahil is an art collector, a former male escort, an amateur musician, and a sandwich maker to the homeless in Vancouver’s poorest neighbourhood but his true passion is talking about blowjobs. - She’s The Best Thing In It (dir. Ron Nyswaner)
Broadway legend Mary Louise Wilson teaches her first acting class, smashing her students’ red carpet illusions. An examination of acting and the sacrifices required, featuring Frances McDormand, Melissa Leo, Tyne Daly, Valerie Harper and others. - Twinsters (dir. Samantha Futerman, Ryan Miyamoto)
Imagine there was someone out there who you’d never met, looked exactly like you and was born on your birthday. Twinsters is the story of two strangers who discovered they were potentially twin sisters separated at birth. - A Woman Like Me (dir. Alex Sichel, Elizabeth Giamatti)
By creating a fictional character based on herself, filmmaker Alex Sichel learns how to navigate a terminal disease with grace and humor.
