SXSW Screenings to Watch

For the next week, our team of writers will be sprinting around Austin to catch as many movies premiering at SXSW as humanly possible. Here’s what’s on our can’t-miss radar in case you’re lucky enough to snag a waitlist ticket or sneaky enough to get past security.

James McDonald, Resident Tastemaker

Y2K

Kyle Mooney's new movie. I loved Brigsby Bear and Saturday Morning All Star Hits!

We Strangers

This director worked on some cool TV comedies and I’m hoping this will have something interesting to say about class and capitalism.

Grand Theft Hamlet

Documentary about a group of people performing Hamlet in GTA online.

Arcadian

New post-apocalyptic Nic Cage movie.

Cold Wallet

I don't know much about it but I hope this fits in the Color Crime movie genre

Cuckoo

It's very likely that I'll watch anything with Hunter Schafer.

Desert Road

I'm a sucker for those Groundhog Day premises.

Omni Loop

This Groundhog Day premise has Ayo Edebiri in it.

Timestalker

This one is like a reincarnation Groundhog Day but it's directed by Alice Lowe of Prevenge.

The Uninvited

This one has a good cast and might be one of those movies that's all in one location and I love that type of thing.

Azrael

No dialogue horror movie. May also be a creature feature

Hunting Daze

This one could be a really interesting story about gender roles. That's what I hope it is

Adrianne & The Castle

Doc about a couple that build a castle in Illinois but apparently retold as a musical.

Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story

I have this record and have always wanted to know more about Jackie Shane

Faders Up: The John Aielli Experience

I still remember hearing him and thinking it was the craziest thing I'd ever heard on Public Radio.

Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told

I'm curious.

I Saw the TV Glow

I think everyone is excited by this follow up to We're All Going to the World's Fair.

Sasquatch Sunset

I'm gonna see this eventually.

Also, shorts:

The Last Brunch (Jim Cummings)

The Rainbow Bridge (Dimitri Simakis)

Bug Diner (Phoebe Jane Hart)

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Blake Williams, Writer

Road House

Jake Gyllenhaal. Doug Liman. Conor McGregor. Remake of a dope movie. Need I say more?

We’re All Gonna Die

The Rocket Jump team making their feature length debut. If it’s anywhere close to this banger, we’re in for a good time.

Civil War

MAKE ALEX (GARLAND) GREAT AGAIN. Hopefully this is the one to do it and not just a prediction for an upcoming election.

Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told

One time I had an idea for a block party/strip club called “The Strip Streetz” but was told I was just remaking Freaknik subconsciously, so I’m glad there’s a movie about the actual event now.

Grand Theft Hamlet

If you’ve ever played Grand Theft Auto: Online, then you should know this sounds impossible to pull off.

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Justin Norris, Interviewer Extraordinaire

Oddity

My eyes are respectfully gazing at the various terrors held in SXSW’s Midnighter programming. One film is Daniel McCarthy’s Oddity, which comes on the heels of his buzzy 2020 feature, Caveat. This new work centers around a creepy wooden mannequin, and honestly, it’s time for scary mannequins to get their time in the sun in the horror genre.

Azrael

Apologies for the double inclusion of Midnighter programs here, but I can’t turn down another joint from E.L. Katz (who created the intriguing Cheap Thrills way back in 2013). His latest feature Azrael promises a lot of things: mute cult members, the apocalypse, and Samara Weaving, continuing her takeover of the horror genre!

Musica

I’m just here to see Vine (!!!) star Rudy Mancuso take on the task on writing, directing and starring in a feature film. Also, it’s always great to see some Latin representation in the fest!

Monkey Man

100% here just to see how yoked Dev Patel gets for this one. Of course, it’s also very cool to see the always reliable actor take on the duties of writing and directing what looks to be a balls-to-the-wall action flick.

The Idea of You

Two names: Anne Hathaway and Michael Showalter. The former: I mean come on, it’s Anne Freaking Hathaway! The latter: Michael Showalter, director of one of my favorite rom-coms of the past 10 years. Can he turn what admittedly sounds like a cheesy love story into something more than that? Only one way to find out!

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Julia Hebner, Writer

To me, festivals are for seeing foreign films, low budget independent films (that are actually low budget), and films that are niche, art house, or experimental. These are titles that may not get even a limited release, so I really relish the opportunity to see them in a theater. 

The program this year offers a slate of Pakistani films, especially exciting because this is a country whose cinema gets very little global exposure. Wakhri, written and directed by Iram Parvenu Bilal, is about a teacher who accidentally goes viral and riles the ire of conservative mindsets and “secret identities.” I’m intrigued. 

Second is Amman Abbasi’s Yazmeen’s Element, in which a young girl loses her homework and sets upon a quest though the mountains in order to find her teacher. It’s a premise that sounds very much like Abbas Kiarostami’s Where Is The Friend’s House, and I’m very interested to see the similarities and differences. 

Rounding out this lineup is The Queen of My Dreams, from Canadian-Pakistani writer/director Fawzia Mirza, which explores grief, memory, and homeland through Bollywood conventions. This checks all my boxes.

There is also an offering from Iceland this year: Helena Stefándóttir’s Natatorium, and the description is mysterious, which feels befitting of an Icelandic film. A young girl passes an audition for a performance group and family celebrations go… southward. A Natatorium is a building which contains at least one indoor pool. I am so ready to go into this blind. 

And of course I am looking forward to seeing all the short films! I’ve got my eyes open for standouts, but I also want to take in the breadth and the range of styles and perspectives that are unique to a shorts program. Gimme, gimme, gimme, I want to see all the new things people are doing. 

Ziah Grace, Editor in Chief

I Saw the TV Glow

I was absolutely head over heels for Jane Schoenbrun’s debut feature We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, and I’m unbelievably excited to see what she does with more money and more experience. Probably my most anticipated movie of the year and, based purely on the creative team and positive word of mouth, has a very good chance of dethroning my current favorite movie of 2024 (Madame Web).

Dickweed

I dunno, man, sometimes you wanna watch a true-crime doc about a weed dealing who gets his dick cut off.

Dìdi (弟弟)

HFC writer and all-around cool guy Andy really enjoyed this movie and it’s been on my list since he saw it at Sundance. Excited to experience the melancholy pull of nostalgia now that my childhood era is sufficiently “retro.”

Secret Mall Apartment

I simply love stories of people living in the walls. Some people could be living in yours right now. How could you know?

Sing Sing

Very interesting concept for a film and using actors from the program for the film itself makes it all the more intriguing. Colman Domingo’s been delivering powerful performances for years—I hope this is the big-time role he’s deserved.

Going to echo my team and say that Grand Theft Hamlet sounds absolutely fascinating.