SXSW Film Festival Preview: Friendship, Death of a Unicorn and more
It’s that time of year again: the Hyperreal Film Journal crew is hitting the town for the 2025 SXSW Film Festival. Take a peek below at our writers’ top picks, from niche small-town America documentaries to big-budget sequels like Another Simple Favor and The Accountant 2.
Ziah Grace, Staff Writer
As Austin’s foremost Matthew McConaughey expert, it’s my duty to check out his new film. It’s even got my name in it! Maybe this is the start of a new McConaughessaince.
I love an offbeat documentary and this one, which follows a group of government-approved python hunters in the Florida everglades, seems like a very interesting untold story.
The Russian district of West Hollywood is weirdly under-featured amongst the many LA-based movies, and it’s always been an intriguing area of the city (and home to some of the best pizza/bread and butter products in town). LA is so much more than Hollywood, Venice, and downtown, and I’m excited to see another side of that here.
Gabrielle Sanchez, Editor
As the discourse concerning the use—or lack thereof—of intimacy coordinators on film sets continues, a documentary exploring the ins and outs of this relatively new role feels vital. Claire Warden is one of the vanguard of intimacy coordination, so bearing witness to how she navigates not only the logistical design of intimacy scenes, but the emotional components as well, should be illuminating.
Making its world premiere at SXSW, Glorious Summer tells the story of three women who find themselves trapped in a glowy paradise where all their needs are met and they bear no responsibilities. Utterly captivating premise, especially as the three begin to use a "touch language” and “secretly practice how to die” in order to escape their perfectly attuned sanctuary.
Tim Robinson wreaking havoc on Paul Rudd’s life out of a deep need for male camaraderie? It’s a no-brainer, upping the stakes of the average episode of I Think You Should Leave, with Robinson threatening to ruin yet another life through social obsession and lack of boundaries.
Executive produced by longtime friends and collaborators Gael García Bernal & Diego Luna, ASCO: Without Permission tells the forgotten story of the revolutionary Chicano art collective based in Los Angeles in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Blending fiction and non-fiction and heavily relying on original work from the prominent Latinx artists of today, ASCO: Without Permission feels like the documentary to see this year at SXSW.
Justin Harrison, Staff Writer
What’s the rule with fantasy? Don’t screw with the critters. What do too-wealthy knuckleheads love to do? Screw with people, places, and things—critters included. I’m curious how this will thread the needle between comedy and horror. If nothing else, there will be impalings.
“Dumb crooks get in over their heads” is a marvelous story engine. Bunny combines that with the chaotic potential of modern city life and multiple corpses. I’m intrigued, especially with the promise of a large ensemble.
Memory is key to mysteries—who experienced what, where, and why. It’s also a powerful site for mystery itself, as looks to be the case with Yana Alliata’s character study of a young man alone at a luau.
Alix Mammina, Editor-in-Chief
We’re being blessed with another Nicole Kidman-helmed thriller this year and I couldn’t be happier. With a cast including Gael García Bernal, Rachel Sennott and Matthew Macfdyen, this small-town mystery set during the Hollan, MI, tulip festival looks like a very fun ride.
British-Iranian director Babak Anvari has carved out a space in tightly plotted psychological horror films. In his latest, Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys—two top-tier picks for any thriller—take the wheel on a late-night drive to reach their daughter after a tragic accident.
Documentary filmmaker Elaine Epstein seems to have gained unfettered access to a group of Amish and Mennonite women in Arrest the Midwife, a highly relevant story of a fight for reproductive rights.
Blake, Staff Writer
When it was announced that this movie was one of the headliners for SXSW this year, I was a bit surprised to find out that it was actually real. It felt like for the past nine years people have mentioned that The Accountant 2 was happening, but good on them for finishing it and finally having a product ready to show the public. Hopefully, it reaches the full potential of its silly accountant/secret hitman concept.
I love Flying Lotus’ music, but his directorial debut Kuso left a lot to be desired. He seems to have moved past his “lol so random” gross-out phase with Ash. If the movie is anything like his music, then maybe he could pioneer a new wave of sci-fi horror by bringing his own flair to the genre.
I know two things about this movie: it’s a sequel to one of my favorite movies from 2018, A Simple Favor, and I like Paul Feig. I am excited to watch it. I don’t want to know anything else about this movie until I’m seated watching it. If you have information about this movie, please do not share it with me until after I have seen it.
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Ziah is the founder and former editor-in-chief of the Hyperreal Film Journal. He can usually be found at Austin Film Society or biking around town.