South by Southwest Film Festival unveils eclectic lineup

PanARMENIAN.Net - South by Southwest has unveiled most of its eclectic lineup with world premieres of movies starring James Caan, Nicolas Cage, Ethan Hawke, Keegan-Michael Key, Adam Scott and Bella Thorne, Variety reports.

The 23rd edition of the Austin-based festival opens March 11 with the previously announced Richard Linklater comedy-drama “Everybody Wants Some”.

The nine-day festival will screen 139 films, including 52 films from first-time filmmakers, 89 world premieres, 14 North American premieres and seven U.S. premieres. These films were selected from 2,455 feature-length film submissions composed of 1,467 U.S. and 990 international feature-length films from a total of 7,235 submissions.

Notable world premieres include Mike Birbiglia’s “Don’t Think Twice,” starring Keegan-Michael Key; Ti West’s “In a Valley of Violence,” starring Ethan Hawke and Taissa Farmiga; “The Master Cleanse,” starring Johnny Galecki and Anna Friel; Sophie Goodhart’s “My Blind Brother,” starring Adam Scott and Nick Kroll; “Shovel Buddies,” starring Bella Thorne; “The Trust,” starring Nicolas Cage and Elijah Wood; and Kasra Farahani’s “The Waiting,” starring James Caan.

“Demolition,” which opened the Toronto Film Festival in September, will get its U.S. premiere at SXSW. The drama is directed by Jean-Marc Vallée and stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts and Chris Cooper. Don Cheadle’s Miles Davis biopic “Miles Ahead,” which closed the New York Film Festival in October, will be screened as will the U.S. premiere of Chet Baker biopic “Born to Be Blue,” starring Ethan Hawke.

Other notable titles include Ilya Naishuller’s “Hardcore Henry,” starring Sharlto Copley; the North American premiere of John Michael McDonagh’s “War on Everyone,” starring Michael Peña, Alexander Skarsgård and Theo James; the world premiere of Todd Bieber’s documentary “Thank You Del: The Story of the Del Close Marathon”; Danny McBride’s “Vice Principals” in the episodics category; Stella Meghie’s “Jean of the Joneses,” starring Taylor Paige and Sherri Shepherd; and Keith Maitland’s “A Song For You: The Austin City Limits Story.”

“SXSW prides itself on presenting an eclectic mix of emerging and established talent in a range of genres from comedy, thrillers, docs and international gems,” said Janet Pierson, head of SXSW Film. “We’ve been told we program the way real people watch movies: sometimes for fun, sometimes for mind expansion, then there’s the art, and who doesn’t love a great surprise?”

Pierson said the festival has decided to keep the number of titles in the narrative and documentary competitions at 10 each. That number was boosted last year from eight in each category.

“We selected filmmakers who are early in their careers for the competition slots,” she added.

She also noted that the number of films screening — currently at 139, but due to rise in coming weeks — is consistent with last year’s total of 150. “We are trying to hold the line,” Pierson added.

The festival features about 200 keynotes, conversations, panels, workshops and mentor sessions, plus an additional 400-plus convergence sessions. The complete conference lineup will be released on Feb. 16. Midnighters, Festival Favorites and Special Events will be announced along with the Short Film Program on Feb. 9.

The Narrative Feature Competition includes: “The Arbalest,” directed by Adam Pinney; “Before The Sun Explodes,” directed by Debra Eisenstadt; “Claire in Motion,” directed by Lisa Robinson and Annie J. Howell; “collective:unconscious,” directed by collective:unconscious (Lily Baldwin, Frances Bodomo, Daniel Patrick Carbone, Josephine Decker and Lauren Wolkstein); “Donald Cried,” directed by Kris Avedisian; “Hunter Gatherer,” directed by Josh Locy; “Miss Stevens,” directed by Julia Hart; “The Other Half,” directed by Joey Klein; “A Stray,” directed by Musa Syeed; and “Transpecos,” directed by Greg Kwedar

The Documentary Feature Competition includes: “Accidental Courtesy: Daryl Davis, Race & America” directed by Matt Ornstein; “Alive and Kicking,” directed by Susan Glatzer; “Best and Most Beautiful Things,” directed by Garrett Zevgetis; “Goodnight Brooklyn – The Story of Death By Audio,” directed by Matthew Conboy; “The Liberators,” directed by Cassie Hay; “Orange Sunshine,” directed by William A. Kirkley; “Ovarian Psycos,” directed by Joanna Sokolowski and Kate Trumbull-LaValle; “The Seer,” directed by Laura Dunn; “The Space in Between – Marina Abramovic and Brazil,” directed by Marco Del Fiol; and “Tower,” directed by Keith Maitland.

SXSW has been the launchpad for “Short Term 12,” “Chef,” “Tiny Furniture,” “Bridesmaids,” “Monsters” and “Undefeated.” Last year’s lineup included Sally Field’s “Hello, My Name Is Doris,” Paul Feig’s Melissa McCarthy vehicle “Spy,” Bill Pohlad’s “Love & Mercy,” Alex Gibney’s “Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine” and Mitch Dickman’s legalized marijuana spotlight “Rolling Papers.”