“American Gods,” “Ghost in the Shell” among SXSW Film Fest lineup

PanARMENIAN.Net - The highly-anticipated 2017 South by Southwest Film Festival has finally announced the feature film line-up for its 24th edition. The film festival will bring 125 movies on screen, with additional titles yet to be announced, AceShowbiz reports.

Janet Pierson, SXSW's director of film, said in a statement, "It's exciting for us to unveil the talent reflected in this year's lineup. We intentionally curate a wide-ranging program reflecting unique and new voices that examine, explore, and celebrate the creative process, the cultural zeitgeist, and glimpses of the universal through deeply personal stories." He continued, "Whether genre, big crowd pleasers, quiet meditations, hard-hitting docs, or microbudget indies, we can't wait to share these films with our smart, passionate audiences."

The eclectic line-up includes Edgar Wright's "Baby Driver", starring Ansel Elgort as a young getaway driver, Brie Larson-starring action comedy "Free Fire" and Michael Showalter's Sundace breakout "The Big Sick". Other highlights include Michael Winterbottom-directed movie "On the Road", which follows a British rock band and Grammy-nominee Wolf Alice on their tour, Frank Oz's "Muppet Guys Talking: Secret Behind the Show the Whole World Watched", Alice Lowe's "Prevenge", Elijah Bynum-helmed pic "Hot Summer Nights", and many more.

"Song to Song", which is directed by Terrence Malick, is set to open the event. It is a movie about Austin music scene, starring Rooney Mara, Ryan Gosling, Michael Fassbender and Natalie Portman. During the nine-day event, the film festival is set to screen 84 World Premieres, 11 North American Premieres and 6 U.S. Premieres. It will also continue the tradition of showcasing the new talents by featuring 51 pics from first-timer filmmakers.

In its episodic section, SXSW will present the world premiere of Straz's "American Gods", the adaptation of Neil Gaiman's novel, Netflix's "Dear White People", a spin-off of the critically-acclaimed 2014 movie with the same name, and AMC's "The Son". The fest will also feature special screenings of Mamoru Oshii's original "Ghost in the Shell" and Ridley Scott's "Alien".

SXSW will run March 10-19 in Austin Texas. The full line-up for Narrative Feature Competition, Documentary Feature Competition, Narrative Spotlight, Documentary Spotlight, Visions, Episodic, 24 Beats Per Second, Global, Festival Favorites and Special Events can be found on the official website. Meanwhile, The Midnighters, Short Film and the VR Program line-up will be announced later on February 7.