And thats another SXSW for the history books.
It was a lot of fun, a lot of work, and as always over too soon.
(Spoiler: McConaugheys much celebratedThe Rivals of the Amaziah Kingis one of the ones we missed!)
Heres the round-up to prove it.
But then again not many animated sitcoms are Prime Videos#1 Happy Family USA.
His dad Hussein Hussein (also Youssef) breaks out into pro-America song numbers routinely.
Ramy Youssef (Rumi)
Also, Grandma (Randa Jarrar) appears to have Doc Ock arm attachments.
Rated H it may be, but that could just as easily stand for Halal.
Alec Bojalad
American Sweatshop
Most folks objectively recognize the internet is a terrible and unpleasant place.
Vincent Wrenn
But most of us also never think about the poor souls who are encouraged (tricked?)
into trying to clean it up for lawsuit-fearing tech companies.
Director Uta Briesewitz and star/producer Lili Reinhart care though.
Photo by: Nick Morgulis
And maybe they can convince you to put down the doom-scroller in your hand for a while withAmerican Sweatshop.
Briesewitz wisely elects to mostly obscure what those things are.
But we glimpse them in miniature reflection on Reinharts pupils as they burrow into her soul.
Photo by: Nick Morgulis
Rendy Jones
Are We Good?
That phrase began as a verbal tic from comedian Marc Maron as he launched his eventual medium-conquering podcastWTFin 2009.
Its only fitting then that the documentary about him bears that familiar phrase.
Photo by: Nick Morgulis
It also covers his triumphant 2023 specialFrom Bleak to Darkand his still-fraught but now simpler relationship with his father.
Through it all Feinartz summons many of Marons peers in the comedy world to explain his unique appeal.
Marcs having a bad time all day.
Photo by: Nick Morgulis
Then gets on stage and destroys the audience, John Mulaney offers.
Its all part and parcel for a drive-in dopamine-hit.
Other highs include fantasy dream sequences and an ensemble that includes Aaron Paul andThe Raids Iko Uwais.
Photo by: Nick Morgulis
DC
The Astronaut
Kate Maraknows her way around a spaceship.
After all, she helped steer one of the great ones in cinema during Ridley ScottsThe Martian.
But in that film, she never really got to come back down to Earth.
Photo by: Nick Morgulis
Apparently it needed emergency deployment aftersomethingcracked the hull, and even suit, of Maras Capt.
This proves to be a kinetic and spacious kickoff to what is really a claustrophobic thriller.
DC
The Ballad of Wallis Island
Music can remind us of a time.
Photo by: Nick Morgulis
Music can remind us of a place.
Music puts us in touch with the people we once were.
There is something sweet about that.
Photo by: Nick Morgulis
It can also be annoying as hell.
James GriffithsThe Ballad of Wallis Islandfinds humor in both sentiments with an absolute charmer of a movie.
Actually, as it turns out, there is only one fan: Charles (Tim Key).
Photo by: Nick Morgulis
And hes also invited Herbs ex and former songwriting collaborator, Nell Mortimer (Carey Mulligan).
Basden and Key in fact wrote it as a short film some 18 years ago, which Griffiths directed.
Although that doesnt mean trips down memory lane are ever truly safe.
Photo by: Nick Morgulis
Bacon himself was in the pool for the stunt.
What follows is a fun and breezy half-hour journey of self destruction with only occasional breaks for growth.
Maybe the awful characteristics about her, I dont have them!
JULIE VRABELOVA
The last time was because he brought future cult classicTucker and Dale vs. Evilto town.
He might have another on his hands with this Shudder-bound horror-comedy,Clown in a Cornfield.
Suddenly, its like if Freddy Krueger had a fanged point to make to kids these days.
Amazon MGM
She assembled a weird writers room to build ideas and jokes.
Glowicki says the structure forced us to be spontaneous and trust ourselves.
Dead Loveris bound to be a buzzy camp hit on the festival circuit for its innovative filmmaking approach.
Photo by: Nick Morgulis
Glowickis risk paid off as she took home the NEON Auteur Award for Uncompromising Visionary in the Visions Section.
Its admittedly a much more impressive award than ours, but not nearly as fun.
Pleasantly, though, any attempt to corner that market turns into an absolute bloodbath.
Photo by: Nick Morgulis
For Bolger, the slightest hint of extraterrestrial life had her from the jump.
First of all, Im obsessed with aliens.
Were very knowledgeable about this [topic], UAPs.
Photo by: Nick Morgulis
On a deeper level, Bolger was excited about exploring the films familial themes through the science fiction lens.
And what changes you?
Those factors are wonderful when you might merge them with something science fiction or ethereal or alien.
Photo by: Nick Morgulis
Unfortunately, one stranger in the back doesnt want to imbibe.
DC
Fantasy Life
Theres a very deliberate choice made by actor-turned-director Matthew Shear in his first feature.
Instead we are asked to deal with the aftermath of the proverbial pyrotechnics.
Searchlight Pictures
We are asked to deal with what it means to be human.
Its messy, sometimes tragicomic, and ultimately sweet.
WithFucktoys, the psychics prophecy has come true.
Photo by: Nick Morgulis
The film is set in Trashtown, which Sriram described as a neglected Americana yesteryear landscape.
Trashtown is a term of endearment.
Srirams singular vision for Trashtown earned her the festivals Special Jury Award for a Multi-Hyphenate.
Photo by: Nick Morgulis
Ever notice how your dog or cat stares off into the darkness of empty rooms?
Has it ever creeped you out to ponder what it is theyre getting so worked up about after midnight?
Well,Good Boyhas the answers, and theyre provided through a dogs perspective.
Photo by: Nick Morgulis
What could be a gimmick ultimately works as a bit of inspired, if rough-around-the-edges, genre moviemaking.
DC
Government Cheese
How far can magical thinking take you?
InGovernment Cheese, Hampton Chambers (David Oyelowo) will endeavor to find out.
Photo by: Nick Morgulis
Will that be enough to realize the American dream?
Hell, will it be enough to pay off the debts Hampton unknowingly incurred from the dangerous Prevost brothers?
Guess well find out!
Photo by: Nick Morgulis
Now she wants Mom and Dad to come fix it for her.
Its a relentless triumph.
Stay for the credits.
Photo by: Nick Morgulis
DC
Holland
Mimi Caves first feature was the seductively twisted horror-comedyFresh.
Look, theres obviously something ominous occurring beneath the surface, andHollandtakes its time getting there.
LifeHack
Producer Timur Bekmambetov has spent about a decade making screenlife movies likeSearchingandUnfriended.
Photo by: Nick Morgulis
Some have been clever genre inversions and others tacky high-concepts.
Its all flash and a lot of fun.
DC
Mix Tape
You never forget the boy who makes you your first mix tape.
Photo by: Nick Morgulis
So says Allison (Teresa Palmer) near the conclusion ofMix Tapes first episode.
The four-episode series, an Irish-Australian joint production, then goes on to reveal just how right she is.
The gap left by Michael Jai WhitesBlack Dynamiteis a void that I thought couldnt have been filled.
Coldwave at SXSW 2025. Photo by Perry Hall.
Lanfia WalsNew Jack Furyisnt quite there, but it delivers via its sheer silliness and charm.
The movie is one hilarious over the top gag after the next with the hit ratio being extremely high.
Its cartoonish in the best way possible.
Dune Rats at SXSW 2025. Photo by Perry Hall.
Johnson returned home to Canada and the screening became a legend within the shows creative and production team.
They submitted an unfinished cut and still made the festival.
For SXSW it was worth the risk.
For Johnson and McCarrol it was well worth the wait.
Its been 17 years since the originalNirvannawebseries was released.
It felt like a gift that we gave to all the fans who stuck with us, McCarrol says.
Did you grow up loving post-apocalyptic or dystopian wasteland movies with dilapidated mega-cities?
These would be yourBlade Runners and Tim BurtonBatmans, but alsoDark Citys andStreets of Fires?
Do you know all the words to Science Fiction Double Feature and Meatloafs big moment inRocky Horror Picture Show?
Hopefully today, it still finds the descendents of that on Hulu at the end of the month.
NASA was barely ready for a woman at that time.
Tam is an incredible gift to a documentary filmmaker, Costantini says.
She is an amazing storyteller.
She has an incredible memory.
And to that we say… good on ya, South By!
This comedy-drama from Australian filmmaker Amy Wang is an entertaining and affecting coming-of-age story with a clever supernatural bent.
Call itThe Substancefor the YA crowd: smart, silly, and satisfyingly gross.
Three cheers toStars Dinercreators Fidel Ruiz-Healy, Tyler Walker, and Mary Neely for making it happen.
Not only will the steak get overcooked but the nearby supervolcano may exterminate all life in Fresno.
Seriously, if your hometown has any sort of cool cred, its playing this Saturday at midnight somewhere.
May it continue to provide that time warp release for another 50 years.
I loved the script.
Filmmaking is a collaborative medium, but that approach is extra collaborative, Ohs says.
He calls the process his table of bubbles.
Harris, who executive produced and previously collaborated with Ohs on the editing of HarrisSlave Play.
A Play.,credited the director for building a creatively freeing atmosphere on set.
The genre isnt horror.
Its much like [David] Lynch.
Part of being in an Ohs-ian universe is saying yes to his table of bubbles.
Its a very fragile process to say yes to whats on the table to keep the table alive.
Its like being in film school with the best, most active professor.
Curiouser still, a few of the dead wont stay down.
The hapless local authorities euphemistically refer to these folks as coming back online.
Its in this context that Ridleys Ava enters the island as a member of the Bodies Retrieval Unit.
The irony, and day-to-day indignity, of such a prospect grounds the horror in an eerie verisimilitude.
Ridley does raw work, too, when encountering others haunted by those, uh, terminally online.
The show will go on, albeit reduced by two days.
The artists that did travel to SXSW 2025 still packed a punch, though.
They delivered yet again.
