Festivals: SXSW
SXSW 2026 Review: DRAG, Lizzy Caplan Shines As A Would-Be Thief Felled By A Bad Back
Sometimes it feels good to fuck over someone who has wronged you, but sometimes it turns out to be a terrible mistake. In the case of first-time feature writer/directors Raviv Ullman and Greg Yagolnitzer’s Drag, Lizzy Caplan and her movie...
SXSW 2026: WISHFUL THINKING, SUMMER 2000: THE X-CTRA STORY, and More Jury and Special Awards
The 2026 edition of the SXSW Film & TV Festival concluded yesterday and has now announced their Jury and Special Award winners. Graham Parkes' Wishful Thinking won the Narrative Feature Competition. As I noted in our curtain raiser: "Maya Hawkes...
SXSW 2026 Doc Roundup: CEREMONY, FIRST THEY CAME FOR MY COLLEGE, ONE ANOTHER, YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE
From Canada to Florida, from friendship to data points, four highly-charged documentaries made a mark at SXSW.
SXSW 2026 Review: MIKE & NICK & NICK & ALICE, A Sci-Fi Action Gangster Hybrid With Heart
Mike (James Marsden) is done with the gangster life. He’s found a girl, he wants to settle down, and he’s ready to leave it all behind. There are a couple of problems, though. Number one, the girl, Alice (Eiza González),...
SXSW 2026 Review: THEY WILL KILL YOU, Zazie Beetz Slashes Her Way Through A Killer Cult In This Blast Of Bloody Energy
A woman seeking to rescue her little sister takes a job at an ultra-exclusive hotel only to find that the residents have a nasty, violent, murderous secret in director Kirill Sokolov’s Hollywood debut, They Will Kill You. Asia Reaves (Zazie...
SXSW 2026 Review: BEYOND THE DUPLEX PLANET Explores the Life of Artist David Greenberger
In documentaries like Welcome to the Club and The Winding Stream, director Beth Harrington celebrates the work of outsider artists, pinpointing their importance in culture. Beyond the Duplex Planet covers David Greenberger, more overlooked rather than an outsider. For years...
SXSW 2026 Review: MAM, Making a Dream Come True Is Hard Work
Director Nan Feix tells an irresistibly charming story of a cook and a waitress.
SXSW 2026 Review: THEIR TOWN, Walking and Talking. And Making a Connection.
Ora Duplass and Chosen Jacobs star, Katie Aselton directed, Mark Duplass wrote.
SXSW 2026 Review: IMPOSTERS, A Missing Baby Brings Out A Powerful Performance From Jessica Rothe
What a year it has been for first time feature filmmakers at SXSW. Back in 2019, Caleb J. Phillips took home the Midnight Shorts Jury Award for his horror film “Other Side of the Box”, he returns to the fest...
SXSW 2026 Review: THE FOX, Jai Courtney Talks To The Animals In DANGER 5 Creator's Feature Debut
When easygoing Nick (Jai Courtney) encounters a talking fox who offers him a way to fix his ailing relationship with his fiancée, he takes a drastic step that will change everything about the world around him in The Fox, the...
SXSW 2026 Review: AMERICAN DOLLHOUSE, Grief Does Strange Things To Two Women With Mommy Issues
Down on her luck Sarah (Hailley Laurén) has returned to her hometown to take possession of the decrepit family home left behind by her deceased mother. Meanwhile, her nosy, unstable neighbor Sandy (Kelsey Pribilski) is insistent that Sarah continue her...
SXSW 2026 Review: SPARKS, Time Travel Could Be Fun
Elsie Fisher leads a talented ensemble in writer/director Fergus Campbell's charming adventure.
SXSW 2026 Review: HOKUM, Be Very Afraid Of Damian McCarthy's Latest
In 2024 Damian McCarthy lit up the horror world with his quietly terrifying Oddity, a film I reviewed for its SXSW world premiere, and while it was topping year end horror lists left and right, I was a bit less...
SXSW 2026 Review: NEVER AFTER DARK, A Ravishingly Horrific Ghost Story With A Twist
A traveling psychic medium who specializes in clearing unwanted spirits arrives at a remote Japanese hotel to take on her most unexpected and dangerous challenge yet in Dave Boyle’s ravishingly dark ghost story, Never After Dark. Airi (Moeka Hoshi) makes...
SXSW 2026 Review: OVER YOUR DEAD BODY, A Couple Retreats To The Woods To Kill Each Other. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
Every year the SXSW Film & TV Festival Headliner section gets more and more genre film-centric, and the 2026 edition is no different. Among this year’s big ticket selections is Jorma Taccone’s Over Your Dead Body, an English-language adaptation of...
SXSW 2026 Review: THE ASCENT, Climb Every Mountain
Edward Drake, Scott Veltri, and Francis Cronin direct the documentary, which follows one woman's brave journey through trauma and up a mountain, while the night she lost her legs becomes a true-crime story.
SXSW 2026 Review: AND HER BODY WAS NEVER FOUND, What's Love Got to Do With It
Mor Cohen and Polaris Banks scripted and star; Polaris Banks directed.
SXSW 2026 Review: THE MAN WITH THE BIG HAT, Digging Up a Quietly Influential Musician
Singer and songwriter Steven Fromholz's roots go deep and his influence goes wide.
SXSW 2026 Review: SUMMER 2000: THE X-CETRA STORY, Three Chords and the Truth
Actress/director Ayden Mayeri's surprising documentary celebrates life, friendship and the ties that bind. Which is still only half the story. Because there's also the music!
SXSW 2026 Review: GRIND, The Gig Economy Is Killing Gen Z. Literally.
The gig economy is killing Gen Z, and Grind has something to say about it. This anthology film from directors Brea Grant (12 Hour Shift), Chelsea Stardust (Satanic Panic), and Ed Dougherty explores the unique and exquisite pains of making...
