Last week, the SXSW Film Festival presented 132 features lined up for its 2018 edition running from March 9 through 18. Today, the festival announces that Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs will be this year’s Closing Night Film—and it’s added Midnighters, shorts, music videos, late-addition features and more. With descriptions from the festival . . .
MIDNIGHTERS
Ajin: Demi-Human. North American Premiere. Director: Katsuyuki Motohiro. Screenwriter: Kouji Seko. Endless battle between human being and immortal demi-human “Ajin.” A stunning, strikingly original action masterpiece! Cast: Takeru Satoh, Go Ayano, Tetsuji Tamayama, Yu Shirota, Yudai Chiba, Rina Kawaei, and Minami Hamabe.
Blood Fest. World Premiere. Director/Screenwriter: Owen Egerton. In Blood Fest, fans flock to a festival celebrating the most iconic horror movies, only to discover that the charismatic showman behind the event has a diabolical agenda. Cast: Robbie Kay, Jacob Batalon, Seychelle Gabriel, Tate Donovan, Barbara Dunkelman, Nick Rutherford, and Zachary Levi.
Untitled Blumhouse-Bazelevs. World Premiere. Director/Screenwriter: Stephen Susco. A twenty-something finds a cache of hidden files on his new laptop and is thrust into the deep waters of the dark web. From the makers of Unfriended, this thriller unravels in real-time, entirely on a computer screen. A warning for the digital age. Cast: Colin Woodell, Betty Gabriel, Rebecca Rittenhouse, Andrew Lees, Conor del Rio, Stephanie Nogueras, and Savira Windyani.
Field Guide to Evil. World Premiere. Directors: Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, Peter Strickland, Agnieszka Smoczynska, Katrin Gebbe, Can Evrenol, Calvin Reeder, Ashim Ahluwalia, and Yannis Veslemes. They are known as dark folklore. Created to give logic to mankind’s darkest fears, these stories and others laid the foundation for what we now call the horror genre.
Ghost Stories. North American Premiere. Directors/Screenweriters: Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman. An arch skeptic debunker of the supernatural embarks upon a terror filled quest when he stumbles across a long lost file containing details of three cases of inexplicable ‘hauntings.’ Adapted from the Olivier Award Winning hit stage play. Cast: Martin Freeman, Alex Lawther, Jill Halfpenny, Andy Nyman, and Paul Whitehouse.
Hereditary. Director/Screenwriter: Ari Aster. When Ellen, the matriarch of the Graham family, passes away, her daughter’s family begins to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry. Cast: Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne, Ann Dowd, Alex Wolff, and Milly Shapiro.
A Prayer Before Dawn. North American Premiere. Director: Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire. Screenwriters: Jonathan Hirschbein and Nick Saltrese. Based on the international best-seller, A Prayer Before Dawn is the true story of Billy Moore, a troubled young British boxer sent to one of Thailand’s most notorious jails. Cast: Joe Cole, Vithaya Pansringar, Panya Yimmumphai, and Nicolas Shake.
The Ranger. World Premiere. Director: Jenn Wexler. Screenwriters: Jenn Wexler and Giaco Furino. Teen punks, on the run from the cops and hiding out in the woods, come up against the local authority—an unhinged park ranger with an axe to grind. Cast: Chloë Levine, Granit Lahu, Jeremy Pope, Bubba Weiler, Amanda Grace Benitez, Jeremy Holm, and Larry Fessenden.
Upgrade. World Premiere. Director/Screenwriter: Leigh Whannell. In a utopian near-future when technology controls everything, a technophobe avenges his wife’s murder and his own paralysis-causing injury with the help of an experimental computer chip implant—STEM—that turns out to have a mind of its own. Cast: Logan Marshall-Green, Betty Gabriel, Harrison Gilbertson, and Benedict Hardie.
What Keeps You Alive. World Premiere. Director: Colin Minihan. Screenwriters: Colin Minihan and Brittany Allen. Majestic mountains, a still lake and venomous betrayals engulf a female married couple attempting to celebrate their one-year anniversary. Cast: Hannah Emily Anderson, Brittany Allen, Martha Macisaac, Joey Klein, and Charlotte Lindsay Marron.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES
Headliners
Isle of Dogs. North American Premiere. Director/Screenwriter: Wes Anderson. Set in Japan, Isle of Dogs follows a boy’s odyssey in search of his dog. Cast: Bryan Cranston, Koyu Rankin, Edward Norton, Bob Balaban, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Kunichi Nomura, Akira Takayama, Greta Gerwig, Frances McDormand, Akira Ito, Scarlett Johansson, Harvey Keitel, F. Murray Abraham, Yoko Ono, Tilda Swinton, Ken Watanabe, Mari Natsuki, Fisher Stevens, Nijiro Murakami, Liev Schreiber, and Courtney B. Vance.
Narrative Spotlight
Brother’s Nest. World Premiere. Director: Clayton Jacobson. Screenwriter: Jaime Browne. With their Mother dying of cancer, intent on changing her will to benefit her “new” husband before she dies, two brothers go to extreme and deadly lengths to protect their inheritance from being signed away before it’s too late. Cast: Shane Jacobson, Clayton Jacobson, Lynette Curran, Kim Gyngell, and Sarah Snook.
Galveston. World Premiere. Director/Screenwriter: Melanie Laurent. After surviving a setup by his criminal boss, a hitman rescues a young prostitute and flees with her to Galveston, Texas, where the two find strength in each other as dangerous pursuers and the shadows of their pasts follow close behind. Cast: Ben Foster, Elle Fanning, Beau Bridges, Adepero Aduye, Robert Aramayo, Lili Reinhart, and Maria Valverde.
Most Likely to Murder. World Premiere. Director: Dan Gregor. Screenwriters: Dan Gregor and Doug Mand. Billy, the coolest kid in high school, comes back to his hometown fifteen years later to find he’s no longer cool and the girl he still has feelings for now dates the former town outcast. Billy becomes obsessed with proving the outcast is a murderer. Cast: Adam Pally, Rachel Bloom, Vincent Kartheiser, John Reynolds, Didi Conn, Ethan Phillips, Doug Mand, Hasan Minhaj, Rebecca Naomi Jones, and Julia Goldani Telles.
Documentary Spotlight
They Live Here, Now. World Premiere. Director/Screenwriter: Jason Outenreath. Austin based refugee house, Casa Marianella, is one of the most prominent refugee houses in the United States, providing life saving services for thousands of immigrants each year. Meet the people who live here now.
24 Beats Per Second
Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story. World Premiere. Director/Screenwriter: Steve Sullivan. The hilarious and bizarre story of Frank Sidebottom, the cult British comedian in a papier mâché head, and the secretive life of Chris Sievey, the artist trapped inside.
Hearts Beat Loud. Director: Brett Haley. Screenwriters: Brett Haley and Marc Basch. A father and daughter become an unlikely song writing duo before she leaves for college. Cast: Nick Offerman, Kiersey Clemons, Ted Danson, Toni Collette, Blythe Danner, and Sasha Lane.
Global
Jeannette: The Childhood of Joan of Arc. Director/Screenwriter: Bruno Dumont. France, 1425. In the midst of the Hundred Years’ War, the young Jeannette, at the still tender age of eight, looks after her sheep in the small village of Domremy. Cast: Lise Leplat Prudhomme, Jeanne Voisin, Lucile Gauthier, Victoria Lefebvre, and Aline Charles.
Festival Favorites
Blindspotting. Director: Carlos Lopez Estrada. Screenwriters: Rafael Casal and Daveed Diggs. Lifelong friends Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal co-wrote and star in this timely and wildly entertaining story about the intersection of race and class set against the backdrop of a rapidly gentrifying Oakland. Cast: Daveed Diggs, Rafael Casa, Janina Gavankar, and Jasmine Cephas Jones.
Science Fair. Directors: Cristina Costantini and Darren Foster. Screenwriters: Jeffrey Plunkett, Darren Foster, and Cristina Costantini. Nine high school students from around the globe navigate rivalries, setbacks, and of course, hormones, on their journey to compete at the international science fair. Facing off against 1,700 of the smartest, quirkiest teens from seventy-eight different countries, only one will be named Best in Fair.
Sorry to Bother You. Director/Screenwriter: Boots Riley. In an alternate present-day version of Oakland, telemarketer Cassius Green discovers a magical key to professional success, propelling him into a macabre universe. Cast: Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Armie Hammer, Terry Crews, Steven Yeun, Omari Hardwick, Jermaine Fowler, and Danny Glover.
Special Events
Cartoon Network Screening at SXSW. For the third year in a row, Cartoon Network presents a fun-filled family event open to all fans. Be among the first to watch upcoming adventure series, Craig of the Creek plus catch brand new episodes of favorite shows Ben 10 and Unikitty! And fans are in for a special treat with a never-before-seen look at Teen Titans Go! to the Movies, coming to theaters this summer.
Doug Benson Master Pancake and Doug Loves Movies Podcast. Doug Benson returns in the continuing tradition of our annual St. Patrick’s Day screening of the Leprechaun series. On March 17 we present Leprechaun 5: In the Hood, directed by Rob Spera.
20th Century Fox Presents Alita: Battle Angel. SXSW Opening Night Party. For the first time ever, 20th Century Fox welcomes SXSW Platinum and Film badgeholders to Iron City, the movie set where Alita: Battle Angel was filmed. SXSW Platinum and Film badgeholders are invited to join the cast and filmmakers at Robert Rodriguez’s Troublemaker Studios for the 2018 SXSW Opening Night Party in celebration of the upcoming Alita: Battle Angel. Attendees will be picked up at the 5th Street side entrance of the Hilton Hotel in Downtown Austin by Alita: Battle Angel branded shuttles and will be transported to the futuristic Iron City movie set. From 9:30pm to 12:30am on Friday March 9, guests will enjoy cocktails, bites from local food trucks and great music, all within an immersive film set, featuring props from the film.
SHORTS
Narrative Shorts
Allen Anders – Live at the Comedy Castle (circa 1987). Director: Laura Moss, Screenwriter: Tony Grayson. Footage of Allen Anders famed 1987 performance at the Comedy Castle.
Are We Good Parents? World Premiere. Director: Bola Ogun. Screenwriters: Hailey Chavez and (story by) Bola Ogun. When Lauren and Bill’s fourteen-year-old daughter says she’s going to her first dance with her classmate Ryan, they question their preconceived notions of her sexuality and their openness as parents.
The Big Day. World Premiere. Director: Dawn Shadforth. Screenwriter: Kellie Smith. Jess is super excited to attend her step-sister’s wedding and truly become part of the family, but after only recently finding out about her existence, her stepfamily are less than delighted about her presence on the big day.
Brian and Charles. Director: Jim Archer. Screenwriters: David Earl and Chris Hayward. A comedy about two friends who share a cottage in the English countryside. Brian is a poorly groomed, gravelly voiced farmer who struggles with depression and loneliness. Charles is a robot.
Caroline. World Premiere. Directors: Logan George and Celine Held. When plans fall through, a six-year-old is faced with a big responsibility on a hot Texas day.
Carro. World Premiere. Director/Screenwriter: Gustavo Rosa. An undocumented Brazilian immigrant living in the Boston area decides to buy a car in an effort to better his life before returning home.
Emergency. Director: Carey Williams. Screenwriter: K.D. Dávila. Faced with an emergency, a group of young Black and Latino friends weigh the pros and cons of calling the police.
Guilt. World Premiere. Director/Screenwriter: Moisés Aisemberg. Guilt is a direct window into the undeniable violence experienced by children today and the involuntary repression that they must undergo within a society that tolerates abuse.
Haven. North American Premiere. Director/Screenwriter: Kelly Fyffe-Marshall. When a little girl finds solace in between her mother’s legs, biggest fears become reality.
Intercourse. North American Premiere. Director/Screenwriter: Jonatan Etzler. “I’ll give you 100 bucks,” he suggests, and jokingly she agrees, and neither of them see the gravity of the situation. When a sexual boundary is crossed and the balance of power is shifted—what will happen to their peaceful and normal relationship?
Jay-Z, “Moonlight.” Director/Screenwriter: Alan Yang. The One Where No One’s Ready.
Kimchi. World Premiere. Director/Screenwriter: Jackson Kiyoshi Segars. As his family argues about his end-of-life care, an elderly Korean man reflects on his life with a stranger.
Kira Burning. World Premiere. Director/Screenwriter: Laurel Akira Parmet. Teenage Kira attempts to take revenge after a heartbreaking betrayal by her ex-best friend.
Krista. Director: Danny Madden. Screenwriters: Danny Madden and Will Madden. In a high school theater class, Krista uses her scene study as catharsis.
Men Don’t Whisper. Director: Jordan Firstman. Screenwriters: Charles Rogers and Jordan Firstman. After being emasculated at a sales conference, gay couple Reese and Peyton set out to do the most masculine thing they can think of—sleep with some women.
Pink Trailer. North American Premiere. Director: Mary Neely. Screenwriters: Macey Isaacs and Jenny Leiferman. Best friends Lucy and Julie are spending their summer hiding from a terrorizing neighbor until Lucy runs out of her antidepressant, and they’re forced to fight for their lives.
Shiva Baby. World Premiere. Director/Screenwriter: Emma Seligman. At a Jewish funeral service with her parents, a college student runs into her sugar daddy.
Tangles and Knots. Director: Renée Marie Petropoulos. An intimate, unique bond between mother and daughter becomes threatened when the mother helps her teenage daughter throw a party to impress new, more popular friends.
The Things You Think I’m Thinking. Director: Sherren Lee. Screenwriter: Jesse LaVercombe. A black male burn-survivor and amputee goes on a date with a regularly-abled man.
Tooth and Nail. U.S. Premiere. Director: Sara Shaw. Screenwriters: Sara Shaw and Amanda Verwey. A sister makes a bargain with her terminally ill brother. He agrees to let her use his sperm for future use with a partner if she comes out to her family that night.
We Forgot to Break Up. U.S. Premiere. Director: Chandler Levack. Screenwriters: Steven McCarthy and Chandler Levack. After a few years absence, Evan unexpectedly returns one night to face his now-famous former bandmates. The surprise reunion is bittersweet, in this intimate depiction of the knotty complexities of relating to old friends after everything has changed.
Wren Boys. Director: Harry Lighton. Screenwriters: Harry Lighton and John Fitzpatrick.
Documentary Shorts
The Earth is Humming. World Premiere. Director: Garrett Bradley. In Japan, earthquake preparedness is a way of life—and a full-blown industry.
The Coffin Club. World Premiere. Director: Briar March. Screenwriters: Kim Harrop, Nick Ward, and Briar March. A group of rebellious, creative Kiwi seniors give death the finger, one crazy coffin at a time.Jean McGaffin, Kevin Quick, David Mackie, Members of the Kiwi Coffin Club.
Dead. Tissue. Love. World Premiere. Director: Natasha Austin-Green. Dead. Tissue. Love. is an intimate experimental documentary exploring the character of a female necrophile, as she recounts her life experiences and sexual awakening.
Death Metal Grandma. World Premiere. Director: Leah Galant. Screenwriters: Sean Weiner and Leah Galant. Death Metal Grandma follows ninety-seven-year-old Holocaust survivor, Inge Ginsberg, who has decided to break out as a singer of Death Metal music.
Lonesome Willcox. World Premiere. Directors: Ryan Maxey and Zack Wright.Willcox, Arizona is a country music town that isn’t what it used to be. The town’s only radio station has but one employee—a local pariah who lives in the studio, and has a complicated and difficult relationship with the music he plays every day.
My Dead Dad’s Porno Tapes. Director: Charlie Tyrell. Screenwriters: Josef Beeby and Charlie Tyrell. Tyrell seeks to better understand his emotionally distant late-father through the random objects he left behind, including a stack of tacky, 1980s VHS pornography.
A Night at The Garden. Director: Marshall Curry. Months before the start of World War II, 22,000 Americans gathered in New York’s Madison Square Garden to rally in support of Nazism.
On My Way Out: The Secret Life of Nani and Popi. World Premiere. Directors: Brandon Gross and Skyler Gross. Ruth (Nani) and Roman (Popi) are Holocaust survivors married for sixty-five years. After six decades of marriage, a painful truth tests their enduring union. Brandon and Skyler Gross’ moving portrait of their grandparents raises more questions than it answers.
Roadside Attraction. Directors: Patrick Bresnan and Ivete Lucas. Palm Beach International Airport’s newest snowbird has become one of the fastest growing roadside attractions in the United States.
Santa Ana. Director: César Pesquera. Screenwriters: Kako Mendez, Christian Lopez, and César Pesquera. Part art-film, part documentary, Santa Ana aims to elucidate the link between evil and the famed Santa Ana winds, extremely dry down-slope winds in Southern California supposedly responsible for a tense, uneasy, wrathful mood among the people.
Sister Hearts. World Premiere. Director: Mohammad Gorjestani. Maryam Uloho spent thirteen years in prison in Louisiana. After her release in 2013, she was homeless and lived as a squatter for over two years. This experience led her to discover her lifelong mission: To help incarcerated women re-enter society.
The Terrorist Hunter. World Premiere. Director/Screenwriter: Ann Shin. The Terrorist Hunter follows controversial spy Rita Katz, lauded by some for her work fighting terrorism, and criticized by others who say she creates terrorist plots where none exist. The film explores how fear and terror play out in our society.Rita Katz, Bruce Hoffman, Trevor Aaronson, Tim Edgars, Stephen Downs, Lisa Stampnitzky.
Xavier Corbero: Portrait of an Artist in Winter. World Premiere. Director: Nathalie Biancheri. The first and last glimpse into the universe of iconic Spanish sculptor Xavier Corberó. A kaleidoscopic life and career that traversed a turbulent moment of Spanish history.
Animated Shorts
Abnie Oberfork: A Tale of Self-Preservation. World Premiere. Director/Screenwriter: Shannon Fleming. A twelve-year-old girl pickles herself to escape the malaise of childhood.
Agua Viva. Director/Screenwriter: Alexa Lim Haas. A Chinese manicurist attempts to describe feelings she doesn’t have the words for in a language she does not speak.
Intimity. Director/Screenwriter: Elodie Dermange. As she is showering, dressing, putting on her make-up, a woman bares her soul. She speaks of her fears, her complexes, and the process of accepting—even loving—herself.
Jeom. Director: Kangmin Kim. A father and a son both have the same big birthmark on their butt. Believing that the two birthmarks are connected, the son scrubs his father’s birthmark to remove it—but he just can’t get rid of it.
Manivald. Director: Chintis Lundgren. Screenwriters: Chintis Lundgren and Draško Ivezić. Tinged with typically absurdist Estonian humor, Manivald mixes the surreal and the heartfelt in its timely tale of an emotionally unnourished generation that continue to live with their parents well into their adult lives.
Octane. World Premiere. Director: Jeron Braxton. A street race that reflects America’s genocidal history and the parallels between slavery and the private prison system.
People of Color. World Premiere. Director: Raghav Arumugam. An animated documentary about race and perception in America.
The Shivering Truth. Directors: Vernon Chatman and Cat Solen. Screenwriter: Vernon Chatman. An omnibus of painfully riotous daymares dripping with dream logic; a slate of emotional parables from the deepest caverns of your unconscious, lovingly animated in stop-motion. In other words, it is the Truth.
Sog. Director: Jonatan Schwenk. Screenwriters: Jonatan Schwenk and Merlin Flügel. The dystopic drama Sog is about the cruel efforts of a people of humanlike creatures to lash out viciously against a shoal of fish that had unintentionally entered their desolate land.
Solar Walk. U.S. Premiere. Director/Screenwriter: Réka Bucsi. Solar Walk shows the a cosmic journey of individuals and their passion for creation, through the unique and playful texture of the animation craft itself.
Undiscovered. U.S. Premiere. Director: Sara Litzenberger. Sasquatch has always remained elusive in photos–but not for the reasons we think.
Midnight Shorts
Asian Girls. World Premiere. Director/Screenwriter: Hyun Lee. Chan is a Chinese factory worker who lives alone. Every night, she suffers from horrific nightmares involving the woman in the apartment next door, a Japanese office lady.
Brendan Maclean, “House of Air.” Directors: Brian Fairbairn and Karl Eccleston. An exploration of hanky codes and visual signifiers in 1970s San Francisco. Inspired by Hal Fischer’s ‘Gay Semiotics,’ House of Air humorously investigates a clash between coded and explicit representations of gay sex.
Crying Bitch. World Premiere. Director/Screenwriter: Reiki Tsuno. Crying Bitch is a dark tale about a woman’s grudge, mixed with comedy, horror, and a homage to 80s cinema. A dark tale about a man who discovers his wife’s dark side after having an affair with a young girl.
Hair Wolf. World Premiere. Director/Screenwriter: Mariama Diallo. In a black hair salon in gentrifying Brooklyn, the local residents fend off a strange new monster: white women intent on sucking the lifeblood from black culture.
Lil Dicky, “Pillow Talking.” Director: Tony Yacenda. Screenwriters: Lil Dicky and Dave Burd. A story about a man, a woman, and a brain.
Long Distance Relationship. U.S. Premiere. Director/Screenwriter: Carolina Markowicz. A brief story about a gentleman who’s obsessed about having sex with ETs. With Matias Singer.
The Mangina Exit. U.S. Premiere. Director: Byron Brown. Screenwriters: Byron Brown and David James Ward. Two people. Zero broken hearts. One harmless little mangina.
Milk. World Premiere. Director/Screenwriter: Santiago Menghini. On a late night, a young teen goes into the kitchen for a glass of milk. Upon encountering his sleepless mother, he quickly realizes things are not as they seem.
Neverlanding. A Bad Thriller. Director/Screenwriter: Wim Reygaert. A reclusive Michael Jackson impersonator dedicates his whole life to the perfection of his act.
Perfect Town. Director/Screenwriter: Anais Voirol. In search of perfection a city obeys to selection. A constant struggle. Trying and trying again. Where is the difference between endurance and madness?
Who’s the daddy. World Premiere. Director/Screenwriter: Wong Ping. A journey finding my root of shame.
Texas Shorts
An Uncertain Future. Directors: Iliana Sosa and Chelsea Hernandez. In Austin, Texas, two expectant mothers—one undocumented and one U.S. citizen—must contend with increased ICE raids and mounting hostility towards immigrants under President Trump.
Come & Take It. World Premiere. Directors: Ellen Spiro and P. J. Raval. Come & Take It captures Jessica Jin’s transformation into one of America’s most inspired anti-gun violence leaders creating what some people are calling The Great Texas Dildo Revolt.
Don’t Be a Hero. Director/Screenwriter: Pete Lee. Lizzy Jo still lives with mom at forty-five and battles her loneliness and boredom by robbing banks in the guise of a cowboy on her lunch break. After the adrenaline rush wears off, she still has to deal with her deeply unhappy life. Based on a true story.
Ghosted Featuring Kamille, “Get Some.” Director/Screenwriter: Fidel Ruiz-Healy. A story about youthful animalistic lust and how it presents itself under the glow of the full moon light. The answer is it’s messy and there is lots of biting.
Heavy Chemistry. World Premiere. Director/Screenwriter: Blair Rowan. Feelings get complicated and oddly mutual amongst a trio of friends in Heavy Chemistry, a short comedy about love, friendship, attraction, hunger, lust, and other complex chemical reactions.
Maude. Director/Screenwriter: Anna Margaret Hollyman. Teeny thought it was just another routine babysitting job—until she’s shocked to meet the client. As the day goes on, Teeny decides to become the woman she had no idea she always wanted to be . . . until she gets caught.
Nice Ass. World Premiere. Director: Carlyn Hudson. Screenwriter: Jeff Whitaker. After a failed date, Jake maintains a friendly connection with a part of Brooke no one saw coming.
Texas High School Shorts
#RefugeesWelcome. Director/Screenwriter: Ramiro Cantu. In order to survive, a young Syrian woman leaves her home, family and country behind to seek refuge in the United States.
The Art of War. Director/Screenwriter: Cal Etcheverry. There are only two realms in which rules are broken—art and war. This film explores the deontological ethics of war through the deep contrast of the utopian life of a painter and the chaotic life of a battle-bruised soldier.
CCISD Strong. Director: Sofia Rasmussen. These are the stories of people who stepped up in the tough times after Hurricane Harvey and brought hope to the people who needed the support of their community in and around Clear Creek Independent School District.
Confined. Director: The Zavitsanos Brothers. When Myles is held at gunpoint in crime-ridden Baltimore, his life is forever changed . . .
Contact. Director/Screenwriter: Lindsay Wolf. Contact follows two awkward teenagers on a movie date, struggling with whether or not to show their true feelings for each other through subtle physical contact.
Escape. Directors/Screenwriters: Jada Harbin and Karina Harchandani. A nineteen-year-old drunk is triggered to drink when her boyfriend fails to keep his promise. A friend cleans her up and is her shoulder to cry on, maybe even more. Is it too good to be true?
How You See Us. Director/Screenwriter: Susannah Joffe. How You See Us is my way of giving a voice to all the women who are done with being disrespected, and I hope it encourages men to rethink the over-sexualization of women in society.
Hunned Effort. Directors: Nicholas Luna, Alan Lawson. High School Music Video for Alan Lawson’s Hunned Effort. Shot and edited by Nicholas Luna.
Kopecke. Director: C. Fears. Koepcke is an experimental animation about the experience of a seventeen-year-old girl in 1971.
Loveless. Director/Screenwriter: Weston Bering. A couple who meets at a masquerade ball is interrupted by another couple’s plan to heist them.
Molly and Me. Directors: Colton Vanlandingham and Collin Grant. Screenwriters: Sydney Sexton, Mary Patrello, and Gaby Fernandez. Party animal Bryce and sweet Molly meet each other at a party and decide to get to know each other better. They start to find out that neither one of them are who they seem.
The Night I Lost My Favorite Jacket. Director/Screenwriter: Jenna Krumerman. A girl tells her friend about her Saturday night. She loses her favorite jacket and a little of herself while meeting new characters and trying to get by.
Pursuit of a Dream. Director/Screenwriter: Scott Larson. A man working a dead end nine to five has to let go of his past in order to pursue his future.
Pursuit: 21XX. Director: Ben Phillips. Screenwriters: Ben Phillips, Billy Nguyen, and Edward Nuno. A cybernetically enhanced man must track down the criminal who stole his wallet by chasing the masked thief through a futuristic city, and will have to make the ultimate decision between what is right and wrong.
Puzzle Pieces: Living Life on The Spectrum. Director/Screenwriter: Georgia. Puzzle Pieces: Living Life on The Spectrum explores children and teens that have autism spectrum disorder.
Return Policy. Directors: Demar Gunter and Victoria Hartson. Screenwriter: Demar Gunter. In a dystopian future, where life holds monetary value, a family must make a tough decision.
The Risk for Freedom. Director: Alex Le. This documentary follows the early life of a Vietnamese immigrant, the director’s grandmother and her struggle to get to America.
Roommate. Director/Screenwriter: Jinho Rhee. Everyone has roommate problems at one point; However, none is like the one Nayeon has to face.
Silent Fist. Directors: Jose Martinez and Nana Achempong. Screenwriters: Jose Martinez, Nana Achempon, and Brandon Mai. A silent Buddhist prays for peace when a loud, angry boxer next door challenges him to enter the ring.
What It Takes. Director: Kourtney Williams. This documentary was created to help express the point of view of a male gymnast. There’s a lot that goes into the sport of gymnastics and what it takes to be successful. The story takes you through three different perspectives to show their passion.
INDEPENDENT EPISODICS
Beast. World Premiere; Director: Ben Strang. When his father mysteriously goes missing at sea, a teenager rallies the help of his small fishing-island town to find him and figure out once and for all why people keep disappearing on Smith Island.
Cleansed. World Premiere. Directors/Screenwriters: Flora Birnbaum and Sarah Scarlett Downing. A jaded Los Angeles thirty-something goes on a magical juice cleanse to fix her life.
Everything is Okay: Robot. Director: Adam Sacks. Screenwriter: Cirocco Dunlap. A better you is just a click away.
First World Problems. World Premiere. Director/Screenwriter: X. Dean Lim. Harold, an Asian-American, comes to realizes his family are apathetic douchebags. But when a mysterious crisis starts a ticking clock, he alienates them all to prove they’re more than Amazon, Audi and Autopay. The question is: can he be wrong?
Hold to Your Best Self. World Premiere. Director/Screenwriter: Emily Hagins. Over the course of a prom night, young adults tackle big questions concerning identity, relationships, self-esteem, and the future—their adolescent ideas and expectations are fundamentally challenged by high school coming to an end.
My Dead Ex. World Premiere. Directors: Joe Lynch and Zoe Cassavetes. Screenwriter: Drew Hancock. A little thing like death can’t stop these two teens from falling in love. Or maybe it can.
Night Owl. World Premiere. Directors: R. Miskin and Gillian Muller. Screenwriter: R. Miskin. One Girl’s quest to face her fears, step outside her comfort zone and make some real friends! . . . in the middle of the night at a 24-hour grocery store. Well? . . . What do you do when you can’t sleep?
One Eye Small. World Premiere. Director/Screenwriter: Jane Stiles. Two female strangers become affectionate friends over the course of a frenetic evening in NYC.
Otis. World Premiere. Director/Screenwriter: Alexander Etseyatse. A young calm, mentally unstable man attempts to convince his new buddy that they don’t belong at a Psych ward by inciting an uprising while trying to win back the affection of his ex-fiancée and daughter.
Polar. World Premiere. Directors: Natalia Anna Ciepiel and Alexander Ohrt. Screenwriter: Morten Mortensen. Terrorized by an unbearable sound a group of teenagers commit suicide in the habour of Nuuk. After being declared dead, Ivik, awakes again. As the phenomenon returns to haunt the young population of Nuuk, Ivik sets out to find the nature of the sound.
She’s the Ticket. Director: Nadia Hallgren. Five different women from around the country see Donald Trump get elected to the presidency on November 8, 2016 and decide to do something about it. Run for office.
Unspeakable. World Premiere. Director: Milena Govich. Screenwriter: David Cornue. A young woman in a desperate situation averts authorities by claiming to be a girl who disappeared years ago as a child. But when the missing girl’s family welcomes the impostor home, she’s forced to keep the deception alive or face the consequences.
VIRTUAL CINEMA
Aeronaut. World Premiere. Discover an ever-changing virtual landscape created by Viacom NEXT and Isobar (with Tilt Brush art by Danny Bittman), where a volumetric 3D model of two-time Grammy award winning artist Billy Corgan sings and plays the piano to his single “Aeronaut.”
The Atrium. World Premiere. Director: Brian Solomon. Screenwriters: Brian Solomon and James Longmire. The Atrium, Meow Wolf’s first mixed reality installation, builds on the story of the acclaimed immersive exhibition, House of Eternal Return. Voyage through the surreal lullaby of the multiverse—and unravel a mystery spanning multiple dimensions.
Awake: Episode One. World Premiere. Director: Martin Taylor. Screenwriters: Martin Taylor, Mike Jones, and Christian Cantamessa. Harry is a prisoner in his own house, obsessed with discovering the truth behind a recurring dream and a cryptic message within it. The arrival of a new presence promises to save Harry from his darkness and unlock the potential of humanity’s future.
Beethoven’s Fifth. World Premiere. Director: Jessica Brillhart. Screenwriters: Jessica Brillhart, and Esa-Pekka Salonen. Journey into interstellar space with a performance of Beethoven’s Fifth by the Philharmonia Orchestra, London—conducted by Principal Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen. The film was inspired by content on Voyager’s Golden Record, launched by NASA in 1977.
Chorus. World Premiere. Director: Tyler Hurd. Transform into fantastical female warriors in this social virtual reality experience. Six people can band together to battle evil in this epic journey of empowerment, all orchestrated to the song “Chorus” by Justice.
Dinner Party. Director: Angel Manuel Soto. Screenwriters: Charlotte Stoudt and Laura Wexler. Dinner Party, the pilot episode for a true-life supernatural anthology series The Incident, is a 3D virtual reality experience based on the true story of Betty and Barney Hill, an interracial couple who in 1961 reported the first known UFO abduction.
Everything Flows. World Premiere. Director: Yumeng Du. Everything Flows is a VR film experience that presents the time and space in an artistic way. It invites you to a journey of Director’s hometown, Wuhan, China. It is a mixture of painting, video capture, sounds, dreaming, memory, and reality.
The Evolution of Testicles. World Premiere. Director: Ryan Hartsell. A testicular romp through the evolution of man told via CGI, a giant testicle-shaped hot air balloon, and narrator Chris O’Dowd—all in the name of bringing awareness to male cancer prevention.
The Four Worlds. World Premiere. Directors: Jonathan Zawada and Mark Pitchard. The Four Worlds consists of four installations comprised of looping VR experiences augmented with extra sensory stimulation IRL. Each scene is a microcosm of a different environment, accompanied by an exquisite soundtrack by Mark Pritchard.
GFE. World Premiere. Director: Michael Jacobs. An immersive 360 experimental film that offers a first-person experience of going on a date with a sex worker.
Greenland Melting. North American Premiere. Directors: Catherine Upin and Nonny de la Peña. Screenwriters: Catherine Upin, Nonny de la Peña, Julia Cort, Caitlin Saks, and Carla Borras. NASA scientists are studying a troubling cause, Greenland is melting faster and faster. Using cutting edge VR technology, people can experience standing in front of a glacier, traveling underwater, and flying over some of the world’s stunning scenery.
Hold the World. North American Premiere. Director: Dan Smith. Hold the World (“HTW”) is a world-first interactive VR entertainment experience hosted by Sir David Attenborough at the London’s Natural History Museum.
Living with Jaguars. World Premiere. Directors: Patrick McGuire and Jeff Orlowski. Screenwriter: Kate Lunau. Living with Jaguars is an interactive virtual reality film documenting wild jaguars in Brazil. Users explore the complex and interconnected perspectives of four key stakeholders: jaguars, ranchers, conservation researchers, and ecotourism operators.
MONO – Blackwater. World Premiere. Director: Ben Wolstenholme. Screenwriters: Ben Wolstenholme, Felipe Marino, and Anthony Brock. MONO, the former assassin to the queen and legendary ape-man, returns from exile to save his daughter, and reluctantly, Mankind.
One Eighty. World Premiere. Director: Eren Aksu. One Eighty is the story of an Indian mother, Vijai Kumari, who spent twenty years behind bars, and her son, Kanhaiya Kumari, who was born in prison . . . and their quest to clear their names and live in freedom.
Parragirls Past, Present – unlocking institutional memories of ‘care.’ North American Premiere. Directors: Media artists and Parragirls, Parragirls/Parramatta Female Factory Precinct Memory Project. Screenwriters: Bonney Djuric, Lily Hibberd, and Jenny McNally. Parragirls Past, Present is a deeply moving immersive experience presenting former residents’ contemporary visions of Parramatta Girls Home to unlock memories of institutional ‘care’ within the punitive Australian child welfare system.
Rone. North American Premiere. Director: Lester Francois. A distinctive portrait in VR of street artist Rone, whose stunning large-scale portraits are often seen in forgotten spaces. A mix of 360′ video and a virtual art gallery to explore, RONE will draw you into the world of street art like never before.
Sanctuaries of Silence. Directors: Adam Loften and Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee. Sanctuaries of Silence is an immersive listening journey into Olympic National Park, one of the quietest places in North America.
Space x Girl. World Premiere. Director: Minhyuk Che. A story about a girl and her space. The girl has a special sense of feeling the heart of the space. One day the space of the girl begins a conversation. It is about her memories that she was not aware of.
Spheres: Songs of Spacetime. Director/Screenwriter: Eliza McNitt. Dive into the heart of a black hole and uncover the hidden songs of the cosmos. In this VR experience, the breakthrough discovery of gravitational waves transforms how we see the Universe. Fall into the darkness, and you will find the light.
Summation of Force. Directors: Trent Parke, Narelle Autio, and Matthew Bate. Screenwriters: Trent Parke and Narelle Autio. In a moonlit suburban backyard, two brothers battle one another in an otherworldly game of cricket in this stunning black and white live-action study of the motion, physics, and psychology of sport. Created by photographers Trent Parke and Narelle Autio, in collaboration with filmmaker Matthew Bate, this VR artwork offers a cosmic, darkly beautiful, and dreamlike metaphor for life.
Sun Ladies VR. Directors: Celine Tricart and Christian Stephen. In 2014, ISIS invaded Iraq and targeted the Yazidi community. The men were killed, and the women taken as sex slaves. Some of the ones who escaped decided to join the Kurdistan army and started a female-only fighting unit called the Sun Ladies.
Tiniest Tremor. World Premiere. Directors: Nicholas Manting Brewer and Megan Simon. An emotionally immersive and visually poetic journey into the issue of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome through the story of a woman who suffered from substance abuse disorder to Opioids and her child.
Together. World Premiere. Director: Terrence Malick. Together is a VR experience about the power of human connection. The piece fuses dance and technology, putting the viewer in the middle of an emotional narrative about breaking down barriers and bringing people closer.
We’re Still Here. World Premiere. Director: Jesse Ayala Aiden. Short Cloud, a Two-Spirit artist and historian in Boise, Idaho, struggles to preserve and revive his heritage in a race against time.
Wonderful You VR. North American Premiere. Director: John Durrant. Wonderful You VR, a Virtual Reality experience narrated by Academy Award nominee Samantha Morton, is a journey through the strange world of your developing senses: sight, sound, touch, taste and smell.
MUSIC VIDEOS
Aisha Badru. “Mind on Fire.” Director/Screenwriter: Thoranna “Tota” Sigurdardottir.
Amanda Palmer & Edward Ka-Spel, “The Clock At The Back of the Cage.” Directors: Chris Bennett, Christy Flaws, and Luke O’Connor.
The Blaze, “Territory.” Director: The Blaze.
Capital Cities, “Vowels.” Director/Screenwriter: Remy Cayuela.
Cathedrals, “Try To Fight.” Director/Screenwriter: Jesse Fleece.
Chris Lake, “I Want You.” Director/Screenwriter: NORTONA.
Com Truise, “Propagation.” Directors/Screenweriters: Karrie Crouse and Will Joines.
Cray, “Lotus.” Director: Ariel Fisher. Screenwriters: Ariel Fisher and Cray.
Every Time I Die, “Map Change.” Director: Kyle Thrash.
Jay-Z, “Smile.” Director/Screenwriter: Miles Jay.
JIL, “All Your Words.” Director: Anton Tammi.
Moses Sumney, “Doomed.” Director: Allie Avital.
Oly, “Growing Young.” Director: Katarzyna Sawicka.
Oren Lavie, “Second Hand Lovers.” Director/Screenwriter: Oren Lavie.
Peejay, “NA B YA.” Directors: Jinwoo Lee and Jungsu Lee.
POLO & PAN, “Coeur Croisé.” Director: Pablo Maestres.
salute, “Storm.” Director: Raine Allen Miller.
The Shins, “Half a Million.” Director: LAMAR+NIK.
siyyu, “stop us.” Director: This is Felo.
Sue the Night, “Mind Dear.” Director: Thessa Meijer.
EXCELLENCE IN TITLE DESIGN
Big Mouth. Company: Titmouse Inc. Designer: Mike Roush.
Book of Henry. Company: Imaginary Forces. Creative Director: Alan Williams.
Britannia. Company: Me & the Bootmaker. Designer: Manija Emran.
Comtes de Barcelona (Counts of Barcelona). Company: Freelance. Designer: J. A. Duran.
Counterpart. Company: Imaginary Forces. Creative Director: Karin Fong.
Dark. Company: Self employed. Designer: Lutz Lemke.
Divide. Company: Ringling College of Art and Design. Designer: Ioana Oprescu.
Exhalación. Company: Mordisco Films. Designer: Alberto Díaz López.
Godless. Company: Method Studios. Designer: John Likens.
Narcos Season 3. Company: Digital Kitchen. Designer: Harshit Desai.
National Geographic Breakthrough. Company: Imaginary Forces. Creative Director: Karin Fong.
OFFF CDMX Opening titles. Company: Diecinueve36. Designer: Maribel Martínez.
OFFF Barcelona 2017. Company: Sailor Productions. Designer: Vallee Duhamel.
Orient City: Ronin & The Princess. Company: Spoke Lane Entertainment. Designer: Zsombor Huszka.
Paa Joe & The Lion. Company: Bottletop. Designer: Mark Pyper.
Semi Permanent Festival. Company: Framestore. Designer: Akira Thompson.
SOLO. Company: Plexus Post. Designer: Vijesh Rajan.
Taboo. Company: Method Studios. Designer: John Likens.
TEDx Sydney. Company: Substance. Designer: Scott Geersen.
ZARAH. Company: Bakery Films. Designers: Florian Meimberg, Izzy Acar.
Also, a special viewing of SXSW Gaming Awards Open 2017. Company: Imaginary Forces. Designer: Jeremy Cox.
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