SXSW has a history of bombast. What was once a modest Austin festival that celebrated the local scene, music, and emerging artists grew into one of the largest and most-attended festivals the world over. As crowd sizes grew so too did the prestige and scale of debuts with massive blockbuster movies like Furious 7 or Ready Player One playing to salivating fans willing to wait hours to see the world premiere.

With a pandemic in play, SXSW 2020 was put entirely in the can and the new iteration of the Austin-based festival really seems to be going back to the roots. Gone are the massive tentpole movies in addition to really any features from just about any kind of recognizable name. Scanning the list of debuts, it was hard to find many well-known directors, actors, or otherwise. In effect, SXSW 2021 seems to be the most modest of their slate in recent memory but also affords a chance to get back to their roots.

SXSW 2021 leans heavily on first features, attempting to spotlight a diverse selection that highlights ingenuity amidst adversity. It’s the most questionable slate in years because it’s hard to identify markers of quality since so many entities here are so largely unknown. Needless to say, with so little information beyond an image and a synopsis, we’re mostly taking a stab in the dark with these picks. But with the festival beginning in just over a month, it’s time to get down to business and start piecing together that “must see” list.

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Alien On Stage

A bunch of British bus drivers stage a theatrical stage reenactment of Ridley Scott’s seminal sci-fi-horror ‘Alien’. What more do you need to know? 

The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson

Writer-director Leah Purcell asks how far would you go to protect the ones you love in this Australian thriller that’s adapted from Henry Lawson’s classic short story. Purcell also stars. 

The End Of Us

A savage breakup is put on hold when COVID-19 breaks out and the misfitted pair are forced to shelter at home together in their now-claustrophobic California apartment. Ben Coleman and Ali Vingiano star.

The Fallout

Canadian actress and singer Megan Park makes her feature debut with The Fallout, a high-school drama about the emotional fallout of a school tragedy. Is this going to make a good double feature with Mass? Time will tell. 

Gaia 

The vague description of this South African import states, “In the depths of an ancient forest, something has been growing. Something older than humanity itself, and perhaps greater too.” Like most on this list, I have no idea how this will turn out but the dirt-caked man in its promo image is intriguing enough to warrant inclusion. 

Here Before

Stacey Gregg’s psychological thriller has notes of Rear Window vibes, as it follows a bereaved mother who begins to unravel when her neighbors move next door. Featured in the narrative competition and has midnight pull.

I’m Fine (Thanks For Asking)

Competing in the narrative feature competition, Kelley Kali and Angelique Molina’s I’m Fine (Thanks For Asking) follows a recently widowed mother who loses their family home and convinces her now-homeless daughter that they are embarking on an extended camping trip. 

Introducing, Selma Blair

This intimate documentary about actress Selma Blair’s efforts to prolong normalcy after being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis turns the silver screen icon of the early aughts into a tragic but heroic figure.  

Jakob’s Wife

Travis Stevens’ follow-up to Girl on the Third Floor stars Barbara Crampton as a woman whose boring life is irrevocably changed when a young woman disappears.

Language Lessons

Mark Duplass and Natalie Morales (who also co-wrote and directed) star in this COVID-era feature about a Spanish teacher befriending her student over Zoom. 

Ninjababy

This Norwegian tale of Rakel, a six-month pregnant 23-year old (who just discovered she’s pregnant) comes from Yngvild Sve Flikke and could have Obvious Child appeals. 

Offseason

Mumblecore auteur Joe Swanberg stars in heady horror about a woman who becomes trapped in a nightmare after receiving a mysterious letter. Mickey Keating, of Carnage Park, directs. 

The Oxy Kingpins

Big pharma comes under fire in this documentary that digs into the untold story of how manufacturers, distributors, and retailers worked to create and perpetuate the opioid crisis in America. 

Sound of Violence 

This Finish after-dark feature revolves around a girl (Jasmin Savoy Brown) who gains synesthesia (the ability to “see” sounds) after her family is brutally murdered. As an adult, she attempts to spin that horrific experience into musical compositions.  

The Spine of Night 

A hand-rotoscoped, self-described “ultra-violent” animated fantasy inspired by the cult works of Ralph Bakshi and Frank Franzetta, The Spine of Night promises wicked, gory adults-only animation. Featuring the voices of Richard E. Grant, Patton Oswald and Lucy Lawless. 

Swan Song 

Udo Kier stars as an elderly hairdresser hitchhiking his way across the country to makeup a dead friend for her funeral in this queer-comedy from LGBTQ+ goof Todd Stephens that co-stars Jennifer Coolidge.

Witch Hunt 

Witches are real. Their craft is illegal. Or so goes the premise for Elle Callahan’s Witch Hunt, a midnight movie about a teen who helps smuggle two American witches through the Southern Border to seek asylum in neighboring Mexico. 

Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror

Film writer, programmer, and founder of horror school The Miskatonic Institute of Horror Studies Kier-La Janisse documents the rich history of folk horror in her debut documentary. Now whether or not she can create a legitimately frightening horror doc is TBD.

Women is Losers

In this catholic school throwback to the 1960s, Celina Guerrera (Lorenza Izzo) must navigate cliques and nuns to further her position in life in this socially conscious drama from writer/director/producer Lissette Feliciano. 

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The 28th annual SXSW Film Festival will be entirely online and runs from March 16–20, 2021. Through the month of February, passes will be $249 (down from $399) while supplies last and this pass includes “keynotes, Conference sessions, Music Festival showcases, Film Festival screenings, world-class networking, and the unexpected discoveries that are always a part of SXSW, all in a digital setting.”

For all our coverage of SXSW 2021, click here. 

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