SXSW is just around the corner and the announcements won’t stop coming. With the music festival gaining artists seemingly by the day, attention today turned to film as the festival announced the final lineup up movies being showcased this year.
As ever, the lineup of movies offers a wide and varied selection of films that are sure to appeal to a film lovers and genre fiends alike. SXSW prides itself on the cultivation of great films for both established and new voices in the filmmaking community and has often served as a launching pad for careers as well as big name premieres.
This year offers film lovers 137 movies handpicked by the SXSW crew, as well as 89 world premieres. While the attention of the world is generally focused on the shenanigans and occasional debauchery of the music festival, SXSW film offers an inviting oasis of cinematic experience that is second to none in terms of variety and excitement.
Standout additions to this year’s festival include Jean-Marc Vallee’s Demolition starring Jake Gyllenhaal as an investment banker struggling with life after the death of his wife. In addition, comedian Mike Birbiglia makes his directorial debut with Don’t Think Twice, starring Keegan-Michael Key, Gillian Jacobs, and Birbiglia himself.
Also worth mentioning are the previously announced Everybody Wants Some, Richard Linklater’s “spiritual sequel” to Dazed and Confused about college students in the 80’s, as well as Pee-Wee’s latest, Pee-Wee’s Big Holiday, which debuts later this year on Netflix.
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With music such an integral part of the SXSW experience, the folks on the film side always make an effort to include the best and brightest movies and documentaries about the music industry, and this year’s batch has more than a few standouts. Among them, Don Cheadle’s Miles Davis biopic Miles Ahead, as well as Robert Budreau’s Chet Baker biopic, Born to be Blue starring Ethan Hawke.
We’ve barely scratched the surface of all the offerings at this year’s festival, but you can find the full line up here. Stay tuned for more SXSW news and information as it becomes available, and watch for our coverage next month.
The 2016 SXSW Film Festival runs March 11-19 in Austin, Texas.
