ComingSoon.net has not attended the SXSW Film Festival every year, but this will be our second year in a row at the Austin, Texas-based festival that grew from out of the long-running annual music festival.
Unlike Sundance and Toronto, SXSW is not necessarily all about the big stars and you’ll find that a lot of the better indie films feature complete unknowns or actors who aren’t normally known for big studio movies. Last year, the festival premiered Short Term 12, a movie that received a great deal of acclaim over the rest of the year. SXSW also tends to premiere a lot of great docs, particularly music-related ones, although there are so may choices we often have to backburner seeing docs (Thankfully, last year we did check out Morgan Neville’s 20 Feet from Stardom, which not only was one of our favorite movies of the year but also went on to win an Oscar.)
This year, we’ve picked 30 movies that are premiering at SXSW, some of them in competition, some studio movies being sneak previewed before their official theatrical releases, and we’ve also included a few movies that premiered at Sundance and Berlin that we missed out in earlier previews, because they fell below our radar.
We’ll be joined this year by Ryan Turek of ShockTillYouDrop.com, who will be covering the horror beat and the “Midnighters” track at SXSW, but we’ve included some of the more interesting genre movies in our preview, which you can view in the photo gallery below.
The SXSW Film Festival runs from March 7 through March 16
SXSW Film Festival Preview
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<a href="https://comingsoon.preprod.vip.gnmedia.net/films.php?id=112130">What We Do in Shadows</a>
Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, director and star of HBO's "Flight of the Conchords" and the festival favorite Eagle vs. Shark, reunite for this mockumentary about New Zealand vampires trying to find their way in modern society. -
<a href="https://comingsoon.preprod.vip.gnmedia.net/films.php?id=101559">Veronica Mars</a>
Kristen Bell returns to her role as high school detective Veronica Mars, as she reunites with the gang from Neptune from their ten year high school reunion after graduating from law school. With most of the original cast returning, the movie follow-up to the popular cult television show is released in select cities by Warner Bros. on March 14. -
<a href="http://schedule.sxsw.com/2014/events/event_FS15196">Two Step</a>
Austin native Alex Johnson's thriller about a college drop-out named James who goes to live with his "Grams" but when she suddenly dies he finds out that another guy has been scamming her out of money claiming to be him. After Grams death, the scammer starts to come after James for money. -
<a href="http://schedule.sxsw.com/2014/events/event_FS15110">Starry Eyes</a>
Alexandra Essoe plays Sarah Walker, who is determined to succeed as an actress in Hollywood, but when she finally lands the lead in a film from a mysterious production company, she starts to learn that success comes with a horrifying price. -
<a href="https://comingsoon.preprod.vip.gnmedia.net/films.php?id=114477">Stage Fright</a>
Jerome Sable brings his dark comedy horror-musical to SXSW about a teenager who hopes to follow her mother onto the Broadway stage but instead ends up working in the kitchen at a performing arts camp that's plagued by a killer. This "Midnighter" movie will be released by Magnet Pictures. -
<a href="http://schedule.sxsw.com/2014/events/event_FS15101">Soul Boys of the Western World</a>
Of all the music docs playing at SXSW, this may seem like an odd choice to spotlight in our preview, but I'm a big fan of '80s pop and Spandau Ballet made a number of great records even before they hit the big-time with their hugely successful ballad "True." -
<a href="http://schedule.sxsw.com/2014/events/event_FS15084">She's Lost Control</a>
Having recently premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and playing as part of the upcoming New Directors/New Films, Anja Marquardt's thriller stars Brooke Bloom as a sexual surrogate whose life starts to unravel when she starts working with a new client named Johnny. -
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Australian filmmakers, the Brothers Spierig (Daybreakers), reunite with Ethan Hawke for a movie based on Robert A. Heinlein's "All You Zombies," Hawke playing a time traveling agent who must recruit his younger self to capture a criminal that's eluding him. To be released by Sony.
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<a href=" http://www.sho.com/sho/penny-dreadful/home ">Penny Dreadful</a>
In the past few years, SXSW has used the festival to premiere the pilots for upcoming television shows as they did last year with A&E's "Bates Motel." Besides this new gothic Showtime series premiering on Sunday, May 11 at 10PM, they're also giving a sneak peek at Robert Rodriguez's "From Dusk Till Dawn" television show for the El Rey Network which debuts March 11. -
<a href=" http://schedule.sxsw.com/2014/events/event_FS16084">Other Months</a>
Premiering as part of the "Visions" section, Nick Singer's film is a character study following a year in the life of Christopher Bonewitz's Nash, who has become disillusioned with his life so he throws himself into a nihilistic lifestyle on returning home. -
<a href="http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/tag/open-windows/">Open Windows</a>
This "Midnighters" selection, the latest from Nacho Vigalondo ("Timecrimes"), stars Elijah Wood as a man obsessed with an actress, played by Sasha Grey (so who can blame him?), who finds a way to spy on her through his computer. -
<a href="http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/tag/oculus/">Oculus</a>
"Doctor Who" companion Karen Gillan stars in Mike Flanagan's horror film playing in the "Midnighters" section of SXSW about a young woman named Kaylie who's been haunted for years by the brutal murder of her parents by her brother Tim that may have involved a supernatural force that came from an antique mirror in their home. When he's released from prison, she sets out to prove his innocence in the murders. Having premiered at Toronto last year, it's released by Relativity on April 11. -
<a href="https://comingsoon.preprod.vip.gnmedia.net/films.php?id=115313">A Night in Old Mexico</a>
Robert Duvall stars in Emilio Aragon's drama as Texas rancher Red Bovie, who decides to go on a wild adventure-filled road trip with his estranged grandson rather than settling into retirement in his trailer park. To be released by Phase 4 Films in May. -
<a href="https://comingsoon.preprod.vip.gnmedia.net/films.php?id=90501">Neighbors</a>
Universal Pictures has often used SXSW to premiere some of their summer fare including MacGruber and Bridesmaids and this year, they're bringing Nicholas Stoller's latest suburban comedy starring Seth Rogen, Zac Efron and Rose Byrne as a work-in-progress before its release on May 9. -
<a href="http://schedule.sxsw.com/2014/events/event_FS15176">The Mule</a>
This dark Australian comedy directed by Angus Sampson and Tony Mahony set in 1983 stars Sampson as a man hiding drugs in his stomach who refuses to "release" the evidence turning himself into a ticking time bomb. It's co-written by and co-stars Leigh Whannell (Saw) and an Australian ensemble cast that includes Hugo Weaving. -
<a href="http://schedule.sxsw.com/2014/events/event_FS15173">The Mend</a>
Josh Lucas stars in John Magary's comedy as Mat, whose younger brother Alan goes away on vacation with his girlfriend Farrah and when he returns to his apartment in Harlem, he finds Mat has taken the place over with his girlfriend and her son, before they're all caught in a power outtage. -
<a href="http://schedule.sxsw.com/2014/events/event_FS15166">The Infinite Man</a>
Hugh Sullivan's sci-fi comedy is about a scientist trying to impress his girlfriend Lana. When he figures out a way to achieve time travel, he decides to use it to create the perfect weekend for her, only for it to create all sorts of anomalies, as time travel often does. -
<a href="http://schedule.sxsw.com/2014/events/event_FS15011">I Believe in Unicorns</a>
Leah Meyerhoff's coming-of-age drama stars Natalia Dyer as Davina, an imaginative teen who escapes from a life taking care of her disabled mother into a fantasy world until she ends up in a romantic relationship with an older boy. -
<a href="http://schedule.sxsw.com/2014/events/event_FS15005">Honeymoon</a>
Harry Treadaway and Rose Leslie star in Leigh Janiak's thriller as a couple on their honeymoon at a remote lake when she starts behaving oddly, making him think that something bad happened to her during a sleepwalking stint. -
<a href="http://schedule.sxsw.com/2014/events/event_FS15238">The Heart Machine</a>
Zachary Wigon's latest film is about an online romance between Cody, a guy living in Brooklyn, and Virginia, a woman from Berlin he meets on the internet. When he starts doubting that she's really in Berlin, he starts to comb the city for clues to learn the truth. -
<a href="https://comingsoon.preprod.vip.gnmedia.net/films.php?id=94392">Frank</a>
Michael Fassbender, Domnhall Gleeson and Maggie Gyllenhaal star in Lenny Abramson's experimental music comedy inspired by Jon Ronson's memoir about Frank Sidebottom, the masked persona of cult musician Chris Sievey. Fassbender wears a giant plaster head as the title character Frank. To be released by Magnolia Pictures. -
<a href="http://schedule.sxsw.com/2014/events/event_FS14991">Fort Tilden</a>
Sarah-Violet Bliss and Charles Rogers' feature film debut takes place in a secluded seaside beach area of New York City visited by two Brooklynites, Allie and Harper (Clare McNulty & Bridey Elliot) to take their minds off the personal crises they're going through. -
<a href="http://schedule.sxsw.com/2014/events/event_FS14966">Doc of the Dead</a>
From the makers of "The People vs. George Lucas" comes this comprehensive look at the evolution of the zombie genre both in film and literature, featuring the likes of George Romero, Simon Pegg, Robert Kirkman, Bruce Campbell and more. -
<a href="http://schedule.sxsw.com/2014/events/event_FS15220">The Dance of Reality</a>
Chilean filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky, the man behind the trippy '70s movies El Topo and The Holy Mountain, returns with his first movie in 23 years, a personal story based on his own alienated childhood and how he escaped it using his imagination. -
<a href="http://schedule.sxsw.com/2014/events/event_FS14875">Creep</a>
SXSW regular Mark Duplass teams with Patrick Brice for the latter's directorial debut, a thriller in which Brice plays a guy who answers an ad to film a guy named Josef (Duplass) at his cabin in the mountains, a decent-paying gig that turns out to not be what it seems. It's produced by low-budget horror king Jason Blum. -
<a href="https://comingsoon.preprod.vip.gnmedia.net/films.php?id=103466">Chef</a>
Filmmaker Jon Favreau (Iron Man) returns to his smaller movie roots, writing, directing and starring as Carl Casper, a fired chef who starts up a food truck business. Also starring Sofia Vergara, John Leguizamo, Scarlett Johnasson and Dustin Hoffman, it will be released by Open Road on May 9. -
<a href="https://comingsoon.preprod.vip.gnmedia.net/films.php?id=87781">Cesar Chavez</a>
Michael Pena stars as the Mexican Civil Rights advocate who helped rally and organize Mexican immigrant farm workers to strike against California grape growers during the '60s. Directed by Diego Luna and also starring America Ferrera, Rosario Dawson and John Malkovich, the film will be released by Pantelion/Lionsgate on March 28. -
<a href="http://schedule.sxsw.com/2014/events/event_FS14874">Break Point</a>
Jeremy Sisto and David Walton play estranged brothers who reunite in order to partner up for a doubles tennis tournament, though it might take one of the latter's 11-year-old students to help them smooth over their differences and make it work. -
<a href="http://schedule.sxsw.com/2014/events/event_FS15223">Before I Disappear</a>
Shawn Christensen expands his Oscar-winning short film "Curfew" into a feature in which he plays a guy who gets a call from his sister to look after his 11-year-old niece. -
<a href="https://comingsoon.preprod.vip.gnmedia.net/films.php?id=113329">13 Sins</a>
The Last Exorcism writer/director Daniel Stamm returns with a low-budget thriller starring Mark Weber as a salesman who gets involved in a dangerous game of trying to accomplish 13 tasks after receiving a cryptic phone call. Released by RADiUS-TWC on April 18.
