Spring has sprung in Austin, which can mean only one thing: it’s time for the many-hyphenated SXSW Festival! A strange, wonderful, and wholly Austin intersection of music, technology, games, and of course film and television, this festival in many ways kicks off the next year’s itinerary in culture and fun. But there is so much to do down Texas’ way that it can be a bit overwhelming to know what to see and look out for.
For that reason, we’ve assembled this preview for some of the films you should probably have on your radar for the festivities. Enjoy!
Holland
Nicole Kidman and Matthew Macfayden are coming to SXSW! Unto itself, that is exciting news, but to know it is in a new twisty thriller from director Mimi Cave (the helmer of Fresh) just makes Holland seem ever so much more delicious… and menacing.
In the film, Kidman and Macfayden play an idyllic married couple, with Kidman’s Nancy finding time to be both an astute teacher and a happy homemaker for her husband and son Harry (Jude Hill). Meanwhile, Macfayden’s Fred is a veritable pillar of the community. However, no picture is ever really perfect if you look at what’s outside the framing. And when fellow teacher Dave (Gael García Bernal) comes to Nancy with a secret that might implicate their whole way of life, a chain of events begins from which there will be no hiding.
Fantasy Life
Amanda Peet makes an overdue return to the big screen in Fantasy Life, a new in-competition narrative dramedy from actor-turned-director Matthew Shear. In the film, Shear plays Sam, a recently laid-off paralegal who finds himself working as a babysitter for Dianne (Peet), an actress running into some challenging times after taking time off to raise a family. But when Sam is invited to join her family for the summer in Martha’s Vineyard, complications ensue.
The film has all the makings of an adult-leaning dramedy from a writer-director who’s worked a long time in Noah Baumbach’s repertoire. Fantasy Life additionally holds the distinction of being Alessandro Nivola’s first film after amazing work in The Brutalist and Kraven the Hunter (yes, we’re serious about the latter). This time, Nivola plays an aging rock star bassist who’s often on tour and perhaps in for the vacation of a lifetime.
O’Dessa
Geremy Jasper made a splash at Sundance and SXSW in 2017 with his wildly original character study, Patti Cake$, and now he’s in Austin for something described as no less than “a rock opera.” That’s right, O’Dessa, which will have its world premiere here, is expected to be a full-throated, electric-strumming musical from the guy who helmed Florence + the Machine’s “Dog Days Are Over” music video.
O’Dessa stars Stranger Things breakout and “All Too Well” muse Sadie Sink as a farm girl headed to the big city. She’s leaving home to recover a family heirloom, but what she will discover is her destiny and the power of true love, song, and, of course, rock. She will also run into a murderer’s row of talent that includes Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Luce, Waves), Murray Bartlett (The White Lotus), and Regina Hall (Girls Trip).
The Baltimorons
Legendary indie filmmakers and actors the Duplass Brothers are always a must-see engagement at any film festival, even when there’s only one of them attending. This time around it’s Jay Duplass’ turn to shine as he co-writes and directs The Baltimorons.
Not to be confused with a Baltimore Orioles fan podcast of the same name, The Balitmorons follows a newly sober man named Cliff who cracks his tooth on Christmas Eve and embarks on an adventure through Baltimore with Didi, his emergency dentist.
The Astronaut
As one of several films featuring Kate Mara at this South By festival, The Astronaut puts the Black Mirror star in the role of Lt. Sam Walker, the eponymous starwoman who is at the tail-end of her trip around orbit. Yet upon returning home, Sam becomes convinced that something extraterrestrial has followed her back to Earth.
It’s an intriguing premise that offers paranoia, dread, and a genre-ready way to examine concepts of identity and self. It is also a chance for Mara to return to space after starring in one of the best astronaut movies, The Martian. The film marks the feature directorial debut of Jess Varley and also stars Ivana Milicevic and the Laurence Fishburne.
Ash
Distant planets. Decimated crews. Sci-fi mysteries within enigmas. These are some of our favorite things, and they’re arriving in force via Ash, the latest directorial effort from multi-hyphenated talent Flying Lotus. Indeed, the sometime music producer, DJ, and rapper is again trying on his genre hat with this space opera throwback in which a woman wakes up on an alien world to discover her crew has been brutally slaughtered and that she has no memory as to how.
The film stars Eiza González as Riya, a boon for anyone who witnessed her steal scenes in Michael Bay’s Ambulance and wanted to see the Mexican actor get more leading roles. Ash also features Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul as a mysterious man who shows up in deep space and tells Riya that he has come to answer a distress call. But in space, everyone can hear you second-guess and doubt others.
Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie
South By veterans should adore Matt Johnson after his 2023 movie BlackBerry, a funny and thoughtful biopic about the infamous handheld device. Off the strength of co-writing, directing, and co-starring in that movie, Johnson’s ready to raise that credibility with Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie.
Since 2007, Johnson and co-creator Jay McCarrol have created shorts about themselves as hapless musicians in Nirvanna the Band, a concept they parlayed into the TV series Nirvanna the Band the Show. Nirvanna the Band the Movie ups the stakes by showing the duo finally getting their holy grail—a gig at Toronto hot spot the Rivoli—only to get sent back in time to 2008. Alt-comedy hijinks are sure to ensue.
Hallow Road
“The phone call that changes everything.” It’s a fear we’re all familiar with in our modern era of technological interconnectedness. And it’s a fear that Babak Anvari’s Hallow Road seeks to explore.
Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys star in this thriller in which two parents receive a late-night phone call from their daughter who says she caused a tragic car accident. Shot in Czechia and Ireland, Hallow Road brings an international flair to SXSW’s Midnighters lineup.
Good Boy
There have been plenty of ghost stories about children who see dead people, video cameras that record them, and even Ouija boards that communicate with spirits and spooks. Yet for anyone who’s ever owned a dog or cat that startles itself at midnight and gets distracted while staring into the dark, it’s a bit odd to realize no one’s explored what is going on during this hour of the wolf. Until now.
Ben Leonberg makes his feature debut in this midnighter with a wicked setup about why your pet fixates on empty corners, refuses to go in the basement, and inexplicably barks at nothing. And you can bet it’s nothing good in a movie with a logline that promises “no talking pets, just terrifying scares.”
Clown in a Cornfield
If one had to speculate about where horror trends are headed in the 2020s, we might guess that the movie monster is back. In which case, Shudder and RLJE Films could have the next creature featuring in your nightmares via Frendo the Clown. See, Frendo was once the benevolent idol of his community, a symbol that stood as shorthand for the happy lives of Midwestern town Kettle Springs.
But after Kettle Springs’ corn syrup factory burns down and long-simmering tensions among neighbors boil over, guess who’s there to set things right? Ol’ Frendo again, now a smiling clown who comes in from the cornfields to cleanse this town of its burdens, one screaming victim at a time.
The post SXSW 2025 Narrative Film Preview Guide appeared first on Den of Geek.
From https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/sxsw-2025-narrative-film-preview-guide/
