SXSW 2021
by Col Needham | created - 13 Mar 2021 | updated - 18 Sep 2021 | PublicI attended the South by Southwest Film Festival virtually this year.
These are all of the films I have seen in chronological viewing order. Films #1-#6 were seen before the festival in other locations, then #7-#19 at SXSW itself, with #20 onwards post-SXSW elsewhere.
My favourites as of March 2021 (in viewing order): The Sparks Brothers (2021), How It Ends (2021), Alien on Stage (2020), Ninjababy (2021), The Lost Sons (2021), I'm Fine (Thanks for Asking) (2021), Subjects of Desire (2021) and Under the Volcano (2021)
See also my SXSW 2021 Interest List.
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1. Violation (2020)
Unrated | 107 min | Drama, Horror
A troubled woman on the edge of divorce returns home to her younger sister after years apart. But when her sister and brother-in-law betray her trust, she embarks on a vicious crusade of revenge.
Directors: Dusty Mancinelli, Madeleine Sims-Fewer | Stars: Madeleine Sims-Fewer, Anna Maguire, Jesse LaVercombe, Obi Abili
Votes: 4,380
Seen at TIFF 2020
2. R#J (2021)
91 min | Drama
A modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare's romantic tragedy 'Romeo and Juliet'.
Director: Carey Williams | Stars: Camaron Engels, Moe Irvin, RJ Cyler, Siddiq Saunderson
Votes: 93
Seen at Sundance 2021
3. Ma Belle, My Beauty (2021)
96 min | Drama, Romance
A surprise reunion in the South of France reignites passions and jealousies between two women who were formerly polyamorous lovers.
Director: Marion Hill | Stars: Idella Johnson, Hannah Pepper, Lucien Guignard, Sivan Noam Shimon
Votes: 523
Seen at Sundance 2021
4. How It Ends (2021)
R | 82 min | Comedy, Drama
In this feel-good apocalyptic comedy, Liza (Zoe Lister-Jones) embarks on a hilarious journey through LA in hopes of making it to her last party before it all ends, running into an eclectic cast of characters along the way.
Directors: Zoe Lister-Jones, Daryl Wein | Stars: Zoe Lister-Jones, Cailee Spaeny, Whitney Cummings, Tawny Newsome
Votes: 4,293
Seen at Sundance 2021
5. The Sparks Brothers (2021)
R | 140 min | Documentary, Biography, Comedy
A musical odyssey through five weird and wonderful decades with Ron and Russell Mael celebrating the inspiring legacy of Sparks.
Director: Edgar Wright | Stars: Ron Mael, Russell Mael, Beck, Jane Wiedlin
Votes: 6,050
Seen at Sundance 2021
6. Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché (2021)
96 min | Documentary, Biography, Music
The death of punk icon and X-Ray Spex front-woman Poly Styrene sends her daughter on a journey through her mother's archives in this intimate documentary.
Directors: Celeste Bell, Paul Sng | Stars: Celeste Bell, Poly Styrene, X-Ray Spex, Hazel Emmons
Votes: 718
Seen on UK TV
7. Alien on Stage (2020)
86 min | Documentary
A very amateur dramatics group of Dorset Bus Drivers spent a year creating a serious stage adaptation of the sci-fi, horror film, Alien. With wobbly sets, awkward acting and special effects requiring more luck than judgement.
Directors: Lucy Harvey, Danielle Kummer | Stars: Jason Hill, Lydia Hayward, Jacqui Roe, Susan Baird
Votes: 206
8. Ninjababy (2021)
R | 103 min | Comedy, Drama
Astronaut, forest-keeper, cartoonist. Young Rakel has a whole lot of other plans than becoming a mother. She would rather party, get drunk or stoned instead of sitting hours on the toilet. But she can't ignore it. Is it her or the baby?
Director: Yngvild Sve Flikke | Stars: Kristine Kujath Thorp, Arthur Berning, Nader Khademi, Tora Christine Dietrichson
Votes: 3,241
9. I'm Fine (Thanks for Asking) (2021)
86 min | Comedy, Drama
When a recently widowed mother becomes houseless, she convinces her 8-year-old daughter that they are only camping for fun while working to get them off of the streets.
Directors: Kelley Kali, Angelique Molina | Stars: Wesley Moss, Kelley Kali, Dominique Molina, Lucas Byrd
Votes: 358
10. The Lost Sons (2021)
98 min | Documentary
A baby is kidnapped from a hospital, months later, a toddler is abandoned. Could he be the same baby?
Director: Ursula Macfarlane | Stars: Kevin Ray Baty, Tobe Dresner, Janet Eckert, Alan Fisch
Votes: 213
11. Ludi (2021)
80 min | Drama
Ludi, a hardworking and exhausted nurse, battles coworkers, clients and one impatient bus driver to learn her self worth as she chases the American Dream in Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood.
Director: Edson Jean | Stars: Shein Mompremier, Alan Myles Heyman, Madelin Marchant, Success St. Fleur Jr.
Votes: 39
12. Disintegration Loops (2021)
45 min | Documentary
As the 20th anniversary of 9/11 looms near, William Basinski contemplates the enduring legacy of "The Disintegration Loops" (his elegy to the 2001 Attacks), while quarantined in the midst ... See full summary »
Director: David Wexler | Star: William Basinski
Votes: 18
13. Bantú Mama (2021)
77 min | Drama
After being arrested in the Dominican Republic, an Afropean woman escapes and is sheltered by 3 minors, in a dangerous district of Santo Domingo. By becoming their protégée and maternal figure, she will see her destiny change inexorably.
Director: Ivan Herrera | Stars: Clarisse Albrecht, Euris Javiel, Johnny Morales, Arturo Perez
Votes: 210
14. Subjects of Desire (2021)
103 min | Documentary
Subjects of Desire is a culturally significant, thought-provoking documentary that ultimately deconstructs what we understand about race and the power behind the beauty.
Director: Jennifer Holness | Stars: India Arie, Jully Black, Rachel Dolezal, Alexandra Germain
Votes: 140
15. Stop and Go (II) (2021)
80 min | Comedy
Two directionless sisters brave a cross-country road trip to rescue their grandmother from a COVID outbreak at her nursing home.
Directors: Mallory Everton, Stephen Meek | Stars: Whitney Call, Mallory Everton, Julia Jolley, Anne Sward
Votes: 586
16. Paul Dood's Deadly Lunch Break (2021)
95 min | Action, Comedy, Thriller
A weedy charity-shop worker is set on winning the big national talent show. But when the actions of 5 selfish people cause him to miss his audition, he sets out to seek deathly revenge. It's 1 lunch break, 5 spectacular murders.
Director: Nick Gillespie | Stars: Tom Meeten, Katherine Parkinson, Kris Marshall, Kevin Bishop
Votes: 672
17. The End of Us (2021)
R | 92 min | Comedy, Drama
After a savage breakup, two exes must continue living together when California issues its stay-at-home order for COVID-19. Now they'll try to move on without moving out.
Directors: Steven Kanter, Henry Loevner | Stars: Ben Coleman, Ali Vingiano, Derrick Joseph DeBlasis, Gadiel Del Orbe
Votes: 270
18. Fucking with Nobody (2020)
102 min | Comedy, Drama
After losing a film job to her nemesis Kristian, Hanna teams up with her sister and counterculture friends, to create a parody romance on Instagram between herself and young actor Ekku.
Director: Hannaleena Hauru | Stars: Hannaleena Hauru, Tanja Heinänen, Samuel Kujala, Anna Kuusamo
Votes: 520
19. Under the Volcano (2021)
96 min | Documentary, Music
On a remote Caribbean island, under the shadow of an active volcano, the world's biggest recording artists made music and myth that defined an era.
Director: Gracie Otto | Stars: Sting, Jimmy Buffett, Mark Knopfler, Stewart Copeland
Votes: 617
20. Women Is Losers (2021)
84 min | Drama
In 1960s San Francisco, a once-promising catholic school girl, Celina Guerrera, sets out to rise above the oppression of poverty and invest in a future for herself that sets new precedents for the time.
Director: Lissette Feliciano | Stars: Lorenza Izzo, Bryan Craig, Chrissie Fit, Simu Liu
Votes: 408
21. Language Lessons (2021)
91 min | Comedy, Drama
A Spanish teacher and her student develop an unexpected friendship.
Director: Natalie Morales | Stars: Mark Duplass, Natalie Morales, Desean Terry, Christine Quesada
Votes: 2,951
22. Violet (II) (2021)
R | 92 min | Drama
Violet realizes that her entire life is built on fear-based decisions, and must do everything differently to become her true self.
Director: Justine Bateman | Stars: Olivia Munn, Luke Bracey, Justin Theroux, Dennis Boutsikaris
Votes: 1,397
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