SXSW 2024 promises to kick up the coolness factor with more content than ever. This year films from every genre and corner of the world assemble to provide festival audiences thrills and chills, laughter and loss, mysteries and mayhem. Cinephiles look to SXSW for cool, creative, and wow films they can discuss all year. The 2024 edition will not disappoint. Here is a list of films we’re keeping our eyes on.
DICKWEED
Two people got kidnapped. One man lost his dick. No-one got any money. This heist-gone-horribly-wrong led one Newport Beach detective on an international manhunt for the most twisted criminal he’d ever hunted. In 2012, Michael, a local weed dispensary owner, got home from work and plopped down on the sofa like any other weeknight. Three hours later he was zip-tied and eating dirt as three men tried to beat him into admitting where he’d buried the million dollars. And he would have gladly told them rather than endure what happened next. The only problem was, he hadn’t buried a million dollars, and after they tortured him and left him to die, he still had no idea who these men were.
I know. This sounds more like a mockumentary than a real-life occurrence. I had to go back and check twice to make sure I was reading the category correctly. SXSW 2024 documentary Dickweed delivers one of the most insane true-crime stories you will ever witness. Twists and turns and utterly unbelievable, this mysterious case will bewilder and entertain. Jonathan Ignatius Green does not disappoint. Get ready to tell everyone about this film, and be prepared for them to think you’re making it all up.
Director/Writer: Jonathan Ignatius Green (The Pez Outlaw, Social Animals)
Producers: David Ricksecker, Jefferis Gray
Executive Producers: Amy Bandlien Storkel, Bryan Storkel
Running Time: 90 minutes
Film Screenings
ADRIANNE AND THE CASTLE
Inventive and whimsical, Adrianne & The Castle is a true story of great love and loss. Alan St-George is a mascot-maker and artist in rural Illinois who hand-made an ornate and elaborate castle with his late wife Adrianne. Since her death in 2006 he continues to put the finishing touches on Havencrest Castle, which stands as a “temple” dedicated to their transcendent love.
In one of the most stunning love stories ever told, director Shannon Walsh introduces us to a couple like no other, whose fairytale relationship lives on in an extraordinary mansion.
Director: Shannon Walsh (The Gig Is Up, Illusions Of Control)
Producer: Ina Fichman (Fire of Love, The Oslo Diaries)
Running Time: 86 mins
Film Screenings
TIMESTALKER
“Timestalker” follows hapless heroine Agnes through time as she repeatedly falls for the wrong guy, dies a grim death, gets reincarnated a century later, before meeting him again and starting the cycle anew. It is one story told over many periods, all with the messy thrills and spills that come with daring to follow your heart. Or maybe your loins…
Agnes’ only hope in avoiding this violent fate is by finally reaching spiritual enlightenment; but how can she ever wise up when she’s destined to be a fool for love? Some lessons are just too hard to learn in one lifetime.
As a self-proclaimed Whovian, you had me at time-hopping. But a unique twist on angsty love is one of the many reasons why audiences come to SXSW 2024. This genre obliterating narratives promises to be one of the year’s best. And if you aren’t already familiar with Alice Lowe, boy are you in for a treat.
Directed by: Alice Lowe
Written by: Alice Lowe
Staring: Alice Lowe, Jacob Anderson, Aneurin Barnard, Tanya Reynolds, Nick Frost
Film Screenings
9:45pm—11:21pm
AUDREY
Ronnie Lipsick (Jackie Van Beek), a former soap star and self-proclaimed Mother of the Year, gave up her acting career 18 years ago due to an unplanned pregnancy. Now she runs a suburban performing arts school, with a husband who has lost his zest for life, a youngest daughter(Hannah Diviney) who appears indifferent, and an ungrateful eldest daughter whom Ronnie (Josephine Blazier) tried to mold into the success she always wanted. When Audrey falls into a coma after an accident, Ronnie takes on her daughter’s identity, getting a second chance at the life she always desired.
Darkly funny and in three distinct acts of wackiness, AUDREY is everything you want it to be and way more.
Director:
Natalie Bailey
Screenwriter:
Lou Sanz
Principal Cast:
Jackie Van Beek, Josephine Blazier, Hannah Diviney, Jeremy Lindsay Taylor
Film Screenings
RESYNATOR
In unearthing the Resynator, the revolutionary synthesizer her late father invented in the 1970s, filmmaker Alison Tavel not only revives his mission to share it with the world, she unexpectedly forges a deep bond with the father she never got the chance to know. What starts as a curious resurrection of her dad’s invention soon becomes an insatiable, globe-trotting quest to unearth an authentic portrait of a man she never met. Featuring Peter Gabriel, Fred Armisen, Gotye, Grace Potter and more.
Director:
Alison Tavel
Principal Cast:
Alison Tavel, Grace Potter, Peter Gabriel, Jon Anderson, Fred Armisen, Money Mark, Gotye, Mike Gordon, Brian Kehew, Christian Castagno
Film Screenings
Resynator at Alamo Lamar 4
Mar 10, 2024
6:00pm—7:36pm
Resynator at Rollins Theatre at The Long Center
Mar 13, 2024
6:00pm—7:36pm
Resynator at Satellite Venue: AFS Cinema
Mar 16, 2024
12:00pm—1:36pm
MALTA
Set in Bogotá, this captivating female character study narrates the story of a young Colombian woman who dreams of escaping her suffocating urban reality and traveling the world. However, an unexpected relationship with an unlikely man will make her question her true motives for leaving.
A quiet purpose-seeking film with relatable themes is all you need to know about Malta. It will hit you no matter your personal background.
Director:
Natalia Santa
Principal Cast:
Estefanía Piñeres, Patricia Tamayo, Emmanuel Restrepo, Diego Cremonesi, Ángela Rodríguez, Edwin Riveros, Tonatiuh Ramírez , Raúl Cuellar
Film Screenings
Mar 9, 2024
2:15pm—3:52pm
Malta at Violet Crown Cinema 3
Mar 9, 2024
2:45pm—4:22pm
Malta at Violet Crown Cinema 2
Mar 11, 2024
3:15pm—4:52pm
Malta at Violet Crown Cinema 4
Mar 11, 2024
3:45pm—5:22pm
Malta at Alamo Lamar 8
Mar 14, 2024
9:45pm—11:22pm
Filmmaker Scott Cummings brings Sundance 2024 audiences into the everyday lives of Satanists. The Church of Satan boasts innumerable followers around the world.
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