YOUR HIGHER SELF
Life Coaching has become a rather broad term in our culture, akin to “Wellness.” Director Annie St-Pierre explores the various methods in her SXSW 2025 film YOUR HIGHER SELF. Everyone is looking for enlightenment, even if it means wading through the good, the bad, and the ridiculous.
There is an immediate irony to the film as audiences experience the training of life coaches. The overarching theme of these classes focuses on the idea that a coach is not a therapist but an advisor on present and future encouragement and self-realization. Yet, with humans, the transition seems inevitable. One has to weigh the side effects of toxic positivity when not confronting past trauma.
We witness practical workshopping, where a client rehearses for a meeting or event from start to finish. The coach serves as a theatre director, adjusting each word’s delivery and every physical movement, including micro-expressions. Bring in the horse therapy, personal soul cycle session, zoom calls, music, and group work. You name it, we get a taste.
As a product of child therapy, holding a degree in performance, as a choreographer and children’s theatre director, I know so many of these methods in my bones. I provide guidance and feedback like the dopamine hits I craved in my youth. It all falls under a broader umbrella of feel-good self-expression and the need to feel useful.
The camerawork is as engaging as the editing. The film unfolds in nuanced snapshots of industry variations. YOUR HIGHER SELF leans into the absurdity and honors that each person’s path to self-help is a personal choice while acknowledging it is ultimately business. Bravo to those who agreed to appear in the film. Kudos to Annie St-Pierre for giving everyone the confidence and trust to participate.
YOUR HIGHER SELF is a visual and emotional dream board for anyone seeking inspiration. Whatever your motives for watching, you will undoubtedly find yourself fully immersed in these methods while simultaneously poopooing them. SXSW audiences are in for quite the ride and the beginning of long conversations. Equal parts cringe and intriguing, YOUR HIGHER SELF is undeniably entertaining.
Your Higher Self SXSW Remaining Screenings:
Your Higher Self at Violet Crown Cinema 1
Mar 10, 2025
5:45pm — 7:05pm
Your Higher Self at Violet Crown Cinema 3
Mar 10, 2025
5:45pm — 7:05pm
Your Higher Self at Alamo Lamar 5
Mar 13, 2025
2:30pm — 3:50pm
Your Higher Self at Alamo Lamar 6
Mar 13, 2025
2:30pm — 3:50pm
Credits:
Director:
Annie St-Pierre
Executive Producer:
Sylvain Corbeil
Producer:
Audrey-Ann Dupuis-Pierre
Screenwriter:
Annie St-Pierre
Cinematographer:
Etienne Roussy
Editor:
Myriam Magassouba
Sound Designer:
Marie-Pierre Grenier, Bernard Gariepy Strobl, Jean-François Caissy
Music:
Christophe Lamarche-Ledoux
Director: Gerard Johnson, Producers: John Jencks, Isabel Freer, Matthew James Wilkinson, Patrick Tolan, Screenwriters: Gerard Johnson, Austin Collings
Director: Elaine Epstein, Producers: Elaine Epstein, Robin Hessman
Directors/Screenwriters: Helena Ganjalyan, Bartosz Szpak, Producers: Maria Gołoś, Monika Matuszewska
Director/Screenwriter: Alex Scharfman, Producers: Drew Houpt, Lucas Joaquin, Alex Scharfman, Lars Knudsen, Tyler Campellone, Tim Headington, Theresa Steele Page
Director: Yana Alliata, Producer: Jack Forbes, Screenwriters: Yana Alliata, Amy Miner
Director: Eli Craig, Producers: Marty Bowen, John Fischer, Wyck Godfrey, Screenwriters: Carter Blanchard, Adam Cesare, Eli Craig
Director/Screenwriter: Kaspar Astrup Schröder, Producers: Maria Helga Stürup, Katrine A. Sahlstrøm
Director/Screenwriter: Amy Landecker, Producers: Amy Landecker, Bradley Whitford, Valerie Stadler, Jenica Bergere, James Portolese
Director/Screenwriter: Geremy Jasper, Producers: Michael Gottwald, Noah Stahl
Director: Kahane Corn Cooperman, Producers: Innbo Shim, Kahane Corn Cooperman
Director: Anayansi Prado, Producers: Ina Fichman, David Goldblum, Screenwriters: Anayansi Prado, Pablo Proenza
Director: Matt Johnson, Producers: Matthew Miller, Matt Greyson, Screenwriters: Matt Johnson, Jay McCarrol
Director: Ari Gold, Producers: Michelle Stratton, Starr Sutherland, Screenwriters: Ari Gold, Ethan Gold, Lara Louise, Brian Bell, Herbert Gold, Tongo Eisen-Martin, John Flanigan
Director/Screenwriter: Chelsea Christer, Producers: Clinton Trucks, Alexa Rocero, David B. Lyons
Director/Screenwriter: Lucy Davidson, Producers: Vanessa Batten, Amy Upchurch
SUPERBOYS OF MALEGAON
Director Reema Kagti brings TIFF ’24 audiences a dramatized version of the 2008 documentary Supermen of Malegaon. The film begins in 1997 and follows aspiring amateur filmmaker Nasir Shaikh and fellow hometown artists in Malegaon, India. SUPERBOYS OF MALEGAON is a story of small-town dreams coming true. Get ready to feel all the feels.
ONE REHEARSES, THE OTHER DOESN’T
The editing and camerawork celebrate the emotional chaos. In 15 minutes, you get bombarded with unbelievable stories and a mindblowing approach. ONE REHEARSES is art therapy mixed with the exploratory and revealing moments of the rehearsal space. It’s the magic of theatre and cinema and the effects of an open-minded director. This short is an exquisite give-and-take that captivates the viewer from every approach. 
![Lockjaw (2025) - [www.imdb.com]](https://i0.wp.com/reelnewsdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/Lockjaw-2025-www.imdb_.com_.png?resize=440%2C683&ssl=1)
Blu Hunt is a comic genius. She has that it-girl quality. I’m buying whatever she’s selling at all times. Her commitment to the dialogue or a particular gag is chef’s kiss. Hunt recently wowed me in The Dead Thing. She is just as compelling in Lockjaw.
Čejen Černić Čanak profound Berlinale drama SANDBAG DAM follows Marko, an athletic young man navigating his younger brother, school, sports, and girlfriend, Petra. His life upends when Slaven returns home for his father’s funeral. With the threat of flooding in his small Croatian village, his long-lost feelings for Slaven threaten everything.
Marko exists in a traditionally masculine environment. His father is a mechanic, training him to take over the business and compete in an upcoming arm wrestling competition. His free time consists of drinking at parties and attending to his eager-to-please girlfriend. Then, his seemingly easy life suddenly halts when Slaven returns after three years and no goodbye.
The story slowly reveals itself with an innocent bitterness and longing. If you go into the film blind, nothing is spoonfed to the audience. It is beautifully paced. The homophobia in Sandbag Dam is excruciating. The weaponization of hurt and ignorance is devastating.
The performances are spectacular. Leon Grgić is endearing as younger brother Fićo. He has a genuine star quality. His purity will make your heartache. Andrija Žunac gives Slaven an authenticity that is calming. His unapologetic aura is sensational. Lav Novosel delivers a pitch-perfect turn as Marko. Torn between the life he yearns for and the one he feels forced to accept, Novosel brings us on an emotional roller coaster we have no control over. You feel the conflict in your soul.
The film has a similar energy to Brokeback Mountain. Its restrained tension is waiting to burst at any moment. There is no denying the double entendre of the title. As the floodwaters rise, so do the tensions of secrets and feelings. Screenwriter Tomislav Zajec provides stunning metaphors. SANDBAG DAM is an important story. It is one that so many LGBTQ youth must endure. The final moments will have you talking about this film long after the credits roll.
Gal’s character has a Mary Poppins quality in creating magic for her kids. “In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun!” The unrelenting motivation she provides for Rhianna and Benin puts most parents to shame. Gal’s palpable anxiety appears in moments when the kids are distracted and engaged in an activity. She does her best to guard them from reality and fear.
Our two small leads, Rihanna Barbosa and Benin Ayo have a chemistry a director dies for. Their playful nature and natural talent are infectious. They are stars. 
An hour into the film, your heart drops. The conversation that follows should almost come with a trigger warning for survivors. Filled with gaslighting and classic abuser language, it will infuriate and break you. THE BEST MOTHER IN THE WORLD captures invisible labor, unconditional love, cycles of abuse, and the determination to create a better life. It is a difficult but rewarding viewing experience and female-centric storytelling at its best.
FIST BUMP
ABOUT SLAMDANCE
The Virgin of The Quarry Lake
Jealousy collides with superstition in Laura Casabé‘s coming-of-age Sundance 2025 film The Virgin of The Quarry Lake. Natalia lives with her grandmother, Rita, after being abandoned by her parents. The summer after high school graduation is a time of angst, curiosity, fear, and desire. Intimated by a worldly older woman named Silvia, Nati and her two best friends become deeply entrenched in a battle to keep her crush, Diego, from her clutches. 
Although set in 2001 Argentina, the film’s narrative parallels today’s political climate with startling accuracy. The government is a disaster. There are rolling blackouts, civil unrest, and the popular television personality peddles misinformation. Nati witnesses violence again and again. Her envy of Silvia and sexual frustration push her to her limits. The repeated and infuriating misogyny she endures results in a bloody act of pushback. Nati unleashes an alarming feminine rage. 
Based on the stories of Mariana Enriquez, screenwriter Benjamin Naishat creates something quite magic. The Virgin of The Quarry Lake also delivers a visceral sense memory of young love. Nati receives a heartbreaking phone call from Silvia. I received a shockingly similar call the summer of my Senior year, and it destroyed me in a way that I still remember at almost 45 years old. You will hurt for her. It is vicious. Dolores Oliverio owns the role of Natalia. She is an undeniable star. 
The dynamic between 17-year-old Azi and her best friend’s father’s new girlfriend moves from passive-aggressive to outright challenge. You can cut the tension with a knife. Mann delivers enough longing looks between Wool and Goodjohn to wager guesses about each woman’s motivation. You’re dying to know what happens next once the screen goes black.
Thankfully, a feature-length version of AZI is already in the works. Sundance 2025 audiences are in for one hell of a tease. These are guaranteed seats in butts whenever production is complete. Count me very much in.
Addison Heimann is a queer genre filmmaker currently residing in Los Angeles. His first feature, Hypochondriac, premiered at the 2022 SXSW Film Festival and was distributed by XYZ Films. His goal is to tell queer stories that explore mental health in the genre space.
Evan Twohy was raised on Hitchcock and opera on the edge of a forest outside Berkeley, California. From an early age, he found himself drawn to absurdist theater and began writing plays in New York City prior to making his first feature, Bubble & Squeak.
EVERY LITTLE THING
Worthy of a National Geographic seal of approval, Sally Aitken‘s EVERY LITTLE THING boasts stunning cinematography by Ann Johnson Prum. Alongside Caitlin Yeo’s lovely score, it is a captivating viewing experience.
We meet several birds by name. One particularly injured little one named Cactus captures our hearts. Juxtaposed with the deep trauma from her childhood, Terry explains how selfishness affects the rehabilitation process.
The film makes it effortless to root for these tiny birds. Terry’s relentless determination and patience, her ability to be so in tune with these creatures, is mesmerizing. It’s incredibly powerful.
There is an overall sweetness to the film that can only be felt upon viewing. It is simultaneously heartbreaking and joyful. A meditation on grief and healing, EVERY LITTLE THING is a light in the darkness and the example of compassion we all need at this moment in time.
GRAND THEFT HAMLET
Sam and Mark try to entice an audience while simultaneously playing the game. GRAND THEFT HAMLET is hands down one of the most entertaining documentaries ever. Guns blazing, blood spraying, and lines of Shakespeare flying willy-nilly, it’s brilliant madness.
Having only witnessed clips of Grand Theft Auto through the years, I was blown away by the ability to customize the experience. It was both exhilarating and terrifying. It is something akin to a virtual vision board. (Yes, my theatre nerd girl roots are showing.) Could this be a new way to rehearse actors? The director in me has all the thoughts currently rushing into my brain.
On the technical side of things, the editing and soundtrack are award-worthy. The film exemplifies the power of human connection when it was not possible in the physical world. It is a light in the ongoing darkness that often feels all-consuming. Sam’s plea from the film’s audition recruitment segment says it all. “You can’t stop art, motherfuckers!” GRAND THEFT HAMLET is the epitome of the creative community’s ability to bring hope.
Footage from those rescued from collapsed buildings, unimaginable loss, children caught in a tornado of violence, every film is immersive and visceral. The bravery and passion of the filmmakers are on full display. The viewing experience is heavy, inspiring, and vital, particularly for those who believe we should stop funding humanitarian efforts abroad. Amongst turmoil on American soil, we should thank our lucky stars for the privilege of honoring the ongoing courage, compassion, and unity of the Gazan people. FROM GROUND ZERO is a must-watch. 
For more DWF coverage, 
WHEN: Friday, December 6 at 12:45 PM EST
Gasbag – 
THE FIX
Filmmaker Kelsey Egan brings audiences THE FIX. The near future film occurs where toxic air is slowly poisoning the population, and only the wealthy have access to treatment. Ella exists in the shadow of her recently deceased supermodel mother. Thinking she’s taking a party drug, Ella accidentally ingests an experimental synthetic, causing accelerated and unpredictable mutations inside and out. Ella becomes the target of both the drug dealers and global big pharma Aethera. THE FIX is much more nuanced and endlessly intriguing. It is sci-fi, action, thriller, and everything in between. 
Icon Clancy Brown plays Aethera patriarch. Anytime he appears in a film, it elevates the entire production. Robyn Rossouw delivers a fear-soaked performance as Ella’s best friend, Gina. Huge accolades for Keenan Harrison and Tina Redman as they prove their acting chops, but I’ll let you discover their vital roles on your own. It is truly A+ work from both.
Production is spectacular. Props are sleek, costumes are clean but unique, and the sets are just as applause-worthy in their minimalist glory. The special FX makeup team gives us top-notch originality. Read More – 
THE FIX could seamlessly expand into a multiple-season series. There is so much well-developed canon that audiences would tune in without hesitation. Tackling ethics, capitalism, and the fragility of humanity, THE FIX has arrived to entertain and challenge.
DREAM TEAM
Agents No and Chase (Esther Garrel and Alex Zhang Hungtai) leisurely follow the trail of deaths but mostly sport tight clothes and make innuendos. The script occurs in episodes featuring a repeated title sequence and undeniably clever cheeky titles.
The script is intentionally utter nonsense. If you want to learn about coral, DREAM TEAM is your jam. Performances across the board are spot-on for mediocre porn overdramatics. I feel like watching on mushrooms would be an experience. There are so many moments of WTF I lost count 30 minutes in. At that point, it is best to throw your hands up and tell yourself, “Sure, why not?” My favorite scene involves an invisible coworker. I was also thankful for the break in what I assume are meant to be channel surfing breaks in the narrative pattern.
It is easy to see why Jane Schoenbrun acts as executive producer. The neon color pops are right up her alley. Listen, coming from someone who starred in two of these things many years ago – do not even try to look that shit up on the internet, I will hunt you down- DREAM TEAM owns the bit. The question remains whether audiences will tolerate it for 90-plus minutes.
Daruma deals with addiction, PTSD, and redemption in an honest way. There is zero sugarcoating. Immersive camera work helps place the viewer in Patrick’s emotionally injured mindset by placing the camera in his lap whenever he gets intoxicated in a club. Yellen’s overall cinematography is spectacular. His choice to mix follow shots, close-ups, and stunning drone footage while our players embark on their road trip captures Daruma’s vulnerability and heart. 
John W. Lawson is undeniably charming as curmudgeonly neighbor Robert. His nuanced backstory is the perfect foil for Tobias Forrest. You’ll fall in love with him. Forrest gives his all, leaning into Patrick’s flaws and working to find his suppressed humanity. Forrest nails each beat. He and Lawson share relatable chemistry. It’s a dramedy duo you didn’t know you needed. 
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