#SXSW: “I LOVE MY DAD” AND “MASTER OF LIGHT” AMONG BIG WINNERS AT SXSW 2022

Winners of the 2022 SXSW Jury and Special Awards have been unveiled. Winning top prize in the Narrative category is James Morosini's self-written, directed and starring I LOVE MY DAD. The autobiographical Comedy also starring Patton Owalt as his catfishing father won raves, touching fans with its heart at the Festival. Documentary MASTER OF LIGHT from Director Rosa Ruth Boesten won the Documentary Feature Competition. The Film centers on Painter George Anthony Morton, who cut his ... Read more

#SXSW: “NIKA”

By Amanda Gilmore Nika is an outstanding film that tells the story of one woman while being able to resonate to many. It tells the true story of the once world-famous Soviet child Poetess, Nika Turbina (Elizaveta Yankovskaya), who stopped writing and reciting her poetry at the age of 14. The Film takes place in the 1990s when Nika is 27 and full of uncertainty about her creative future. She decides she wants to become an actress. Due to age restrictions, she only has one final year ... Read more

#SXSW: “SLASH/BACK”

By Amanda Gilmore This outstanding Feature-Debut from Canadian Filmmaker Nyla Innuksuk takes place in Pangnirtung, Nunavut, a sleepy hamlet of Baffin Island. Teenager Maika (Tasiana Shirley) and her group of friends spend their summer days like normal. However, when the wildlife begin acting strange Uki (Nalajoss Ellsworth) gets suspicious. She goes searching for an answer and discovers that Pang has been invaded by aliens. These girls are used to being underestimated, so they bet on ... Read more

#SXSW: “SPIN ME ROUND”

By Mr. Will Wong Yet another whacky time at SXSW! Jeff Baena & Actress Alison Brie team-up to co-write Comedy SPIN ME ROUND, with the former also directing. The Film centers on a group of high- performers at an Italian-American restaurant chain get invited to attend an educational retreat in Florence, Italy and get way more than what they bargained for! Amber (Brie) has worked at her restaurant as a manager for nine years and hopes secretly that this retreat will help her find ... Read more

#SXSW: “A LOT OF NOTHING”

By Amanda Gilmore Successful, married couple James (Y’lan Noel) and Vanessa (Cleopatra Coleman) are shocked at what they witness on the news one night. What they see is cellphone footage of their police officer neighbour, Brian (Justin Hartley), shooting an unarmed youth. After debating what they should do, Vanessa takes the reins and holds Brian hostage. It’s ironic that it’s called A Lot of Nothing, considering it’s about many things. Co-Writer and Director Mo McRae makes an ... Read more

#SXSW: “DEADSTREAM”

By David Baldwin Shawn Ruddy (Joseph Winter) is an online influencer and streamer who is left in ruins after uploading a controversial video. Wanting to get back into the public’s good graces, Shawn decides to livestream his visit to an abandoned haunted house where real murders have taken place. He locks himself in for the night, sets up his cameras and waits for something to happen. When he accidentally pisses-off the vengeful spirit that inhabits the home, he must find a way to survive ... Read more

SXSW: “I GET KNOCKED DOWN”

By David Baldwin If you were a child of the '90s, there is absolutely no way you were able to escape “Tubthumping”. That song was everywhere and so was the Band who sang it, Chumbawamba. Dunstan Bruce was the Band’s frontman, and now 20+ years after the release of that one-hit wonder, is not sure how to stay visible in a rapidly-deteriorating world. Haunted by the adult manifestation of the baby on the Band’s album cover, Bruce must question everything he was a part of before and ... Read more

#SXSW: “I LOVE MY DAD”

By David Baldwin Patton Oswalt is Chuck, an estranged father who always seems to have an excuse for not being able to spend time with his son Franklin (James Morosini). Following a rehab stint after a suicide attempt, Franklin cuts his Dad off and blocks Chuck from contacting him. Concerned and wanting to reconnect, Chuck makes a fake Facebook account posing as a local waitress named Becca (Claudia Sulewski) in order to speak to his son. When Franklin starts getting more than a little ... Read more

#SXSW: “HALO”

By David Baldwin After spending years in development hell, Microsoft X-Box fans can rejoice – the long-awaited HALO series is finally here. It tells the story of Master Chief (Pablo Schrieber), a genetically modified “Spartan” super soldier from the year 2552. When he discovers a mysterious object after a firefight with the villainous alien Covenant group threatening humanity’s very existence, Master Chief’s worldview is irrevocably changed. As my experience with HALO-lore is ... Read more

#SXSW: “THE COW”

By Amanda Gilmore Kath (Winona Ryder) and her boyfriend Max (John Gallagher Jr) decide to take a trip to a remote cabin in the redwoods. However, when they arrive they find a younger couple, Al (Owen Teague) and Greta (Brianne Tju), already there. It turns out the rental has been double-booked. With nowhere else to go, they decide to share the cabin for one night. But when Kath wakes up the next morning she learns Max has run away ... Read more