#SXSW: SXSW 2023 PREVIEW

SXSW is set to kick-off Friday March 10, 2023 through March 18, 2023 in Austin. Team Mr. Will is here to bring you some of their top picks of the Film & TV component of the Festival, which is back again in-person fully. The Festival kicks-off this year with Opening Night selection DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES. The eagerly-awaited Blockbuster co-directed by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley stars an impressive Cast including Chris Pine, Regé-Jean Page, Hugh Grant, Sophia Lillis, Michelle Rodriguez and more. This follows on the footsteps of last year’s Opening Night film, EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE, which has been propelled to major Awards Season success.

Other high-profile titles to premiere at the Film & TV Festival include Evil Dead Rise directed by Lee Cronin; Problemista directed by Julio Torres; Flamin’ Hot directed by Eva Longoria; Janine Nabers and Donald Glover’s Swarm; Lee Sung Jin’s Beef and several more. 

Team Mr. Will preview for you some of their own most-anticipated titles at SXSW 2023.

AMANDA GILMORE (@GilmoreAmanda)

Bottoms

Toronto-born Director-Writer Emma Seligman is re-teaming with star-on-the-rise Rachel Sennott! And I CANNOT WAIT! I loved Shiva Baby and know that only greatness will come from this duo. Additionally, as a huge fan of The Bear, I am so excited to see breakout star Ayo Edebiri as part of its Cast.

Fancy Dance

I heard so many great things about this Film coming out of Sundance early this year. It’s the feature directorial debut from Erica Tremblay and follows a Native American hustler who kidnaps her niece from her white grandparents and sets out for the state powwow in the hope of keeping what’s left of their family intact.

Joy Ride

I always search for Comedy at SXSW because they tend to be breakout hits. This Comedy directed by Adele Lim has a stellar cast including Everything Everywhere All at Once fav Stephanie Hsu. And it just happens to be produced by two funny men collaborators Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg.

National Anthem

I’m a huge fan of Halsey and she’s acting in this touching story about a construction worker in New Mexico who joins a group of queer rodeo performers. There has been a lot of buzz going into the Festival for this Film and I am sure it won’t disappoint.

Bloody Hell

This Canadian film sounds like a blast. It follows a teen girl who is diagnosed with a reproductive condition that upends her sex life. Thus, sending her on a journey exploring unusual methods. It stars Maddie Ziegler and Emily Hampshire.

I want to shout out a film I’ve already seen and I believe all of you should: War Pony. It’s a breathtaking film that follows the interlocking stories of two young Oglala Lakota men group on on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

DAVID BALDWIN (@DaveMABaldwin)

I am three-years-deep and still fascinated by the films the SXSW team programs every March. It is such an odd and eclectic mix of indies, docs and genre films, and well, it speaks directly to my eclectic taste in cinema. And though it lacks the prestige of TIFF or Cannes, and is a little more punk rock than Sundance, I love how much of a unique identity SXSW has. Hopefully, next year I can take the plunge and go to Austin for a long weekend just to soak up all of the films, the BBQ, and this terrific community the festival has cultivated. I am intrigued about a number of pictures and twisted visions unfolding over the coming week and a half, but these are the ones I am most excited for:

Evil Dead Rise

I love the Evil Dead franchise, full-stop. The remake we got in 2013 was a whole lot better than it should have been, and this new entry (which trades the creepy cabin, horny teenagers and everyman Ash Williams for a family in a creepy high rise tower) looks and sounds positively bonkers. I was grinning like a maniac watching the R-rated trailer just recently, and am all in for the gory, grotesque and groovy blood bath that Writer/Director Lee Cronin has cooked-up. Might want to pack a poncho and an umbrella for this one.

Bottoms/I Used To Be Funny

Have you accepted Rachel Sennott as your new queen yet? This one-two punch of Dark Comedies – one about two loser high schoolers who create a fight club in order to get laid, and the other about an aspiring comedian and former nanny struggling with PTSD – should certainly clue you into what you have been missing in your life. They both sound like wild rides, and should certainly provide plenty of laughs from this star on the rise. Did I ask if you accepted her as your queen yet?

299 Queen Street West

If you are of a certain generation, you likely remember when MUCH was actually called MuchMusic. And it played music. Those days may be long behind us, but Sean Maynard’s Documentary about the life and times of the iconic building, studio and brand is bound to bring back a whole lot of memories. I cannot wait to see what artifacts he was able to dig-up.

Self Reliance

No need to even discuss a plot here – this is the directorial debut of Jake Johnson. He wrote and produced the Film too, alongside the Lonely Island. And he stars in it, alongside Anna Kendrick, Andy Samberg, Natalie Morales, Christopher Lloyd, Wayne Brady and Schitt’s Creek’s Emily Hampshire (also at SXSW 2023 with Bloody Hell). Do I really need to say more, or are you just as quickly on-board as I was?

Plan C

As a CIS white male, my opinion on abortion does not matter. Nor should it matter to the men who helped overturn Roe v. Wade. What a woman does with her own body is none of our fucking concern. Plain and simple. Sadly, not everyone feels that way, as we would not need Docs like Plan C if they did. The Film centres around a large group of individuals who have been networking since 2014 in an attempt to increase access to abortion pills across the United States. With how turbulent things are going, and the fact that I have my own daughter now, this one is quite simply a must-see.

MR. WILL (@mrwillw)

Tetris

Centering around true events and Henk Rogers’ (played by Taron Egerton) uphill battle to secure legal rights to international gaming sensation TETRIS, this Drama from Jon S. Baird is a must-see. Especially for those of us who grew-up in the ’80s and ’90s and played this religiously on our Nintendo Gameboys. This premieres more towards the end of the Festival on March 15th and arrives on Apple TV+ March 31, 2023. Who’d have known there was this much Drama behind something that brought us so much joy? Did you know the game actually originally belonged to the people of the Soviet Union?

American Born Chinese

Based on Gene Luen Yang’s Graphic Novel of the same name, SXSW is so lucky to continue this renaissance of the Asian-American experience. The upcoming Disney+ series centers on Jin Wang (Ben Wang), struggling with his school life and home life. He meets the new foreign exchange student at his school, leading him to become involved in a battle between Gods of Chinese mythology. The Series reunites EEAAO stars Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan. This also premieres later in the Festival on March 15th and it arrives May 24, 2023 on Disney+.

I Used to be Funny

Filmed right here at home, Toronto’s Ally Pankiw writes and directs this Comedy starring SXSW 2023 Queen Rachel Sennott (also at the Festival with the exciting BOTTOMS as mentioned by Amanda and David) as a Comedian battling PTSD and deciding whether or not to search for a missing teen girl whom she used to nanny. This premieres March 13th at the Festival.

Flamin’ Hot

Who doesn’t love Flamin’ Hot Cheetos? Flamin’ Hot is the story of Richard Montañez (Jesse Garcia) the Frito Lay janitor who channeled his Mexican-American heritage and upbringing to turn Flamin’ Hot Cheetos into a snack that ignited a spice-loving frenzing, becoming a worldwide sensation! Eva Longoria directs this origins story which we can totally get behind. This premieres March 11th.

Problemista

Expect Julio Torres to be the breakout star of SXSW 2023 writing, directing and also starring in this Comedy about a Toy Designer from El Salvador who is stuck in a job assisting an unpredictable Art World outcast in order to stay in America. Also stars Greta Lee and TILDA SWINTON! This debuts March 13th at the Festival.

Also, a warm mention goes to Canada’s BLACKBERRY which recounts the rise of the mobile phone that once ruled the world, from Director/Writer Matt Johnson. Jay Baruchel stars as Mike Lazaridis in this Drama which will be released via Elevation Pictures April 28, 2023. This got plenty of traction out of its Berlin International Film Festival Premiere and we cannot wait to see. It premieres March 13th at SXSW 2023.

More on the SXSW 2023 lineup here. We’ll be bringing updates from the Festival daily. Stay tuned for more.