SXSW has announced its features lineup for this year’s festival.
The annual bacchanal that takes over Austin, Texas every year has always been an amazing, one of a kind place to find the latest and greatest in music, tech, and film, but for this year, the 25th year of the film festival, they’ve pulled out a particularly stellar and eclectic lineup.
Included in the festivities this year is the world premiere of John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place, the mostly silent horror film co-starring Krasinski and Emily Blunt. The pre-buzz on that film has been building steadily for months, and a successful SXSW showing would just about seal the deal on its potential and acclaim.
Also among the headliners is director Daryl Hannah’s PARADOX, co-starring Neil Young and Willie Nelson. Described as “a whimsical western tale of music and love,” it’s Hannah’s first directorial effort since 2002’s documentary, Strip Notes, and her first feature length film.
As ever, SXSW has assembled an impressive lineup of documentaries with topic ranging from the bizarre and niche to the current and poignant. Of particular interest this year are The Bill Murray Stories: Life Lessons Learned From A Mythical Man, director Tommy Avallone’s exploration of the myths, legends, and reality of comedian Bill Murray, as well as Daughters of the Sexual Revolution: The Untold Story of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, which takes a look at Suzanne Mitchell, the den mother of the original cowboys cheerleaders.
SXSW, of course, started as a music conference, and that tradition extends into their film festival with their 24 Beats Per Second category, featuring new narrative and documentary films that focus on the music world. Included this year is Ethan Hawke’s BLAZE, focusing on the life of country musician Blaze Foley, as well as the documentary Elvis Presley The Searcher.
In all, 132 films will be shown over the course of the nine days of the festival, and many films have yet to be announced. The lineup for popular Midnighters has yet to be released, though that should be coming sometime in the next few weeks. You can see the full lineup of announced films here.
SXSW takes place March 9-18 in Austin.
