The 2025 SXSW TV & Movie Competition is ready to as soon as once more ignite Austin, Texas, with its signature mix of boundary-pushing cinema, groundbreaking tv premieres, and dynamic trade conversations. Recognized for championing daring storytelling and contemporary voices, SXSW has lengthy been a launchpad for modern tasks that form the cultural panorama.
This 12 months’s competition guarantees an thrilling lineup of high-profile premieres, indie gems, and thought-provoking documentaries, alongside immersive experiences and panel discussions that includes among the largest names in leisure. As streaming and theatrical landscapes proceed to evolve, SXSW 2025 stands on the forefront, providing a glimpse into the way forward for storytelling throughout screens each large and small. Whether or not you’re a filmmaker, critic, or fan, SXSW stays the final word vacation spot for locating what’s subsequent in movie and tv. Right here’s a collection of must-see movies and TV exhibits to take a look at on the competition when you’re in Austin.
$POSITIONS
$Positions, directed by Brandon Daley, is a darkly comedic, anxiety-fueled exploration of monetary desperation and dependancy within the digital age. The movie follows blue-collar Midwesterner Mike Alvarado (Mike Kunicki), who, in a bid to elevate his household out of poverty, recklessly pours their financial savings into speculative cryptocurrency investments. What begins as a hopeful gamble rapidly spirals right into a full-blown dependancy, driving Mike right into a frenzied nightmare of monetary destroy, paranoia, and self-destruction. As his obsession consumes him, his relationships along with his girlfriend, his developmentally disabled brother, and his recovering addict cousin start to crumble. Put together to yell at Mike via this journey, as you endure this wild journey with him because the passenger to a car he’s driving that’s going manner off-course. Humor, heart-inducing panic and studying concerning the nature of human desperation sums up the experiences of what this movie will carry.
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BOXCUTTER
This Toronto-based gem directed by Reza Dahya, is a high-energy drama about ambition, self-doubt, and the pursuit of creative validation. The movie follows Rome (Ashton James), a gifted however insecure aspiring rapper who refuses to share his music and not using a superstar endorsement. When he learns that legendary producer Richie Hill (Wealthy Kidd) is making an look in Toronto’s Queen Avenue West, Rome sees it as his golden alternative — till catastrophe strikes. A break-in at his house leaves him with out the one copy of his album, forcing him right into a frantic race in opposition to time. With the assistance of his activist-artist good friend Jenaya (Zoe Lewis), Rome embarks on a decided mission to trace down his 4 producers and rebuild the album earlier than the life-changing occasion. Boxcutter is a gripping story of self-belief and it captures the hustle, setbacks, and triumphs of chasing a dream within the fashionable music trade. That is price testing in case you take pleasure in tales of resilience.
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ASSEMBLY
Artist Rashaad Newsome, whose groundbreaking undertaking Being (the Digital Griot) premiered at Sundance, involves SXSW along with his debut documentary characteristic Meeting, co-directed with Johnny Symons. A visually gorgeous and thought-provoking cinematic journey that reimagines artwork as a instrument for resistance and community-building. Set inside a former navy facility reworked right into a radical utopia, the movie follows Newsome as he creates an immersive exhibition that includes dancers, musicians, poets, and a non-binary AI named Being.
By electrifying performances and decolonization workshops, Meeting delves into themes of Black and queer identification, systemic oppression, and resilience. The movie spotlights the facility of collective creativity, with performances honoring Black trans girls, the Black queer neighborhood’s response to the AIDS disaster, and vogue fem as a world artwork kind. As artists confront marginalization via motion, music, and storytelling, Meeting turns into each a celebration of creative expression and a name for liberation, displaying how artwork can forge solidarity and encourage change. In the event you benefit from the intersection of activism with know-how, hold this one in your shortlist.
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COTTON CANDY BUBBLE GUM
In the event you’re on the lookout for an over-the-top comedy that’s certain to make you snigger then you should definitely take a look at Cotton Sweet Bubble Gum. Directed by J Pinder, this SXSW choice is an absurdly hilarious coming-of-age comedy about one younger man’s disastrous try at proving his independence. Carter (Nick Darnell), a 21-year-old mama’s boy nonetheless dwelling at house, finds himself in a race in opposition to time after his mother will get engaged to a ruthless cop who desires him out of the home. His solely hope? Securing a paid promotion at his internship by the top of the day.
However his boss palms him a near-impossible to-do record: get his Jeep detailed (it will get towed), babysit his teenage son (he loses the child), arrange his celebration (a mannequin overdoses on the ground), and retrieve a compromising intercourse tape (which results in a world-famous rapper kidnapping his finest good friend). Because the day spirals additional into chaos, Carter should navigate one outrageous catastrophe after one other, proving whether or not he’s prepared for the actual world or doomed to stay below his mom’s roof eternally. Full of wild mishaps, sharp humor, and surprising coronary heart, Cotton Sweet Bubble Gum is a wildly entertaining journey.
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THE DUTCHMAN
Any film with Andre Holland in it at a movie competition, is one you need to place in your shortlist and The Dutchman is not any exception. Directed by Andre Gaines, the movie is a gripping psychological thriller that reimagines Amiri Baraka’s 1964 Obie Award-winning play of the identical title for a contemporary viewers. Andre Holland performs Clay, a profitable but deeply troubled Black businessman, who’s struggling to restore his fractured marriage via remedy along with his spouse, Kaya (Zazie Beetz). Nevertheless, their enigmatic therapist (Stephen McKinley Henderson) begins to seem outdoors of their classes in unsettling methods, hinting at a deeper thriller.
Clay’s actuality takes a darker flip when he encounters Lula (Kate Mara), a seductive but menacing white lady, on a New York subway practice. As their dialog unfolds, Lula slowly dismantles Clay’s sense of self, pulling him right into a harmful psychological recreation that threatens his identification, sanity, and even his life. To outlive the night time and return to his spouse, Clay should unravel the reality behind this encounter whereas confronting the racial and existential tensions that hang-out him.
With a recent spin and a gritty take, The Dutchman stays a searing examination of race, energy, and identification in America, delivering a tense and provocative cinematic journey. It is a movie that can depart viewers unpacking dense conversations round what they simply skilled.
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THE INFINITE HUSK
The Infinite Husk, directed by Aaron Silverstein, is a sci-fi drama that explores exile, identification, and the character of humanity via the eyes of an alien outsider.
Vel dedicated an unspeakable act, one so taboo that she was forged out from her individuals and banished to Earth. Her solely shot at redemption? A near-impossible mission: infiltrate the lifetime of one other exiled alien, uncover his secret analysis, and report again. However there’s a catch, Vel should navigate this world trapped inside a human physique, experiencing firsthand the sweetness and ache of human existence.
Thrown into the huge sprawl of Los Angeles, Vel’s journey turns into extra than simply espionage. As she adapts to her new kind, she begins to grasp the complexities of emotion, connection, and want. In the meantime, her goal is enjoying a harmful recreation of his personal, pushing the boundaries of science in ways in which may change every little thing.
A cerebral, emotionally charged sci-fi story, The Infinite Husk blends espionage with existential discovery, questioning what it really means to be human. In the event you’re all in favour of out-of-this-world storytelling that is price testing.
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GOVERNMENT CHEESE
Authorities Cheese is below the TV premiere class at SXSW Movie & TV Competition. The Apple TV+ collection is a fantastical comedy a few household set within the vibrant, dream-chasing world of 1969 San Fernando Valley. The movie follows the Chambers household, an eccentric but decided group relentlessly pursuing their ambitions, blissfully indifferent from the tough constraints of actuality.
When Hampton Chambers (David Oyelowo) is launched from jail, he anticipates a joyous reunion along with his spouse, Astoria (Simone Missick), and their sons, Einstein (Evan Ellison) and Harrison (Jahi Di’Allo Winston). Nevertheless, throughout his absence, his household has fashioned an unconventional dynamic of their very own, and his sudden return sends their world into chaos.
Mixing sharp comedy with surrealist storytelling, Authorities Cheese explores themes of household, resilience, and the pursuit of goals, irrespective of how unimaginable they might appear. With showrunners Paul Hunter and Aeysha Carr on the helm, and a formidable lineup of government producers that embody Hunter, Carr, Oyelowo, Charles D. King, Jelani Johnson, and Ali Brown — the movie delivers a novel, offbeat tackle the that means of household and belonging. The ten-episode collection will debut its first 4 episodes on Apple TV+.
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SEEN & HEARD
One other choice within the TV class is the HBO docuseries Seen & Heard. Directed by Giselle Bailey, Phil Bertelsen and government produced by Issa Rae, the two-part documentary chronicles the evolution of Black illustration in tv. By a dynamic, time-traveling narrative, the movie weaves a wealthy, ever-changing panorama of Black expertise — from the battle to be seen on display screen to the facility of being heard behind the scenes.
Exploring the profound influence of Black creatives on in the present day’s Golden Age of Black tv, Seen & Heard highlights the struggles, triumphs, and cultural shifts which have formed the trade. With archival footage, interviews, and firsthand accounts, the documentary not solely celebrates Black excellence in tv but in addition examines the continuing journey towards fairness, visibility, and inventive freedom.
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NIGHT FIGHT
Seven years in the past, director Khary Saeed Jones was adopted by a vigilante down again roads in rural Canada, an expertise that left lasting scars. Since then, he’s been piecing collectively the variations of himself that had been born that night time. On this haunting documentary, he returns to the city the place it occurred, and he faces a much bigger query: does he need solutions, or is he looking for one thing else? Night time Struggle is a deeply private meditation on trauma, identification, and the problem of sharing the previous along with his younger son. In case you are a fan of hard-hitting documentaries, that is one price testing for certain.
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IT ENDS
A late-night meals run turns right into a waking nightmare when a bunch of current grads by chance veers onto a unending, two-lane street surrounded by unknowable horrors. Trapped inside their Jeep Cherokee for ever and ever, they have to confront the terrifying actuality of their new existence or danger every little thing to flee. With no indicators, no exits, and no solution to flip again, tensions rise, paranoia units in, and actuality itself begins to unravel. Is escape even doable, or are they doomed to drive eternally? This movie is a chilling mix of cosmic horror and psychological suspense. What you’re going to get in It Ends is a basic street journey that turns right into a claustrophobic mind-bending battle for survival. If you wish to watch a flick that explores the bounds of friendship, sanity, and the terrifying unknown you should definitely take a look at the screening for It Ends.
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THE MAKING OF CURTIS MAYFIELD
Music followers will admire this one. Grammy and Academy Award-winning artist H.E.R. takes viewers on a deeply private journey into the life and legacy of Curtis Mayfield, one of the influential musicians of all time. Mixing intimate conversations, wealthy musical performances, and archival footage, the documentary explores Mayfield’s groundbreaking songwriting, modern guitar work, and his profound influence on movie soundtracks. From civil rights anthems to timeless love songs, The Makings of Curtis Mayfield celebrates his enduring affect on generations of artists, highlighting the genius that formed the sound of soul, funk, and past. A celebration of legacy, creativity, and cultural influence, this documentary cements Mayfield’s place as one of the important voices in fashionable music historical past.
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The 2025 SXSW TV & Movie Competition will happen from March 7-Fifteenth in Austin, TX.