The South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival has announced the features lineup for the 2013 edition running from March 8 through 16. 109 films in all, 68 of them by first-time filmmakers, 69 of them world premieres, 14 North American premieres and 5 U.S. Premieres, all selected from a record 2,096 feature-length film submissions. The lineup, with descriptions from SXSW:
NARRATIVE COMPETITION
This year’s 8 films were selected from 1,191 submissions. Each film is a World Premiere. Films screening in Narrative Feature Competition are:
Awful Nice
Director/Screenwriter: Todd Sklar, Screenwriter: Alex Rennie
Estranged brothers Jim and Dave must travel to Branson together when their father dies and leaves them the lake home. A series of hilarious mishaps and costly misadventures follow as they attempt to restore the house and rebuild their relationship. Cast: Alex Rennie, James Pumphrey, Christopher Meloni, Brett Gelman, Keeley Hazell (World Premiere)
Burma
Director/Screenwriter: Carlos Puga
On the eve of an annual sibling reunion, a troubled young writer is sent reeling with the arrival of an unexpected guest. Cast: Christopher Abbott, Gaby Hoffmann, Chris McCann, Dan Bittner, Emily Fleischer (World Premiere)
Improvement Club
Director/Screenwriter: Dayna Hanson
When their big gig falls through, a ragtag, avant-garde performance group with a political message struggles to find their audience—and the motivating force behind their work.
Cast: Magge Brown, Dave Proscia, Wade Madsen, Jessie Smith, Pol Rosenthal (World Premiere)
Licks
Director/Screenwriter: Jonathan Singer-Vine, Screenwriter: Justin “Hongry” Robinson
The story of a young man, D, as he returns to his Oakland neighborhood after two years served in prison for a robbery gone wrong… Cast: Stanley “Doe” Hunt, Koran Jenkins, Tatiana Monet, Devon Libran, Les “DJ Upgrade” Aderibigbe (World Premiere)
The Retrieval
Director/Screenwriter: Chris Eska
On the outskirts of the Civil War, a boy is sent north by a bounty hunter gang to retrieve a wanted man. Cast: Ashton Sanders, Tishuan Scott, Keston John, Bill Oberst, Jr., Christine Horn, Alfonso Freeman (World Premiere)
Short Term 12
Director/Screenwriter: Destin Daniel Cretton
The film follows Grace, a young supervisor at a foster-care facility, as she looks after the teens in her charge and reckons with her own troubled past. An unsparingly authentic film, full of both heart and surprising humor. Cast: Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr., Kaitlyn Dever, Rami Malek, Keith Stanfield (World Premiere)
Swim Little Fish Swim (USA, France)
Director/Screenwriter: Ruben Amar, Lola Bessis
Between surrealism, unusual characters, art and magic tricks, Swim Little Fish Swim is a dreamlike journey from childhood to adulthood. Cast: Dustin Guy Defa, Anne Consigny, Brooke Bloom, Lola Bessis, Olivia Durling Costello (World Premiere)
This Is Where We Live
Directors: Josh Barrett, Marc Menchaca, Screenwriter: Marc Menchaca
A struggling family’s dynamics are challenged and a unique friendship is born when a small-town Texas handyman becomes caregiver to their son with cerebral palsy. Cast: Ron Hayden, CK McFarland, Marc Menchaca, Tobias Segal, Frankie Shaw (World Premiere)
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION
This year’s 8 films were selected from 905 submissions. Each film is a World Premiere. Films screening in Documentary Feature Competition are:
12 O’Clock Boys
Director: Lotfy Nathan
Pug, a young boy growing up on a combative West Baltimore block, finds solace in a gang of illegal dirt bike riders known as The 12 O’Clock Boys. (World Premiere)
Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton
Directors: Stephen Silha, Eric Slade
A documentary about embracing your passions and becoming the person of your dreams, disguised as an inspiring biopic about pioneering filmmaker and poet James Broughton (1913-1999). (World Premiere)
Hey Bartender
Director: Douglas Tirola
The story of the bartender in the era of the craft cocktail. (World Premiere)
Los Wild Ones
Director: Elise Salomon
Wild Records is an indie label reminiscent of the early days of Sun Records. The label is based in LA and run by Reb Kennedy aka Mr. Wild Records and is comprised of young Latin musicians who write and perform 50s Rock n Roll. (World Premiere)
The Short Game
Director: Josh Greenbaum
Each year, the world’s best 7-year-old golfers descend on Pinehurst, North Carolina to determine the next “world champion” and who might become golf’s next phenom. The Short Game follows 9 young golfers on their quest for greatness. (World Premiere)
Touba
Director: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
With unprecedented access and dynamic 16mm cinematography, Touba reveals a different face of Islam by chronicling Sufi Muslims’ annual pilgrimage to the city of Touba. (World Premiere)
We Always Lie To Strangers
Directors: AJ Schnack, David Wilson
A story of family, community, music and tradition set against the backdrop of Branson, Missouri, the remote Ozark Mountain town that is one of the biggest tourist destinations in America. (World Premiere)
William and the Windmill
Director: Ben Nabors
William Kamkwamba builds a windmill from scrap to rescue his family from famine, transforming his life and launching him onto the world stage. His success leads to new opportunities and complex choices, distancing him from the life he once knew. (World Premiere)
HEADLINERS
Big names, big talent: Headliners bring star power to SXSW, featuring red carpet premieres and gala film events with some major and rising names in cinema. Films screening in Headliners are:
Evil Dead
Director/Screenwriter: Fede Alvarez, Screenwriter: Rodo Sayagues
Five friends, holed up in a remote cabin, discover a Book of the Dead that unwittingly summons up dormant demons which possess the youngsters in succession until only one is left to fight for survival. Cast: Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas, Elizabeth Blackmore (World Premiere)
Hawking (UK)
Director: Stephen Finnigan
A brief history of mine: a look at the life of Stephen Hawking (World Premiere)
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone
Director: Don Scardino, Story by Chad Kultgen & Tyler Mitchell and Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley. Screenplay by Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley
As superstar Vegas magicians and former best friends Burt and Anton grow to secretly loathe each other, their long-time act implodes, allowing an ambitious rival street performer the big break he’s been waiting for. Cast: Steve Carell, Steve Buscemi, Olivia Wilde, with Alan Arkin, James Gandolfini and Jim Carrey (World Premiere)
Spring Breakers
Director/Screenwriter: Harmony Korine
Four college girls who land in jail after robbing a restaurant in order to fund their spring break vacation find themselves bailed out by a drug and arms dealer who wants them to do some dirty work. Cast: James Franco, Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson, Rachel Korine, Gucci Mane (U.S. Premiere)
When Angels Sing
Director: Tim Mccanlies, Screenwriter: Lou Berney
Michael despises Christmas. Now Christmas is getting even.
Cast: Harry Connick Jr., Connie Britton, Chandler Canterbury, Fionnula Flanagan, Lyle Lovett, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Eloise DeJoria, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson (World Premiere)
NARRATIVE SPOTLIGHT
High profile narrative features receiving their World, North American or U.S. Premieres at SXSW. Films screening in Narrative Spotlight are:
The Bounceback
Director: Bryan Poyser, Screenwriters: David Degrow Shotwell, Steven Walters, Bryan Poyser
An outrageous comedy about love and revenge in Austin, Texas. Cast: Marshall Allman, Ashley Bell, Zach Cregger, Sara Paxton, Michael Stahl-David (World Premiere)
Coldwater
Director/Screenwriter: Vincent Grashaw, Screenwriter: Mark Penney
A teenage boy is sent to a juvenile reform facility in the wilderness. As we learn about the tragic events that sent him there, his struggle becomes one for survival with the inmates, the counselors, and with the retired war colonel in charge. Cast: PJ Boudousqué, James C. Burns, Chris Petrovski, Octavius J. Johnson, Nicholas Bateman (World Premiere)
Drinking Buddies
Director/Screenwriter: Joe Swanberg
Weekend trips, office parties, late night conversations, drinking on the job, marriage pressure, biological clocks, holding eye contact a second too long… you know what makes the line between “friends” and “more than friends” really blurry? Beer. Cast: Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson, Anna Kendrick, Ron Livingston (World Premiere)
Go For Sisters
Director/Screenwriter: John Sayles
Bernice and Fontayne grew up so tight they could ‘go for sisters’. After twenty years apart, they are reunited when Bernice is assigned to be Fontayne’s parole officer- just when she needs help on the wrong side of the law. Cast: Edward James Olmos, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Yolonda Ross (North American Premiere)
Good Night
Director/Screenwriter: Sean H. A. Gallagher
Leigh’s 29th birthday party takes a sudden turn when she announces that the evening maybe the last time her friends see her alive. A night of questions, coping and debauchery immediately follow. Cast: Adriene Mishler, Jonny Mars, Alex Karpovsky, Chris Doubek, Todd Berger (World Premiere)
Grow Up, Tony Phillips
Director/Screenwriter: Emily Hagins
A comedy about a Halloween-obsessed high school senior who doesn’t think childhood passions should have an expiration date. Cast: Tony Vespe, AJ Bowen, Devin Bonnée, Katie Folger, Byron Brown (World Premiere)
Gus
Director/Screenwriter: Jessie Mccormack
Lizzie, married and longing for a child, can’t conceive. Her best friend, Andie, single and adrift, gets pregnant from a one-night stand and offers to have the baby for Lizzie, sparking a journey full of funny and painful obstacles for all involved. Cast: Michelle Monaghan, Radha Mitchell, Jon Dore, Michael Weston, Mimi Kennedy (World Premiere)
Holy Ghost People
Director: Mitchell Altieri, Screenwriters: Kevin Artigue & Joe Egender, Mitchell Altieri & Phil Flores
On the trail of her missing sister, Charlotte enlists the help of Wayne, an ex-Marine and alcoholic, to infiltrate the Church of One Accord – a community of snake-handlers who risk their lives seeking salvation in the Holy Ghost. Cast: Emma Greenwell, Brendan McCarthy, Joe Egender, Cameron Richardson, Roger Aaron Brown (World Premiere)
Hours
Director/Screenwriter: Eric Heisserer
Set mostly in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Hours is the story of a man who battles looters, the elements and exhaustion for two days in a hospital while his newborn daughter clings to life inside a ventilator powered only by a manual crank. Cast: Paul Walker, Genesis Rodriguez (World Premiere)
I Give It A Year (UK)
Director/Screenwriter: Dan Mazer
A brand new comedy from the writer of Borat and Bruno that lifts the veil on the realities of the first year of marriage. Cast: Rose Byrne, Anna Faris, Rafe Spall, Simon Baker, Minnie Driver, Jason Flemyng, Stephen Merchant (North American Premiere)
Kilimanjaro
Director/Screenwriter: Walter Strafford
Sick of his routine life, Doug sets out to climb Kilimanjaro. Cast: Brian Geraghty, Alexia Rasmussen, Abigail Spencer, Chris Marquette, Bruce Altman (World Premiere)
Loves Her Gun
Director/Screenwriter: Geoff Marslett, Screenwriter: Lauren Modery
This romantic tragedy follows a young woman’s transition from flight to fight after she is the victim of street violence, but will the weapons that make her feel safe again create problems worse than the ones she is escaping? Cast: Trieste Kelly Dunn, Francisco Barreiro, Ashley Rae Spillers, Melissa Hideko Bisagni, John Merriman (World Premiere)
Milo
Director/Screenwriter: Jacob Vaughan, Screenwriter: Benjamin Hayes
A man discovers that his chronic stomach problems are due to the fact that he has a demon baby living in his colon. Cast: Ken Marino, Gillian Jacobs, Peter Stormare, Stephen Root, Mary Kay Place (World Premiere)
Much Ado About Nothing
Director: Joss Whedon
Shakespeare’s classic comedy is given a contemporary spin in Joss Whedon’s film, Much Ado About Nothing. Cast: Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, Nathan Fillion, Fran Kranz, Jillian Morgese (U.S. Premiere)
Reality Show
Director/Screenwriter: Adam Rifkin
A darkly comedic satire that follows TV producer Mickey Wagner and his amoral attempt to re-invent the reality genre. Mickey’s big idea is to pick a family and put them under all encompassing surveillance…without their knowledge. Cast: Adam Rifkin, Scott Anderson, Kelly Menighan Hensley, Monika Tilling, Valerie Breiman (World Premiere)
Scenic Route
Directors: Kevin Goetz, Michael Goetz, Screenwriter: Kyle Killen
Stranded on an isolated desert road, two life-long friends fight for survival as their already strained relationship spirals into knife-wielding madness. Cast: Josh Duhamel, Dan Fogler (World Premiere)
Some Girl(s)
Director: Daisy Von Scherler Mayer, Screenwriter: Neil LaBute
On the eve of his wedding, a successful writer travels around the country to meet up with ex-lovers in an attempt to make amends for his wrongdoings. Cast: Adam Brody, Kristen Bell, Zoe Kazan, Mía Maestro, Jennifer Morrison, Emily Watson (World Premiere)
Zero Charisma
Directors: Katie Graham, Andrew Matthews, Screenwriter: Andrew Matthews
An obsessive fantasy nerd gradually becomes unhinged when a charismatic hipster joins his D&D game. Cast: Sam Eidson, Garrett Graham, Brock England, Anne Gee Byrd, Cyndi Williams, Brian Losoya, Vincent Prendergast, Katie Folger, John Gholson, Dakin Matthews (World Premiere)
DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT
Shining a light on new documentary features receiving their World, North American or U.S. Premieres at SXSW. Films screening in Documentary Spotlight are:
An Unreal Dream: The Michael Morton Story
Director: Al Reinert
Michael Morton’s wife Christine was brutally murdered in front of their only child, and he was convicted of the crime. Twenty-five years later, he tells the story of his journey from despair to exoneration. (World Premiere)
Before You Know It
Director: PJ Raval
Three gay seniors navigate the adventures, challenges and surprises of life and love in their golden years. (World Premiere)
Continental (USA, Canada)
Director: Malcolm Ingram
A stylish and thoughtful examination of the infamous Continental Baths NYC circa 1968-1976. Told by the people who were there. (World Premiere)
Downloaded
Director: Alex Winter
A documentary that explores the rise and fall of Napster and the birth of the digital revolution. It’s about the teens that helped start this revolution, and the artists and industries who continue to be impacted by it. (World Premiere)
Getting Back to Abnormal
Director: Louis Alvarez, Andrew Kolker, Peter Odabashian, Paul Stekler
A polarizing white politician becomes a lightning rod for racial strife in New Orleans. (World Premiere)
Good Ol’ Freda
Director: Ryan White
The story of Freda Kelly, a shy Liverpudlian teenager asked to work for a young local band hoping to make it big: The Beatles. Their loyal secretary from beginning to end, Freda tells her tales for the first time in 50 years. (World Premiere)
I Am Divine
Director: Jeffrey Schwarz
The story of Divine, aka Harris Glenn Milstead, and how he became John Waters’ cinematic muse and an international drag icon. (World Premiere)
Medora
Directors: Andrew Cohn, Davy Rothbart
In America’s basketball heartland, four resilient boys from rural Medora, Indiana fight to end their high school team’s three-year losing streak, as their dwindling town faces the threat of extinction. (World Premiere)
Milius
Directors: Zak Knutson, Joey Figueroa
The life story of “Zen Anarchist” filmmaker John Milius, one of the most influential storytellers of his generation. (World Premiere)
Mr. Angel
Director: Dan Hunt
Chronicles the extraordinary life of trans male porn pioneer and educator, Buck Angel. It’s a moving & provocative story of a man’s search for acceptance from his family and the world. An inspirational tale of an unlikely hero. (World Premiere)
The Network (Australia, UK)
Director: Eva Orner
Set behind the scenes at the largest television network in one of the most dangerous places on earth: Afghanistan. (World Premiere)
The Other Shore
Director: Timothy Wheeler
The film tracks legendary swimmer Diana Nyad’s lifetime vision and four harrowing attempts to swim non-stop from Cuba to Florida. An abusive past collides with an obsessive present over a dangerous 60-hour feat never before accomplished. (World Premiere)
Rewind This!
Director: Josh Johnson
Home video changed the world. The impact of the VHS tape was enormous. Rewind This! aims to trace the ripples of that impact. (World Premiere)
Spark: A Burning Man Story
Directors: Steve Brown, Jessie Deeter
What happens when you allow yourself to act on your dreams? Spark takes us behind the curtain with organizers and participants of Burning Man, revealing a year of unprecedented challenges and growth. (World Premiere)
TINY: A Story About Living Small
Directors: Christopher Smith, Merete Mueller
One couple’s attempt to build a “tiny house” smaller than the average parking space with no construction experience raises questions about sustainability and good design, the nature of home, and the changing American Dream. (World Premiere)
Unhung Hero (Germany)
Director: Brian Spitz
After a failed marriage proposal because of his inadequate size, a young man adventures the world in search of answers so he will never come up short again. (World Premiere)
We Cause Scenes
Director: Matt Adams
The extraordinary story of a group of twenty-somethings who seized the streets of New York, transforming the meaning of comedy, performance and art through forming “Improv Everywhere,” a prank collective ten years in the making. (World Premiere)
VISIONS
Audacious, risk-taking artists in the new cinema landscape that demonstrate raw innovation and creativity in documentary and narrative filmmaking. Films screening in Visions are:
Elena (Brazil)
Director: Petra Costa
Elena moves to NY with the dream of becoming a movie actress. She leaves behind Petra, her 7- year-old sister. Years later, her sister Petra goes to NY to look for Elena. (North American Premiere)
euphonia
Director/Screenwriter: Danny Madden
listen. Cast: Will Madden, Maria Decotis (World Premiere)
Everyone’s Going to Die (UK)
Director/Screenwriter: Jones
A modern British story about coming home, getting by and the redemptive power of feeling you’re not alone. A story where porn hotlines rub shoulders with sexy beavers on rollerskates; where the past is laid to rest, two lives are changed and nobody, finally, is going to die.
Cast: Nora Tschirner, Rob Knighton, Kellie Shirley, Madeline Duggan (World Premiere)
Fuck for Forest (Poland)
Director: Michał Marczak, Screenwriter: Michał Marczak, Łukasz Grudziński Have sex. Save the world. (North American Premiere)
Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction (Switzerland)
Director: Sophie Huber
An iconic actor and passionate musician in his intimate moments, with film clips from some of his 250 films and his own heart-breaking renditions of American folk songs. (U.S. Premiere)
Kelly + Victor (UK)
Director/Screenwriter: Kieran Evans, Screenwriter: Adapted For Screen By Niall Griffiths
Adapted by Kieran Evans from the acclaimed novel by Niall Griffiths, Kelly + Victor is a raw compelling passionate love story set against the backdrop of a highly cinematic Liverpool, to a searing soundtrack. Cast: Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Julian Morris, Stephen Walters, William Ruane, Claire Keelan (North American Premiere)
Lunarcy! (Canada)
Director: Simon Ennis
Director Simon Ennis introduces us to an unforgettable group of characters who all share one thing in common: an obsession with the Moon. (U.S. Premiere)
Maidentrip
Director: Jillian Schlesinger
An intimate coming-of-age adventure set against the epic backdrop of the open sea, Maidentrip explores life through the eyes of 14-year-old Laura Dekker on her quest to become the youngest person ever to sail around the world alone. (World Premiere)
Maladies
Director/Screenwriter: Carter
A comedic look at the life of a former actor turned writer struggling to cope with reality, his work and interpersonal relationships. Cast: James Franco, Catherine Keener, Fallon Goodson, David Strathairn, Alan Cumming (North American Premiere)
Our Nixon
Director: Penny Lane
Recently discovered Super 8 home movies filmed by three of Richard Nixon’s closest aides – and fellow Watergate conspirators – offer an intimate and complex new glimpse into his presidency in this all-archival documentary. (North American Premiere)
Sake-Bomb (USA, Japan)
Director: Junya Sakino, Screenwriter: Jeff Mizushima
A sarcastic and self-deprecating Asian-American must take his naive Japanese cousin on a road trip along the California coast to find his ex-girlfriend.
Cast: Gaku Hamada, Eugene Kim, Marlane Barnes, Josh Brodis, Samantha Quan (World Premiere)
Snap
Directors: Youssef Delara, Victor Teran, Screenwriter: Victor Teran
A stylish psychological thriller set against the underground dubstep DJ scene that takes the audience on a dark and terrifying journey into the depths of the psychopathic mind as it threatens to explode into horrific violence. Cast: Jake Hoffman, Nikki Reed, Thomas Dekker, Scott Bakula, Jason Priestley (World Premiere)
These Birds Walk
Directors: Omar Mullick, Bassam Tariq
The film documents the resilience of a 6-year-old Pakistani runaway as he tackles one critical question: where is home? The streets, an orphanage, or with the family he fled in the first place?
The Wait
Director/Screenwriter: M. Blash
An enigmatic phone call from a psychic, catapults a family into a state of suspended belief while waiting for their recently deceased mother to be resurrected. Cast: Jena Malone, Chloë Sevigny, Luke Grimes, Josh Hamilton, Devon Gearhart (World Premiere)
White Reindeer
Director/Screenwriter: Zach Clark
After an unexpected tragedy, Suzanne searches for the true meaning of Christmas during one sad, strange December in suburban Virginia. Cast: Anna Margaret Hollyman, Laura Lemar-Goldsborough, Lydia Johnson, Joe Swanberg, Christopher Doubek (World Premiere)
Yellow
Director/Screenwriter: Nick Cassavetes, Screenwriter: Heather Wahlquist
A young substitute teacher escapes from her drudging everyday life by fantasizing bizarre parallel realities, in this wildly inventive and visually dazzling head-trip from director Nick Cassavetes. Cast: Heather Wahlquist, Sienna Miller, Melanie Griffith, Gena Rowlands, Ray Liotta (U.S. Premiere)
24 BEATS PER SECOND
Showcasing the sounds, culture and influence of music and musicians, with an emphasis on documentary. Films screening in 24 Beats Per Second are:
All the Labor
Director: Doug Hawes-Davis
Intimate performances and behind-the-scenes footage convey the life, labor and brotherhood of the distinctive purveyors of original American music, The Gourds, as they defy genres, expectations, and career clichés over two decades of musical joy. (World Premiere)
Artifact
Director: Bartholomew Cubbins
Telling harsh truths about the modern music business, Artifact gives intimate access to singer/actor Jared Leto and his band Thirty Seconds to Mars as they battle their label in a brutal lawsuit and record their album This Is War.
A Band Called Death
Directors: Mark Christopher Covino, Jeff Howlett
Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols and the Ramones, there was a band called Death.
Born in Chicago
Direct
