It’s that time of year again when the AU and The Iris head to Austin to cover the annual SXSW Film, Interactive and Music Festival. In anticipation, the AU’s deputy editor Sose, shares with us her five film festival picks (in no particular order). Believe us that this was not an easy list to put together… read on! And see you in Texas…
1. The Mend
When? Sunday, March 9 at 9pm at The Alamo Ritz
This drama-comedy is having its World Premiere at SXSW this year – starring Josh Lucas (J. Edgar, Sweet Home Alabama), Lucy Owen (Higher Ground) and Stephen Plunkett (Care), the movie takes us to the the dynamic between Mat and his younger brother Alan, a comandeered apartment and a missing girlfriend. Described as ‘a comic drama about rage, doubt, lust, madness and other brotherly hand-me-downs’.
2. Neighbors
When? Saturday, March 8 at 7pm at Paramount
Part of the Narrative Features program for SXSW 2014, Neighbors is set to bring the laughs with a all-star cast in Zac Efron, Seth Rogen, Lisa Kudrow and Australia’s Rose Byrne. Nicholas Stoller directs the comedy about a young couple forced to live next to a frat house after the birth of their newborn baby. Neighbors will make its World Premiere as part of SXSW Film.
3. Cesar Chavez
When? Monday, March 10 at 6pm at Paramount
Cesar Chavez chronicles the life of the famed civil rights leader and labor organiser and in doing so, documents the beginnings of an American movement. Chavez, as depicted in this film, is a man torn between duties to his family and a desire to bring justice to others. In its North American premiere, Cesar Chavez demonstrates the power of an individual’s ability to change and redevelop an entire system, embracing non-violent ways of battling for the rights of farm workers.
4. Supermensch
When? Sunday, March 9 at 6.30pm at Paramount
Mike Myers, in his directorial debut, takes on the career of Hollywood icon Shep Gordon with Supermensch. Gordon, famed for his management of the likes of Alice Cooper and Blondie (to name a few), was also a producer, a celebrity chef and even worked with the Dalai Lama. Myers’ showcases the man behind all these achievements via a playful documentary featuring archival footage, new interviews and Myers’ own relationship with Gordon himself.
5. Oculus
When? Saturday, March 8 at 11.45pm at Stateside Theater
This thriller sees its US Premiere during the Midnights program. Siblings Tim and Kaylie were torn apart when Tim was convicted of their parents’ murder. Released from his prison sentence, Tim wants to move on with his life, but Kaylie believes that their parents were killed by a supernatural force unleashed from an antique mirror in their childhood home. Flanagan’s film which follows sees the characters relive the nightmare when they realise they’re not the first to be affected by the malevolence behind the mirror’s glass.
For more about SXSW, visit the official SXSW website: http://www.sxsw.com/ and stay tuned to The Iris!
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