EoM is excited to cover SXSW remotely for the sixth time, this time helmed by EoM members Douglas Davidson, Justin Waldman, and AJ Friar. Having looked over the announced festival titles, we’ve compiled a short-list of 32 titles we’d like to collectively cover.
**These recommendations are primarily based on reading the summaries and finding them intriguing. If I’m able to cover (or EoM has covered previously), the titles will be hyperlinked with a review – so be sure to check back.**
SXSW takes place in Austin, Texas from March 12th – 18th, 2026.
And Her Body Was Never Found
Official Synopsis:
Mor Cohen and Polaris Banks did the impossible, made a movie with just two people, while camping, with a script based on their real arguments. Most couples would kill each other under those conditions. They were no exception.
A scene from AND HER BODY WAS NEVER FOUND. Photo Credit: Polaris Banks. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
Basic
Official Synopsis:
After Gloria and Nick break up, Gloria takes us through Nick’s dating history, untangling his web of ex-girlfriends through details she can find online. But when she discovers Kaylinn, the hottest most basic ex-girlfriend to ever exist, Gloria not only loses herself, she loses control of the story she’s been telling. Basic is a comedy that blends the magical-realism of jealous paranoia with the magic of falling in love.
Leighton Meester as Kaylinn in the film BASIC. Photo Credit: Veronica Bouza. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
Black Zombie
Official Synopsis:
From the flickering screens of Hollywood horror, to the haunted cane fields of colonial Haiti, Black Zombie unearths the buried origins of the zombie, reclaiming it as a symbol of survival and spiritual resistance.
A scene from Black Zombie. Photo Credit: Manuela Hidalgo. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
Buddy
Official Synopsis:
A brave girl and her friends must escape a kids television show.
A scene from Buddy. Photo Credit: Worry Well Productions. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
Chili Finger
Official Synopsis:
When Jessica Lipki discovers a severed human finger in her bowl of chili, she recognizes an opportunity to seize control of her stagnating life. Jess blackmails the regionally-beloved fast-food chain for $100,000 in return that she and her blissfully ignorant husband, Ron, keep quiet about the incident. Unbeknownst to Jess, her stunt has caught the attention of “the” Blake Junior, the plutocratic founder behind the “Blake Junior’s” food empire. He recruits his ex-marine buddy, Dave, to investigate Jess and discover the truth behind the chili finger…
L-R: Sean Astin and Judy Greer in CHILI FINGER. Photo Credit: Cristina Dunlap. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
A Cowboy in London
Official Synopsis:
In A Cowboy in London, filmmaker Jared Christopher captures a rare portrait of Charley Crockett on the verge of global stardom. Shot in the verite tradition, the film follows Crockett during a whirlwind week in London: 3 sold-out solo shows at historic Hoxton Hall, candid tv, radio & newspaper interviews, tourist wanderings, and intimate moments with fiancee Taylor Grace, whose camcorder diary intertwines with professional footage. Between forgotten lyrics and celebrity cameos, Crockett confronts the state of America, Ai in music, and the music industry itself, revealing a vulnerable, defiant artist unafraid to speak truth while chasing greatness.
Musician Charley Crockett in London in A COWBOY IN LONDON. Photo Credit: Bobby Cochran. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
Crash Land
Official Synopsis:
Lance, Clay, and Darby have spent their childhoods drinking, wreaking havoc, and filming crude stunts in their small town. Everyone hates them. Wanting to finally prove their lives have meaning, the boys set out to make a “real movie” and in the process are forced to confront emotions and experiences they’ve never considered: love, loss, and ultimately, what it means to grow up.
L-R: Gabriel LaBelle as Lance and Finn Wolfhard as Sander in CRASH LAND. Photo Credit: Kristofer Bonnell. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
Drag
Official Synopsis:
Two sisters with a contentious relationship decide to rob a rural home in upstate New York. The simple robbery turns into a nightmare when one of them throws out her back and becomes immobilized on the second floor. The night spirals out of control as they embark on a painful journey to make it out before the homeowner returns.
A scene in DRAG. Photo Credit: Ben Goodman. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
Dreamquil
Official Synopsis:
Set in the not so distant future when poor air quality leads to people living mostly virtually lives. Carol is a dissatisfied career mother, struggling to find connection within her marriage to Gary and her child. With the day to day familiarity of their home and lives feeling increasingly claustrophobic, and worried she could be heading towards divorce, Carol leaps at the chance to get her life back on track by signing up for “DreamQuil”, an avant-garde digital wellness retreat. When Carol returns home however, she discovers her family has been living with “Carol 2”, a robot the corporation sent designed to help in her absence, and things take a mysterious and sinister turn.
Elizabeth Banks as “The Carols” in DREAMQUIL. Photo Credit: Lol Crawley. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
Edie Arnold is a Loser
Official Synopsis:
Timid Catholic school dork Edie Arnold is dragged to a punk show where a mishap lands her on stage behind the drums. She’s mortified… but a natural. Convinced by her best friend, she secretly forms a band called The NunDead. Her newfound confidence leads to a date with the altar boy but also a fight that gets her suspended. Thinking she bailed on their first gig, her bandmates bust her out of the house just in time to win a Battle of the Bands. But when she faces expulsion and her mother’s wrath at a disciplinary hearing, footage of her kick-ass performance has an unexpected effect on her mom.
Family Movie
Official Synopsis:
The Smiths have gathered once again on their quaint family farm to make the latest in a string of low-budget horror movies. No, the movies aren’t particularly “successful.” Some might even call them “bad.” But at least the family is together, and that’s what matters to Jack and Ellen. Their adult children, on the other hand – Trent and Ula – are working up the courage to leave this particular family tradition behind.
Simmering family dysfunction turns to pure chaos when a real dead body shows up on set. Can they come together to keep the movie on track, or will this be the Smith family’s final act?
A scene from FAMILY MOVIE. Photo Credit: Dominic Leon. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
Fifteen
Official Synopsis:
Set in Mexico City, Fifteen reimagines the iconic quinceañera as a chaotic mix of comedy and creature horror. Through Mayte and Ligia’s unbreakable bond, the film explores class divides, the illusions of adolescence, and the fear of growing up—wrapped in kitsch aesthetics, blood-soaked humor, and biting social critique.
A scene from FIFTEEN. Photo Credit: Sebastian Cortes. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
I Love Boosters
Official Synopsis:
A crew of professional shoplifters take aim at a cutthroat fashion maven. It’s like community service.
Imposters
Official Synopsis:
After a couple’s baby boy is taken, the desperate mother learns of a way to bring him back. However, her husband begins to suspect that what she returned with isn’t their son.
A scene from IMPOSTERS. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
Kill Me
Official Synopsis:
Jimmy wakes up in a bathtub filled with his own blood, his wrists slit and his life rapidly nearly completion. This would be a textbook failed suicide attempt, only…Jimmy didn’t do it? At least, he’s pretty sure he didn’t. Alongside Margot, the 911 operator who took his call that faithful night, Jimmy begins an amateur-hour murder investigation, desperate to prove that this is a whodunnit and not a hedunnit. The list of suspects who might be happy if Jimmy wasn’t around anymore is fairly long—angry ex-girlfriends, frustrated siblings, exasperated psychiatrists, and resentful stepfathers. But the prime suspect is Jimmy himself.
A scene from KILL ME. Photo Credit: XYZ Films. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
Leviticus
Official Synopsis:
Leviticus is the story of Naim and Ryan, two teenage boys living in a conservative Christian community in regional Victoria. When their attraction to each other is identified by the local pastor, the pair are subjected to a disturbing conversion ritual which unknowingly releases a violent entity that terrorizes the town. As Naim and Ryan attempt to survive the bigotry of their fellow town members, they must also defend themselves against the unleashed spiritual being that takes the form of the thing the boys desire most – each other.
A scene from LEVITICUS. Photo Credit: NEON. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice
Official Synopsis:
Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice is a hilarious, stylized, R-rated action-comedy about two gangsters and the woman they love trying to survive the most dangerous night of their lives. As if that wasn’t enough, there’s one wild ingredient added to the mix: a time machine.
Mile End Kicks
Official Synopsis:
Grace Pine, a driven though easily distracted 23-year-old. She leaves her quirky parents’ home for a shared apartment found on Craigslist to devote herself to writing the next great book in the 33 1/3 album exploration series. Hers will be on the iconic Alanis Morissette opus Jagged Little Pill. Loft parties introduce Grace to two paramours. Unfortunately, they are members of the same rock band, Bone Patrol. And instead of sequestering herself away to complete her draft, she uses her music industry know-how to get in with the band as their publicist.Through wine-fuelled poetry readings and other ill-advised choices, Grace is in the trenches of self-discovery.
Never After Dark
Official Synopsis:
A wandering medium, Airi spends her life guiding restless spirits out of the world of the living. Summoned to an isolated country house, she comes face to face with a grotesque apparition with powers that defy Airi’s experience. As she digs deeper into the house’s past, a secret comes to light — and Airi finds herself hunted by a far more unpredictable force. For the first time, her greatest adversary is not the supernatural, but the living.
A scene from NEVER AFTER DARK. Photo Credit: XYZ Films. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
Normal
Official Synopsis:
For Sheriff Ulysses (Bob Odenkirk), his provisional posting to the quaint Midwestern American town of Normal was meant to be a welcome respite from both his marital woes and recent moral injuries in the line of duty. But when a botched bank robbery interrupts the municipality’s tranquil pace, a dark secret is inadvertently exposed, and Ulysses soon discovers that the town is anything but its namesake.
Over Your Dead Body
Official Synopsis:
A dysfunctional couple head to a remote cabin to supposedly reconnect, but each has secret plans to kill the other.
Pizza Movie
Official Synopsis:
It’s a Friday night and college students Jack and Montgomery have got big plans: They’re going to do drugs and order pizza. But when the home-made drug they ingest turns out to be MUCH wilder than they thought, the simple journey down two flights of stairs to retrieve their pie becomes a mind-bindingly transformative quest. Still though, how hard can it be? The only thing in their way is a broken elevator, Montgomery’s social anxiety, the fact that everybody in the school hates Jack, a sociopathic RA, a vengeful butterfly, a robot with a dream, and this insane drug that has absolutely no regard for the basic laws of reality.
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come
Official Synopsis:
Moments after surviving an all-out attack from the Le Domas family, Grace (Samara Weaving) discovers she’s reached the next level of the nightmarish game — and this time with her estranged sister Faith (Kathryn Newton) at her side. Grace has one chance to survive, keep her sister alive, and claim the High Seat of the Council that controls the world. Four rival families are hunting her for the throne, and whoever wins rules it all.
The Saviors
Official Synopsis:
Sean and Kim Harrison are a suburban couple about to divorce. By renting their guest house to a quiet Middle Eastern brother and sister, Amir and Jahan Razi, they find a perfect solution: raise money to fix and sell their house, then separate. But when bizarre occurrences begin to add up – mysterious lights, missing animals, glimpses of unexplainable tech – in the days before the President’s upcoming visit to town, their guests’ strange behavior starts to seem suspicious and potentially dangerous. As Sean and Kim investigate their new tenants, they rediscover the emotional connection they once shared. But reconciliation may come at a significant cost in this timely and provocative thriller.
A scene from THE SAVIORS. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
Seekers of Infinite Love
Official Synopsis:
Kayla Bachman, an author who struggles with emotional connection, Zach Bachman, a lawyer who dreams of being a folk singer and Wes Bachman, a graphic novelist / gambling & pill addict, meet to discuss their younger sister Scarlett who joined a cult in Kentucky.
Zach and his dysfunctional and absent parents have hired cult deprogrammer Rick Delacroix to help them rescue Scarlett.
They embark on a roadtrip to save their sister, and bring their family together.
A scene from SEEKERS OF INFINITE LOVE. Photo Credit: Tim Suhrstedt. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
Sender
Official Synopsis:
Julia was fired three weeks ago. She also got sober three weeks ago. She’s starting over in a suburban rental, and doing a lot of online shopping to help make the space her own, fast. When packages she didn’t order start showing up at her door — a blender, a corkscrew, her signature shade of lipstick — they feel so unnervingly tied to her past that it starts to feel like someone is watching her. The shopping site Smirk denies responsibility. But increasingly paranoid, Julia tumbles down a rabbit hole to find the identity of her anonymous sender.
A scene from SENDER. Photo Credit: Gemma Doll-Grossman. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
The Shitheads
Official Synopsis:
Macon Blair’s third feature is a raucous and wildly entertaining descent into madness. Dave Franco and O’Shea Jackson Jr. are perfectly (mis)matched as Mark and Davis, the fumbling circumstantial chaperones in charge of transporting the increasingly psychotic Sheridan (a brilliant Mason Thames). Phenomenal supporting turns from Nicholas Braun, Peter Dinklage, and Kiernan Shipka round out the ensemble cast, each more unexpected and bizarre than the last. Blair treats us to his signature absurdist sense of humor and douses it with gasoline and psychedelics, crafting an uncanny world where the worst intentions net the highest yields and the open road is full of Shitheads.
L-R: Oshea Jackson Jr, Dave Franco, and Mason Thames in THE SHITHEADS. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
The Sun Never Sets
Official Synopsis:
Wendy’s life is thrown into chaos when her boyfriend, Jack, who is older and divorced with children, insists they take space to evaluate the relationship. During their break, Wendy unexpectedly runs into her ex, Chuck, forcing the three of them into a confusing and volatile triangle.
A scene from THE SUN NEVER SETS. Photo Credit: The Alaska Project LLC. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
Ugly Cry
Official Synopsis:
When Delaney’s boyfriend leaves town to shoot a splashy zombie movie, she becomes obsessed with a character she’s auditioning for after she learns the producers think she has an “ugly cry.” But when she tries to make her cry prettier, her performance suffers. Can she contort herself, and her face, to have the perfect cry? Her attempts to change herself cause Young Delaney to haunt her, catapulting present day Delaney deeper down the rabbit hole. She isolates herself and grows increasingly delusional, and interested in physical fixes to her acting problem. How can she make the world see her as she sees herself? How can she become and become and become? She will become famous. Or die trying.
Emily Robinson in UGLY CRY. Photo Credit: More Avenue. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
The Way We Move
Official Synopsis:
The Way We Movie is a feature-length documentary about Amber Galloway, a star ASL (American Sign Language) interpreter who specializes in live music interpretations. Amber teaches her art to share her life’s mission: making music accessible to the Deaf community. Armed with her astounding teaching skills, she will take her struggling new recruits on a one-of-a-kind journey, hoping they have what it takes to join her at Austin City Limits music festival. As the film unfolds, we learn about Amber’s painful past and about the lives of her recruits, Julian Ortiz and Angela “AV” Vilavong, as they come together and forge life-long bonds. A film about music, Deaf culture, connection and resilience.
A scene from THE WAY WE MOVE. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
Wishful Thinking
Official Synopsis:
Julia and Charlie, a volatile couple in Portland, Oregon, are at a loss for how to repair their broken relationship. Julia, an ambitious game designer, and Charlie, a struggling musician working in sound design to pay the bills, are pushed by Julia’s friend into attending a couples-therapy seminar run by twin healers, the Tillies, who claim to fix relationships through energy work. The session triggers a karmic universal system that makes the state of their relationship affect the world around them. With earthquakes, the stock market, and entire nations at risk, Charlie and Julia must confront whether their love can survive amidst so much destruction.
A scene from WISHFUL THINKING. Photo Credit: Christopher Ripley. Photo courtesy of SXSW.
About SXSW:
An essential destination for global professionals, the annual March event features sessions, music and comedy showcases, film and television screenings, world-class exhibitions, professional development and networking opportunities, tech competitions, awards ceremonies, and much more. SXSW proves that the most unexpected discoveries happen when diverse topics and people come together.
South By Southwest dedicates itself to helping creative people achieve their goals.
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Categories: Coming Soon, Recommendation
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