The 2016 SXSW Film Festival gets underway in just a few days, and once again we’ll be in Austin, Texas to cover the opening weekend of this year’s event. There are a lot of great films to check out this year, including new offerings from Richard Linklater and Jeff Nichols, as well as a few classics such as Dazed and Confused and Smokey and the Bandit.
Of course, there aren’t enough hours in the day to see everything, but we’re hoping to cover as much ground as possible this year. So with that in mind, here are the films we’er hoping to catch at the 2016 SXSW Film Festival.
Everybody Wants Some
Directed by Richard Linklater
In Richard Linklater’s anticipated “spiritual sequel” to Dazed and Confused, a group of college friends navigate their way through the freedoms and responsibilities of the wild final weekend of the summer of 1980.
The Slippers
Directed by Morgan Wright
The Slippers pulls back the Wizards curtain the unbelievable story of Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers from The Wizard of Oz, and their impact on popular culture, and the now multi-million dollar a year industry of Hollywood memorabilia collecting.
The Other Half
Directed by Joey Klein
A grief-stricken man and a bipolar woman fall in love and try to forge a simple life together.
The Liberators
Directed by Cassie Hay
A tiny Texas town. $350 million worth of medieval treasure. The discovery is just the beginning.
Beware the Slenderman
Directed by Irene Taylor Brodsky
Beware the Slenderman tells the story of a Boogeyman lurking on the internet and two 12-year-old girls who would kill for him. A horrifyingly modern tragedy, this film explores children’s accountability in the online age.
Pet
Directed by Carles Torrens
A lonely man fatefully reunites with a former high school classmate. When she spurns his advances, he takes her prisoner, only to find that she is not what she seems.
Untitled Fede Alvarez/Ghost House Thriller
Directed by Fede Alvarez
A group of teens break into a blind man’s home thinking they’ll get away with the perfect crime. They’re wrong.
Teenage Cocktail
Directed by John Carcietta
Teenage Cocktail is the story of how Annie and Jules fell in love and how it all got weird.
The Bandit
Directed by Jesse Moss
The Bandit is a film about 70s superstar Burt Reynolds, his best friend, roommate, and stunt-double Hal Needham, and the making of their unlikely smash-hit Smokey & The Bandit.
Miss Stevens
Directed by Julia Hart
Stuck at a crossroads in her personal life, it falls on Miss Stevens to chaperone three of her students — Billy, Margot, and Sam — on a weekend trip to a drama competition.
Jules and Dolores
Directed by Caito Ortiz
Jules and Dolores is a pop comedy about the theft of the World Cup Trophy that occurred in Brazil in 1983. Curiously enough, nobody truly knows the details surrounding this unbelievable event, until now.
Midnight Special
Directed by Jeff Nichols
A father goes on the run to protect his young son and uncover the truth behind the boy’s special powers in writer/director Jeff Nichols’ sci-fi thriller Midnight Special, a film as supernatural as it is intimately human.
In a Valley of Violence
Directed by Ti West
From Blumhouse, the film tells the story of a drifter named Paul who arrives in a small town, seeking revenge on the thugs who murdered his friend. Sisters Mary Anne and Ellen, who run the town’s hotel, help Paul in his quest for vengeance.
Another Evil
Directed by Carson D. Mell
After encountering a ghost in his family’s vacation home, Dan and his wife Mary hire an “industrial-grade exorcist” named Os to get rid of the beings.
Keanu (work-in-progress)
Directed by Peter Atencio
A mysterious catnapping triggers a chain of events that lead cousins Clarence and Rell into the belly of LA’s criminal underworld. Suburbanites at heart, the hapless pair are ill-equipped to deal with the threats and illegal activities that lie ahead, but they have no choice but to dive in and rescue Rell’s beloved kitten, Keanu.
Demolition
Directed by Jean-Mark Vallee
Davis (Jake Gyllenhaal), a successful investment banker, struggles after losing his wife in a tragic car crash.
Newtown
Directed by Kim Snyder
Newtown documents the aftermath of the deadliest mass shooting of schoolchildren in American history. A cast of characters within Newtown and beyond interconnect to weave an intimate story of trauma, grief, and community resilience.
The Trust
Directed by Ben Brewer and Alex Brewer
Two corrupt Las Vegas police officers plan to rob a large stash that they find in connection to a local drug operation.
A Stray
Directed by Musa Syeed
Trying to outrun his bad luck, a young Muslim refugee in Minneapolis seems like he just might make it — until he crosses paths with a stray dog.
Slash
Directed by Clay Liford
Neil is a questioning teen who secretly writes erotic fan fiction about popular sci-fi characters. When his classmate Julia discovers his writing, she leads him down a rabbit hole deep into the world of ‘slash’ fiction.
And Punching the Clown
Directed by Gregori Viens
Comedian Henry Phillips is lured to LA by a renowned TV producer who wants to bring his story of failure to the screen. But when a major network gets involved, Henry must decide whether he wants to make jokes for a living, or be the butt of them.
American Fable
Directed by Anne Hamilton
When an 11-year-old girl named Gitty discovers that her father is holding hostage a wealthy man on their family’s remote farm, she chooses to dive into a dark and magical world in this Midwestern-set, fairytale thriller.
Transpecos
Directed by Greg Kwedar
For three US Border Patrol agents, the contents of one car reveal an insidious plot within their own ranks. The next 24 hours may cost them their lives.
Preacher
Directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg
Preacher is a supernatural, twisted, and darkly comedic drama that follows a West Texas preacher named Jesse Custer, who – along with his ex-girlfriend Tulip and an Irish vagabond named Cassidy – is thrust into a crazy world, much bigger than he is.
Claire in Motion
Directed by Lisa Robinson and Annie J. Howell
Claire is sure of herself, her work, and family, until — like a bad dream — her husband disappears, leaving a trail of puzzling secrets that shatter her certainty.
The SXSW Film Festival takes place from March 11-19 in Austin, Texas. For more information, visit sxsw.com