Beach Bums And Sex Demons: 14 SXSW Films To Have On Your Radar

Beach Bums And Sex Demons: 14 SXSW Films To Have On Your Radar




By Monica Castillo


The cold is rolling out and the skies are clearing up over Austin just in time for the audiences to flock to this year’s SXSW Film Festival. In between panels, performances, and tacos (so several tacos), some of 2019's most anticipated films are making their debut at the festival — like Jordan Peele's Get Out follow-up, Us, and Harmony Korine's The Beach Bum, starring Zac Efron and his frosted tips. However SXSW is also a good time to check out the year's weirder, more indie-genre fare — like Keola Racela's Porno, a film about a succubus possessing an audience of teenage movie theater ushers.


This year, MTV News will be on the ground at SXSW feasting on films and tacos, and here are the 14 movies we're most excited for.





  1. Us



    What’s it about? A family member on vacation returns house one night to discover eerie-looking doppelgängers of themselves.


    Why we’re excited: He’s back! Soon after winning a Oscar for Get Out, Jordan Peele has another creepy horror story to share that promises to be just as disturbing and thought-provoking. Us also features the acting talents of Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, and Tim Heidecker.








  2. The Beach Bum

    Neon


    What’s it about? Moondog (Matthew McConaughey), a sun-soaked party man and drug-fueled poet, lives and thrives in South Florida.


    Why we’re excited: Honorary Florida man Harmony Korine captured the garish strangeness of his adopted residence with his 2014 movie, Spring Breakers. Right now, he’s back with McConaughey, Zac Efron, Snoop Dogg, and Isla Fisher to wreck even more havoc on the Sunshine State.








  3. Booksmart

    Annapurna Pictures


    What’s it about? Two high school best companions attempt to catch up on all of the partying they missed before graduation.


    Why we’re excited: Actress Olivia Wilde makes her directing feature debut with a comedy that sounds like a mix of Lady Bird, Dazed and Confused, Clueless, and Superbad. Wilde mentioned in an interview with Entertainment Weekly before the festival that she was attracted to tell the story about the strong bonds between the two girlfriends.








  4. Good Boys

    Getty Images


    What’s it about? an audience of middle school men (Jacob Tremblay, Keith L. Williams, Brady Noon) break an expensive drone, and in their efforts to replace it, fall into all kinds of mischief.


    Why we’re excited: Immediately after Bo Burnham’s sensitive look at a girl’s last year of middle school in Eighth Grade, here’s a look at an audience of boy’s sixth grade misadventure from the writers of Sausage Party as well as a couple of big names in comedy movies. Director Gene Stupnitsky, who co-wrote the screenplay with producer Lee Eisenberg, also have Seth Rogen, Pineapple Express writer Evan Goldberg, and Neighbors director James Weaver on-board the project as producers.








  5. Stuber (Work-in-Progress)

    20th Century Fox


    What's it about? A passive Uber driver (Kumail Nanjiani) picks up a cop (Dave Bautista) as he’s tracking down a murderer.


    Why we’re excited: Don’t let the “work-in-progress” title get you down, these movies are in good enough shape for crowds to like. Michael Dowse leads a tremendous cast that includes Nanjiani, Bautista, Iko Uwais, Natalie Morales, Betty Gilpin, Jimmy Tatro, Mira Sorvino, and Karen Gillan. I can’t wait to be able to see what Nanjiani and Bautista’s comedic chemistry looks like.








  6. Go Back to China

    Courtesy of SXSW


    What's it about? After burning through her hefty trust fund, Sasha Li (Anna Akana) is dragged back residence to China where her dad forces her to work in the family’s toy shop.


    Why we’re excited: Emily Ting’s semi-autobiographical film has the potential to be both funny and touching. In her humbling experience working for her father, Sasha not only learns to appreciate the value of cash, she learns more about herself and what she wants to do with her life in the process. Plus, the film’s look at globalization and long-distance families may keep you talking long right following the credits have rolled.








  7. Mickey and the Bear

    Courtesy of SXSW


    What’s it about? A tough teen in Montana weighs the options of leaving her widowed father on his own to pursue college out west.


    Why we’re excited: Annabelle Attanasio’s feature debut looks to supply a topical coming-of-age story with the edginess of a gritty drama. Mickey Peck (Camila Morrone), the teenager at the center of the movie, is her father’s caretaker and the family’s financial provider as he’s struggling with an opioid addiction. Like Jennifer Lawrence’s breakout movie, Winter’s Bone, it’s the story of a young woman attempting to save her family member from themselves.








  8. Porno

    Courtesy of SXSW


    What’s it about? A ragtag categorize of movie theater ushers discovers their workplace was once an old porn theater, and in the process, are possessed by a sex demon.


    Why we’re excited: Blessed by Austin’s year-round genre scene, South by Southwest has one of the big audiences to appreciate a weirdo movie like Porno. Keola Racela’s movie about a haunted old porno theater has an outrageous premise, yet this teen movie might also surprise you with plenty of heart — candidly addressing themes of sexuality… with a little bit help from a succubus.








  9. Saint Frances

    Courtesy of SXSW


    What’s it about? A young woman gets an abortion just before she begins a new job as a nanny, causing her to mirror on the difficulty of relationships and family.


    Why we’re excited: I’m hoping that Alex Thompson’s Saint Frances is as introspective as it sounds. I’m curious to be able to see how grief soon after abortion is handled and why the main character comes to terms with working for a new family member while still dealing with the emotions that may come up with her experience. I’m also ready for there to be a couple of beautiful scenes between her and the 6-year-old child she’s taking care of.








  10. Yes God Yes

    Courtesy SXSW


    What's it about? Set in the early 2000s, a Midwest teenager (Natalia Dyer) discovers her first sexual urges in a AOL chat room, which bothers her strict Catholic beliefs.


    Why we’re excited: First off, who doesn’t aspire to revisit old chat room drama? And secondly, Yes God Yes directly deals with conviction, sex, and guilt, which some days gets lost in the drama of new love or the fallout of getting caught. Here, the movie seems focused on what we define as good and why faith can shape that sense of self-worth.








  11. Olympic Dreams

    Getty Images


    What’s it about? A cross nation skier (Alexi Pappas) befriends a volunteer dentist (Nick Kroll) in the Olympics' Athlete Village.


    Why we’re excited: this could be a special movie for sports fans to catch since Olympic Dreams was the opening narrative feature to be shot in the Olympic Village while in last year’s Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, and star Alexi Pappas competed in the Rio Games in 2016 — and there really are other Olympians that appear in the film, also. Director Jeremy Teicher worked as an one-man crew to film his project.








  12. I Love You, Right now Die: The Commonwealth Vs. Michelle Carter



    What’s it about? This two-part documentary examines the case of Michelle Carter, a teenager who urged her boyfriend to commit suicide by means of the text.


    Why we’re excited: Documentarian Erin Lee Carr understands how to revisit an old story with new eyes. Her previous film, Mommy Dead and Dearest, equally pieces with each other various testimonies and evidence from another prominent case for a whole new outlook at what caused another young woman to kill her mother. Right now, she turns her journalistic efforts to this controversial case over texting in Massachusetts.








  13. Jezebel



    What’s it about? In a tumultuous time in her life, a young woman’s sister, a phone sex operator, introduces her to the world of cam girls.


    Why we’re excited: Numa Perrier's Jezebel isn't just an exploration of different corners of the online and phone sex industries. Her movie also follows two sisters as their relationship changes any time the younger Tiffany rises in popularity. Moreover to coping with all of this family member drama, Tiffany also keeps it up and continues to explore her own sexuality.








  14. Days of the Whale

    Courtesy of SXSW


    What’s it about? Two young graffiti artist open Pandora’s Box as soon as they spray over a gang’s threat with a painting of a whale.


    Why we’re excited: This Colombian import from director Catalina Arroyave Restrepo looks like an associated with story about artists and idealists complicated the status quo in their town and addressing the violence that several kids face growing up.















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