SXSW 2025 Watch Guide: 24 Most Anticipated Titles Premiering at this Year’s Festival
SXSW is one of the buzziest film festivals in the United States. Set in the heart of downtown Austin, TX, the film festival brings in thousands of fans, industry professionals, journalists, and celebrities. Movies, series, and shorts all premiere with the hope of gaining traction to get distributed or just get fans excited. Here’s a list of this year’s most anticipated titles.
The Accountant 2
When someone close to her is killed by unknown assassins, Treasury Agent Marybeth Medina is forced to contact Christian Wolff to solve the murder. With the help of his estranged but highly lethal brother Brax, Chris applies his brilliant mind and less-than-legal methods to piece together the unsolved puzzle. As they get closer to the truth, the trio draw the attention of some of the most ruthless killers alive — all intent on putting a stop to their search.
Cast includes Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Daniella Pineda, Allison Robertson, and J.K. Simmons.
American Sweatshop
In a device driven world, "American Sweatshop" takes a searing look at the toll of social media through the eyes of Daisy, who finds herself sucked into the underbelly of the internet. Daisy, and a motley group of coworkers, toil in a cottage industry of agencies that evaluate harmful and offensive pictures and videos uploaded to social media. With detached caution and a deranged sense of humor, they examine the millions of posts that get “flagged for review." But one particularly violent video grabs hold of Daisy, luring her out of this office, away from the safety of her keyboard and into a dangerous world as she obsessively seeks to hold someone accountable.
Cast includes Lili Reinhart, Daniela Melchior, Jeremy Ang Jones, Josh Whitehouse, Tim Plester, Christiane Paul, and Joel Fry.
Ash
A woman wakes up on a distant planet and finds the crew of her space station viciously killed. Her investigation into what happened sets in motion a terrifying chain of events.
Cast includes Eiza González, Aaron Paul, Flying Lotus, Iko Uwais, Kate Elliott, and Beulah Koale.
The Astronaut
After returning from her first space mission, astronaut Sam Walker is placed under NASA’s care at a high security house for rehabilitation and medical testing. However, when disturbing occurrences begin happening around the property, she fears that something extraterrestrial has followed her back to Earth.
Cast includes Kate Mara, Laurence Fishburne, Gabriel Luna, Ivana Milicevic, and Macy Gray.
The Ballad of Wallis Island
The Ballad of Wallis Island follows Charles, an eccentric lottery winner who lives alone on a remote island and dreams of getting his favorite musicians, McGwyer Mortimer back together. His fantasy quickly turns into reality when the bandmates and former lovers accept his invitation to play a private show at his home on Wallis Island. Old tensions resurface as Charles tries desperately to salvage his dream gig.
Cast includes Tom Basden, Tim Key, Sian Clifford, Akemnji Ndifornyen, and Carey Mulligan.
Clown in a Cornfield
Quinn and her father have just moved to the quiet town of Kettle Springs hoping for a fresh start. Instead, she discovers a fractured community that has fallen on hard times after the treasured Baypen Corn Syrup Factory burned down. As the locals bicker amongst themselves and tensions boil over, a sinister, grinning figure emerges from the cornfields to cleanse the town of its burdens, one bloody victim at a time. Welcome to Kettle Springs. The real fun starts when Frendo the clown comes out to play.
Cast includes Katie Douglas, Will Sasso, Cassandra Potenza, Aaron Abrams, Carson MacCormac, Verity Marks, Dylan McEwan, Daina Leitold, Vincent Muller, and Kaitlyn Bacon.
Death of a Unicorn
A father and daughter accidentally hit and kill a unicorn while en route to a weekend retreat, where his billionaire boss seeks to exploit the creature’s miraculous curative properties.
Cast includes Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega, Will Poulter, Téa Leoni, Richard E. Grant, Anthony Carrigan, Sunita Mani, Jessica Hynes, and Stephen Park.
Drop
A widowed mother, on her first date in years, arrives at an upscale restaurant where she meets her handsome date. But their chemistry begins to curdle as she begins being irritated and then terrorized by a series of anonymous drops to her phone.
Cast includes Meghann Fahy, Brandon Sklenar, Violett Beane, Jacob Robinson, and Ed Weeks.
The Dutchman
Clay, a successful but troubled black businessman, attends therapy sessions with his wife, Kaya, in an attempt to salvage their marriage. But their mysterious therapist is not all that he seems, and begins to unexpectedly appear to Clay outside of their sessions. On a New York subway train, Clay encounters Lula, a seductive but sinister white stranger who slowly begins to unravel his life. Clay must discover the truth behind this encounter to get back to his wife, heal his fractured soul, and survive the night. In this modern adaptation of the 1964 Obie Award winning play, The Dutchman brings a contemporary edge to the original, exploring themes of race and identity in America.
Cast includes André Holland, Kate Mara, Zazie Beetz, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Aldis Hodge, and Lauren E. Banks.
FuckUps Anonymous
Having pushed his mother to the point of last resort, rebellious teenager Joe is abducted from his bed and delivered to a therapeutic boarding school with controversial methods. Now in the unenviable position of being the new kid on his first day, he witnesses a vicious public dressing down of a fellow student at the hands of both staff and students. Joe is forced to come to an understanding of both why he's here and what he can expect from the new set of rules that are thrust upon him. Based on writer/producer Joe Tierney's own personal experience.
Cast includes Sarah Jeffery, Andrew Michael Fama, Debbie Campbell, Lexi Simonsen, Bob Gallagher, Marvin St-Jean, Stephen Gray, and Timothy Griffin Allan.
For Worse
Lauren, a newly divorced, sober mom, feels like she has a new lease on life after joining her first acting class and starting a fling with her hot, young scene partner. However, when they attend their Gen Z classmate's wedding together, things begin to fall apart, and Lauren finds herself behaving like a drunk 25-year-old bridesmaid. Luckily after a disastrous night she stumbles into a new day and a new beginning.
Cast includes Amy Landecker, Bradley Whitford, Nico Hiraga, Gaby Hoffmann, Ken Marino, Missi Pyle, Kiersey Clemons, Claudia Sulewski, Simon Helberg, and Liv Hewson.
Friendship
Suburban dad Craig has his life turned upside down by the arrival of a new neighbor. As Craig’s attempts to make an adult male friend spiral out of control, their blossoming relationship threatens to ruin both of their lives.
Cast includes Tim Robinson, Paul Rudd, Kate Mara, and Jack Dylan Grazer.
Government Cheese
“Government Cheese” is a surrealist family comedy set in 1969 San Fernando Valley that tells the story of the Chambers, a quirky family pursuing lofty and seemingly impossible dreams, beautifully unfettered by the realities of the world. When Hampton Chambers is released from prison, his long-awaited family reunion doesn’t go quite as he’d planned. During his absence, Hampton’s wife, Astoria, and sons, Einstein, and Harrison, have formed an unconventional family unit, and Hampton’s return spins their world into chaos.
Cast includes David Oyelowo, Simone Missick, Jahi Di'Allo Winston, Evan Ellison, and Bokeem Woodbine.
Hallow Road
Two parents receive a distressing late-night call from their teenage daughter, who has just accidentally hit a pedestrian. They jump in their car, racing to get there before anyone else stumbles across the scene. As they head deeper into the night, disturbing revelations threaten to tear the family apart as they soon realize they might not be the only ones driving down Hallow Road.
Cast includes Rosamund Pike, Matthew Rhys, and Megan McDonnell.
Happy Face
Inspired by a true-life story, "Happy Face" tells the story of Melissa Reed, daughter of Keith Jesperson, aka the Happy Face Killer. After decades of no contact, Keith forces his way back into his daughter’s life, and Melissa must find out if an innocent man is going to be put to death for a crime her father committed. In the process, she must face a reckoning of her own identity.
Cast includes Annaleigh Ashford, Dennis Quaid, James Wolk, Tamera Tomakili, Khiyla Aynne, and Benjamin Mackey.
Holland
In this wildly unpredictable thriller, Nicole Kidman is the meticulous Nancy Vandergroot, a teacher and homemaker whose picture-perfect life with her community pillar husband and son in tulip-filled Holland, Michigan tumbles into a twisted tale. Nancy and her friendly colleague become suspicious of a secret, only to discover nothing in their lives is what it seems.
Cast includes Nicole Kidman, Matthew Macfadyen, Jude Hill, and Gael García Bernal.
How Was Your Weekend?
It’s Monday morning in corporate America. Everyone's asking you “how was your weekend?” and you're telling them “good, how about yours?” But what if you didn’t have a good weekend... and that created a tear in the work/life balance that keeps your office running? Because with everyone back to work in person, you're with your Office Family more than your Real Family. You turn on "work mode" every morning, and sometimes it's hard to turn it back off. "How Was Your Weekend?" is about the relationship we share with work, with each other, what we bring home with us, and what we take back to the office — the surreal horror that comes from personal spilling into the workplace.
Cast includes James Morosini and Rachael Harris.
Lifehack
Life Hack is a gripping cyberheist thriller following four teenage slackers as they plot to steal £24M from a tech billionaire’s crypto wallet. Armed with hacking skills, social engineering tactics, and cryptocurrency expertise, they attempt the heist of the century from their bedrooms. The film is packed with tension, suspense, and unexpected twists as they face countless obstacles to execute their daring plan. However, the aftermath proves just as dramatic, exploring the impact of their actions. Beyond the thrilling heist, Life Hack offers a raw and compelling look into the lives of teenagers in today’s tech-driven world, blending excitement with emotional depth.
Cast includes Georgie Farmer, Yasmin Finney, Roman Hayeck Green, James Scholz, Jessica Reynolds, and Charlie Creed-Miles.
O'Dessa
Set in a post-apocalyptic future, O’Dessa is an original rock opera about a farm girl on an epic quest to recover a cherished family heirloom. Her journey leads her to a strange and dangerous city where she meets her one true love – but in order to save his soul, she must put the power of destiny and song to the ultimate test.
Cast includes Sadie Sink, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Murray Bartlett, Regina Hall, and Pokey LaFarge.
Slanted
As a senior in high school, Joan Huang idolizes winning Prom Queen as the embodiment of popularity, beauty and the ultimate form of acceptance into American life. In her relentless pursuit for the crown, she undergoes an experimental racial transformation to become White and win Prom Queen. However, what she thought was a dream come true soon reveals itself to be an emotional and physical nightmare. “Slanted” offers a searing and unapologetically satirical view on race and the uncomfortable journey of learning to love yourself and your culture.
Cast includes Shirley Chen, McKenna Grace, Vivian Wu, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Amelie Zilber, Fang Du, Elaine Hendrix, and Keith Harris.
The Studio
Seth Rogen stars as Matt Remick, the newly appointed head of embattled Continental Studios. As movies struggle to stay alive and relevant, Matt and his core team of infighting executives battle their own insecurities as they wrangle narcissistic artists and craven corporate overlords in the ever-elusive pursuit of making great films. With their power suits masking their neverending sense of panic, every party, set visit, casting decision, marketing meeting, and award show presents them with an opportunity for glittering success or career-ending catastrophe. As someone who eats, sleeps, and breathes movies, it's the job Matt's been pursuing his whole life, and it may very well destroy him.
Cast includes Seth Rogen, Catherine O'Hara, Ike Barinholtz, Chase Sui Wonders, and Kathryn Hahn.
The Surfer
A man returns to the idyllic beach of his childhood to surf with his son, but is humiliated by a group of powerful locals and drawn into a conflict that rises with the punishing heat of the summer and pushes him right to his breaking point.
Cast includes Nicolas Cage, Julian McMahon, Nic Cassim, Alexander Bertrand, Justin Rosniak, and Finn Little.
The Threesome
One fateful night, the stars seemingly align for Connor — a kind and unassuming young man — as his long-time crush — the electric and irreverent Olivia — steers them into a threesome with a sweet, alluring stranger Jenny. The encounter sparks a relationship between Connor and Olivia and their love grows quickly, all the way toward planning a life together. But their happy romance is soon demolished when Jenny reappears in their lives, thrusting all three into a difficult and messy journey towards true accountability and adulthood.
Cast includes Zoey Deutch, Jonah Hauer-King, Ruby Cruz, Jaboukie Young-White, Josh Segarra, Robert Longstreet, Arden Myrin, Kristin Slaysman, Allan McLeod, and Julia Sweeney.
We Bury The Dead
From acclaimed writer/director Zak Hilditch (1922, These Final Hours), WE BURY THE DEAD is a gripping and emotional thriller set after a military experiment decimates the people of Tasmania. Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens) stars as Ava, a desperate woman who joins a "body retrieval unit” in the hopes of finding her husband alive. Ava’s search takes a chilling turn, however, when the corpses she’s burying start showing signs of life… As she journeys to the south of Tasmania in search of her husband, Ava is forced to confront the undead -- and make peace with her own unfinished business.
Cast includes Daisy Ridley, Brenton Thwaites, and Mark Coles Smith.
