Our Farewell to SXSW Online 2021!

On this episode of Why Watch That:

Featured Films and TV shows listed in SXSW premiere order:

Women Is Losers 

[Narrative Feature Competition]

Synopsis: In 1960’s San Francisco, a once-promising catholic school girl, Celina Guerrera (Lorenza Izzo), sets out to rise above the oppression of poverty and invest in a future for herself and her son that sets new precedents for the time. 

Cast: Lorenza Izzo, Bryan Craig, Chrissie Fit, Simu Liu, Steven Bauer, Liza Weil, Cranston Johnson, Alejandra Miranda, Shalim Ortiz, and Lincoln Bonilla

Director: Lissette Feliciano

Screenwriter: Lissette Feliciano

Runtime: 1 hour 24 minutes

Premiere Status: World Premiere

This film has not been rated. #womenislosersmovie

Ludi

[Narrative Spotlight]

Synopsis: Ludi, a hardworking and exhausted nurse, battles coworkers, clients and one impatient bus driver to learn her self worth as she chases the American Dream in Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood.

Cast: Shein Mompremier, Alan Myles Heyman, Madelin Marchant, Success St. Fleur Jr., Kerline Alce, Plus Pierre, Patrice DeGraff Arenas, and Farah Larrieux

Director: Edson Jean

Screenwriters: Edson Jean and Joshua Jean-Baptiste

Runtime: 1 hour 19 minutes

Premiere Status: Texas Premiere

This film has not been rated. #LudiFilm

R#J

[Festival Favorites]

Synopsis: A re-imagining of Romeo and Juliet, featuring a diverse cast in the classic Shakespearean roles. This modern day take is told on mobile and is a mashup of Shakespearean dialogue with current social media communication.

Cast: Camaron Engels, Francesca Noel, RJ Cyler, Diego Tinoco, Russell Hornsby, and Siddiq Saunderson

Director: Carey Williams

Screenwriters: Carey Williams and Rickie Castaneda

Runtime: 1 hour 30 minutes

Premiere Status: Texas Premiere

This film has not been rated.

Made for Love

[Episodic Premieres]

Synopsis: Based on Alissa Nutting’s tragicomic novel, Made for Love is a dark, absurd and cynically poignant story of divorce and revenge following Hazel Green (Cristin Milioti), a thirty-something woman on the run after 10 years in a suffocating marriage.

Cast: Cristin Milioti, Billy Magnussen, Dan Bakkedahl, Noma Dumezweni, Augusto Aguilera, Caleb Foote, and Ray Romano

Showrunner: Christina Lee

Director: Christina Lee

Runtime: 27 minutes

Premiere Status: World Premiere

#MadeForLove

Here Before

[Narrative Feature Competition]

Synopsis: After new neighbours move in next door, a bereaved mother begins to question her reality in this unsettling psychological thriller.

Cast: Andrea Riseborough, Martin McCann, Jonjo O’Neill, and Eileen O’Higgins

Director: Stacey Gregg

Screenwriter: Stacey Gregg

Runtime: 1 hour 23 minutes

Premiere Status: World Premiere

This film has not been rated. #HEREBEFORE

The Girlfriend Experience

[Episodic Premieres]

Synopsis: Set in the London tech scene, Iris, a neuroscience major, begins to explore the transactional world of The Girlfriend Experience and quickly learns that client sessions provide her with a compelling edge in the tech world.

Cast: Julia Goldani Telles, Oliver Masucci, Frank Dillane, Daniel Betts, Armin Karima, Tobi Bamtefa, and Jemima Rooper

Showrunners: Anja Marquardt and Philip Fleishman

Director: Anja Marquardt

Executive Producer: Steven Soderbergh

Screenwriter: Anja Marquardt

Runtime: 1 hour

Premiere Status: World Premiere

Language Lessons

[Narrative Spotlight]

Synopsis: A Spanish teacher and her student develop an unexpected friendship.

Cast: Natalie Morales, Mark Duplass, Desean Terry, and Christine Quesada

Director: Natalie Morales

Screenwriters: Mark Duplass and Natalie Morales

Runtime: 1 hour 31 minutes

Premiere Status: North American Premiere

This film has not been rated.

The Fallout

[Narrative Feature Competition]

Synopsis: High schooler Vada navigates the emotional fallout she experiences in the wake of a school tragedy. Relationships with her family, friends and view of the world are forever altered.

Cast: Jenna Ortega, Maddie Ziegler, Niles Fitch, Will Ropp, Lumi Pollack, John Ortiz, Julie Bowen, and Shailene Woodley

Director: Megan Park

Screenwriter: Megan Park

Runtime: 1 hour 32 minutes

Premiere Status: World Premiere

This film has not been rated. #TheFallout

Witch Hunt

[2020 Spotlight]

Synopsis: In a modern America where witches are real and witchcraft is illegal, a sheltered teenager must face her own demons and prejudices as she helps two young witches avoid law enforcement and cross the southern border to asylum in Mexico.

Cast: Gideon Adlon, Elizabeth Mitchell, Abigail Cowen, Nicholas & Cameron Crovetti, and Christian Camargo

Director: Elle Callahan

Screenwriter: Elle Callahan

Runtime: 1 hour 37 minutes

Premiere Status: World Premiere

This film has not been rated. #witchhuntmovie

Violet

[2020 Spotlight]

Synopsis: A film development executive realizes that "guiding voice" inside her head has been lying to her about everything.

Cast: Olivia Munn, Luke Bracey, and Justin Theroux

Director: Justine Bateman

Screenwriter: Justine Bateman

Runtime: 1 hour 32 minutes

Premiere Status: World Premiere

This film has not been rated. #VIOLETthefilm

Them

[Episodic Premieres]

Synopsis: 'Them' is a limited anthology series that explores terror in America. 

Cast: Deborah Ayorinde, Ashley Thomas, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Melody Hurd, and Alison Pill

Showrunner: Little Marvin

Director: Nelson Cragg

Screenwriter: Little Marvin

Executive Producer: Lena Waithe

Co-produced by Sony Pictures Television and Amazon Studios

Runtime: 1 hour 42 minutes

Premiere Status: World Premiere

The Lost Sons 

[Documentary Spotlight]

Synopsis: 1960s Chicago, a baby is kidnapped from a hospital. Fifteen months later, a toddler is abandoned. Could he be the same baby? In a tale of breathtaking twists and turns, two mysteries begin to unravel and dark family secrets are revealed. 

Cast: Paul Fronczak

Director: Ursula Macfarlane

Runtime: 1 hour 38 minutes

Premiere Status: World Premiere

This film has not been rated. #thelostsons

Twyla Moves

[Visions]

Synopsis: Interwoven with her storied career and prolific works, Twyla Moves sees legendary choreographer Twyla Tharp navigate her latest creative challenge: choreographing a dance for a world plagued by the Covid-19 pandemic. An American Masters documentary.

Cast: Twyla Tharp, Mikhail Baryshnikov, David Byrne, Billy Joel, Herman Cornejo, Jesse Huot, and Misty Copeland

Director: Steven Cantor

Runtime: 1 hour 22 minutes

Premiere Status: World Premiere

This film has not been rated.

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