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South by Southwest · 2020

South by Southwest 2020

Narrative Feature Competition

Programme

10 films · 4 reviews

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Freshman Year (Shithouse)

Review preview for Freshman Year

There is some slight humorous incident and dialogue.

Jane Fae · 3 out of 5
A lonely college freshman forges a strong connection with his resident assistant during a fraternity party.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Cooper Raiff; Writer: Cooper Raiff; Stars: Cooper Raiff, Dylan Gelula, Amy Landecker,. Logan Miller, Olivia Scott Welch)

Full review

Holler

In a forgotten pocket of Southern Ohio where American manufacturing and opportunity are drying up, a determined young woman finds a ticket out when she is accepted to college. Alongside her older brother, Ruth Avery joins a dangerous scrap metal crew in order to pay her way.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Nicole Riegel; Writer: Nicole Riegel; Stars: Jessica Barden, Gus Halper, Austin Amelio, Grace Kaiser, Pamela Adlon, Becky Ann Baker)

I'll Meet You There

Eager for a raise, Majeed is cherry-picked to go undercover in a mosque for a special FBI co-assignment. Shortly after, Baba, Majeed’s long-estranged father, shows up unannounced from Pakistan. Majeed uses Baba as an excuse to reenter the mosque after a decade.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Iram Parveen Bilal; Writer: Iram Parveen Bilal; Stars: Faran Tahir, Nikita Tewani, Muhammad Qavi Khan, Sheetal Sheth, Shawn Parsons, Andrea Cirie, Nitin Madan, Michael Pemberton, Samrat Chakrabarti, Rachit Trehan)

Lapsis

Review preview for Lapsis

Part slowly unfolding mystery, part attack on exploitation in the gig economy, Lapsis is a character-driven drama with some smart comic moments.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
After a series of two-bit hustles and unsuccessful swindles, Ray takes a job in a strange new realm of the gig economy: trekking deep into the forest, pulling cable over miles of terrain to connect large, metal cubes that link together the new quantum trading market.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Noah Hutton; Writer: Noah Hutton; Stars: Dean Imperial, Madeline Wise, Babe Howard, Dora Madison, Ivory Aquino, James McDaniel, Frank Wood, Arliss Howard, Pooya Mohseni, Portia)

Full review

Pink Skies Ahead

Life unravels for a wild young woman after dropping out of college, moving in with her parents, and being diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Kelly Oxford; Writer: Kelly Oxford; Stars: Jessica Barden, Marcia Gay Harden, Michael McKean, Henry Winkler, Rosa Salazar, Odeya Rush, Lewis Pullman, Devon Bostick, Mary J Blige, Evan Ross)

Really Love

Set in Washington DC, Isaiah, a black painter, is on the brink of giving up when he meets Stevie, an intriguing beauty with big brains. When Isaiah convinces a gallerist to take a chance on him, he pours himself into his art, which catapults his career, but doesn’t leave room for love.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Angel Kristi Williams; Writer: Felicia Pride, Angel Kristi Williams; Stars: Kofi Siriboe, Yootha Wong-Loi-Sing, Uzo Aduba, Mack Wilds, Naturi Naughton, Suzzanne Douglas, Jade Eshete, Blair Underwood, Michael Ealy)

Shiva Baby

Review preview for Shiva Baby

A little gem of a film.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A college student's day takes an unexpected turn when her sugar daddy arrives at the shiva she's attending with his accomplished wife and crying baby.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Emma Seligman; Writer: Emma Seligman; Stars: Rachel Sennott, Polly Draper, Molly Gordon, Danny Deferrari, Dianna Agron, Fred Melamed)

Full review

Teenage Badass

Review preview for Teenage Badass

It all works well enough except for the fact that we've seen most of it before, beat for beat.

Jennie Kermode · 2.5 out of 5
The rise of a fictional indie rock band named Stylo and the Murder Dogs.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Grant McCord; Writer: Matthew D Dho, Grant McCord; Stars: Mcabe Gregg, Evan Ultra, Madelyn Deutch, Dillon Lane, Elsie Hewitt, Karsen Liotta, Julie Ann Emery, Kevin Corrigan, James Paxton, Jim Adkins)

Full review

Topside

Deep in the underbelly of New York City, a five year-old girl and her mother live among a community that has claimed the abandoned subway tunnels as their home. After a sudden police-mandated eviction, the pair are forced to flee above ground into a brutal winter night.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Celine Held, Logan George; Writer: Celine Held, Logan George; Stars: Zhaila Farmer, Celine Held, Jared Abrahamson, Fatlip)

Violet

A 32 year-old film executive is living her life listening to a voice, resulting in fear-based decisions. She has made these decisions to avoid potential worst-case scenarios in her romantic life, her family life, and her professional life, and they have taken her away from who she really is.

(Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Justine Bateman; Writer: Justine Bateman; Stars: Olivia Munn, Luke Bracey, Justin Theroux, Bonnie Bedelia, Zach Gordon, Erica Ash, Rob Benedict, Dennis Boutsikaris, Todd Stashwick, Laura San Giacomo)