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South by Southwest · 2023

South by Southwest 2023

Documentary Competition

Programme

8 films · 1 review

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Angel Applicant

Paul Klee, a Swiss-German painter, fled Germany in 1933 when he and other modern artists were vilified by the rising Nazi Party. Isolated in Switzerland, he developed a severe autoimmune disorder.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Ken August Meyer; Writer: Ken August Meyer)

Another Body

Review preview for Another Body

Most of the film has been assembled out of Zoom chats, but it’s so well done, and the story is so compelling, that it might take you a while to notice.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A documentary following a college student’s search for justice after she discovers deepfake pornography of herself circulating online.

(Country: UK, US; Year: 2023; Director: Sophie Compton, Reuben Hamlyn; Writer: Sophie Compton, Reuben Hamlyn, Isabel Freeman)

Full review See: Interview with Reuben Hamlyn about Another Body

Geoff McFetridge: Drawing A Life

Geoff McFetridge’s art is everywhere: from Apple watch faces, to solo shows around the world, to movie titles for Spike Jonze. This documentary explores his life, work and philosophy.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Dan Covert; Writer: Dan Covert)

Join Or Die

A film about why you should join a club—and why the fate of America may depend on it. Follow the story of America's civic unravelling through the journey of social scientist Robert Putnam.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Rebecca Davis, Pete Davis; Writer: Rebecca Davis, Pete Davis; Stars: Robert Putnam, Hillary Clinton, Pete Buttigieg, Vivek Murthy, Eddie S. Glaude Jr., Raj Chetty, Priya Parker, Jane McAlevey, Glenn Loury, Hahrie Han)

Pay Or Die

Today, nearly two million Americans are being held for ransom. Without insulin, they’ll be dead in days. This documentary follows three families on the receiving end of these ransom notes, revealing the harrowing reality of life with chronic illness in the richest country in the world.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Rachael Dyer, Scott Alexander Ruderman)

Queendom

Gena, a queer artist from a small town in Russia, dresses in otherworldly costumes made from junk and tape, and protests the government on the streets of Moscow. Born and raised on the harsh streets of Magadan, a frigid outpost of the Soviet gulag, Gena is only 21. She stages radical performances in public that become a new form of art and activism.

(Country: France, US; Year: 2023; Director: Agniia Galdanova)

Riders On The Storm

As US forces leave Afghanistan, ending the longest war in American history, the Taliban is gaining ground. Young horseman Khaiber Akbarzada quickly rises to become one of the best players of buzkashi -- the ancient sport where riders battle for control of a headless goat -- but soon learns that fame is both a gift and a curse. To avoid the same fate as his uncle, a legendary buzkashi star who was assassinated during the civil war, he goes into hiding and must ultimately make a choice that will alter the course of his life.

(Country: Austria; Year: 2023; Director: Jason Motlagh, Mark Oltmanns; Stars: Khaiber Akbarzada, Gulbuddin "Kalakov" Mulakhil, Gulbuddin Tashkargani, Faisal Hassan)

You Were My First Boyfriend

In this high school reunion movie turned inside out, the filmmaker embarks on a fantastical quest to reconcile her tortured teen years.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Cecilia Aldarondo, Sarah Enid Hagey; Stars: Cecilia Aldarondo)