Skip to main content

South by Southwest · 2023

South by Southwest 2023

Visions

Programme

10 films · 7 reviews

Jump to a film

The Angry Black Girl And Her Monster

Review preview for The Angry Black Girl And Her Monster

In the end it’s the boldness of its choices which really makes the difference.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Vicaria is a brilliant teenager who believes death is a disease that can be cured. After the brutal and sudden murder of her brother, she embarks on a dangerous journey to bring him back to life.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Bomani J Story; Writer: Bomani J Story; Stars: Laya DeLeon Hayes, Denzel Whitaker, Chad Coleman, Reilly Brooke Stith, Keith Sean Holliday, Amani Summer Boyles, Edem Atsu-Swanzy)

Full review

Anhell69

Review preview for Anhell69

The film immerses us in the life of the city.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A funeral car cruises the streets of Medellin, while a young director tells the story of his past in this violent and conservative city.

(Country: Colombia, Romania, France, Germany; Year: 2022; Director: Theo Montoya; Writer: Theo Montoya; Stars: Camilo Najar, Sergio Pérez, Juan Pérez, Alejandro Hincapié, Julian David Moncada, Camilo Machado, Víctor Gaviria, Alejandro Mendigana)

Full review

The Artifice Girl

Review preview for The Artifice Girl

Smarter than most films of its ilk and refreshingly free of misplaced sentiment.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
When an internet vigilante develops a revolutionary new computer program to combat online predators, its rapid advancement leads to serious questions about autonomy, oppression, and what it really means to be human.

(Year: 2022; Director: Franklin Ritch; Writer: Franklin Ritch; Stars: Tatum Mathews, Sinda Nichols, David Girard, Lance Henriksen, Franklin Ritch)

Full review See: Interview with Franklin Ritch about The Artifice Girl

Caterpillar

Review preview for Caterpillar

The ornate cinematic style highlights the strangeness of the procedure but never loses track of the emotional journey of those on the operating table.

Sergiu Inizian · 3.5 out of 5
David, a gay man in his fifties who has long struggled with his appearance, becomes enthralled with the idea of changing his eye colour.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Liza Mandelup; Stars: David Taylor)

Full review

Chronicles Of A Wandering Saint

Review preview for Chronicles Of A Wandering Saint

Even if you might get a hint of the film’s final destination before it arrives, the way Bustillo achieves his aims will leave you with a warm glow.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
When a devout elderly woman finds a statue she think is long lost, what she decides to do next upends her life.

(Country: Argentina, US; Year: 2023; Director: Tomas Gomez Bustillo; Writer: Tomas Gomez Bustillo; Stars: Monica Villa, Horacio Marassi, Pablo Moseinco, Silvia Mackenzie, Noemi Ron, Silvia Porro, Hernan Bustamante, Dahyana Turkie, Iair Said)

Full review See: Tomás Gómez Bustillo on faith, competitive piety and humour in Chronicles Of A Wandering Saint

Molli And Max In The Future

Review preview for Molli And Max In The Future

It’s a slight thing but nicely delivered.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
The story of a man and woman whose orbits repeatedly collide over the course of 12 years, four planets, three dimensions and one space cult.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Michael Lukk Litwak; Writer: Michael Lukk Litwak; Stars: Zosia Mamet, Aristotle Athari, Danny Burstein, Arturo Castro, Okieriete Onaodowan, Erin Darke, Grace Kuhlenschmidt, Michael Chernus, Aparna Nancherla, Matteo Lane)

Full review

Tobacco Barns (Secaderos, Tobacco Farms)

A tiny rural village is a paradise for a city girl and a prison for a local teenager. Two parallel stories take place among tobacco drying rooms of a single summer.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2022; Director: Rocio Mesa; Writer: Rocio Mesa; Stars: Rocio Mesa)

Until Branches Bend

Drama about a pregnant woman, after discovering what she believes to be an invasive insect in a peach, must convince her community of the danger.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2022; Director: Sophie Jarvis; Writer: Sophie Jarvis, Kathleen Hepburn, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers; Stars: Grace Glowicki, Alexandra Roberts, Quelemia Sparrow, Lochlyn Munro, Antoine DesRochers, Cole Sparrow-Crawford, Paul Kular, Janet Walmsley, Michelle Brezinski, Michael Charrois, John Collins, Judi Garner, Shanna Giannozio, Damon Gregory, Fabian Gujral)

With Love And A Major Organ

Review preview for With Love And A Major Organ

Though the film naturally relies heavily on symbolism, and viewers won’t be surprised to learn that it began life as a play, the performances are fully committed and it has an appropriate degree of emotional heft.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
An unhappy woman removes her heart, puts it in a box and sends it to the man she loves.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Kim Albright; Writer: Julia Lederer; Stars: Anna Maguire, Hamza Haq, Veena Sood, Donna Benedicto, Lynda Boyd, Arghavan Jenati, Enid-Raye Adams, Kerën Burkett, Ryan Beil, Laara Sadiq)

Full review See: Interview with Kim Albright and Anna Maguire about With Love And A Major Organ

The Young Wife

The story of a young woman grappling with the meaning of love in the face of an uncertain world.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Tayarisha Poe; Writer: Tayarisha Poe; Stars: Kiersey Clemons, Leon Bridges, Kelly Marie Tran, Michaela Watkins, Aya Cash, Sandy Honig, Brandon Micheal Hall, Lukita Maxwell, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Judith Light, Aida Osman, Connor Paolo, Jon Rudnitsky, Lovie Simone)