SXSW 2023 is the closest it’s been to its old pre-pandemic style. That means the movies at SXSW 2023 are showcasing everything film can offer, espcially when it comes to feature films. From differnet countries, genres, and studios this is our movies at SXSW 2023 to watch—or really, our most anticipated.
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If You Were the Last
Director: Kristian Mercado
Screenwriter: Angela Bourassa
“Adam and Jane are three years into a NASA mission that has gone very wrong. Their ship is broken and now they drift between Jupiter and Saturn, finding ways to pass the time as they become more certain that no one is coming to save them. Adam paints, Jane attempts to repair the ship. They argue over what movies to watch. And every day, they dance. One day, Adam poses that maybe they should sleep together. Jane laughs the idea off — why mess up their great dynamic just to add one more (admittedly very fun) activity to their list of time-passing options? Thus begins a friendly, flirty debate about whether they’re better off spending their remaining days as friends or something more.”
Problemista
Director: Julio Torres
Screenwriter: Julio Torres
“Alejandro is an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador, struggling to bring his unusual ideas to life in New York City. As time on his work visa runs out, a job assisting an erratic art-world outcast becomes his only hope to stay in the country and realize his dream. From writer/director Julio Torres comes a surreal adventure through the equally treacherous worlds of New York City and the U.S. Immigration system.”
Self Reliance
Director: Jake Johnson
Screenwriter: Jake Johnson
“When a man is offered a million dollars to play a game in which hunters try to kill him, he thinks he has found the perfect loophole: they can only attack when he’s alone. His only problem is that none of his friends or family believe the game is real.“
This Closeness
Director: Kit Zauhar
Screenwriter: Kit Zauhar
“Tessa and Ben are staying in Philly for the weekend to attend Ben’s high school reunion. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the couple has to rent a room in a stranger’s apartment. That stranger is Adam, whose loneliness is immediately obvious to his new guests. Adam quickly becomes an unwilling voyeur to the most private parts of the couple’s life. While Ben seeks validation from old classmates, Tessa is left to find her own affection within the confines of the apartment. When Tessa betrays Adam’s trust, Adam goes to great lengths to assert his dominance over his home.”
Furies
Director: Veronica Ngo (Ngo Thanh Van)
Screenwriter: Veronica Ngo (Ngo Thanh Van), Aaron Toronto, Uyen Nguyen Nha Ly, Thach Ngoc Nguyen, Nhan Truong Nguyen
“Bi is a Vietnamese country girl who survives a brutal childhood and escapes to the city of Saigon. Bi is recruited by the mysterious Mrs. Lin, and followed Lin to an apartment where she lives with two new friends: the fierce Thanh and the playful Hong. Lin trains them to take down a Saigon crime lord, Hai, who traffics drugs and young women. Lin coaches Bi in the arts of killing and sensuality. She then willingly applies the skills she has learned to pursue Lin’s dangerous mission…”
Polite Society
Director: Nida Manzoor
Screenwriter: Nida Manzoor
“A merry mash up of sisterly affection, parental disappointment and bold action, “Polite Society” follows martial artist-in-training Ria Khan who believes she must save her older sister Lena from her impending marriage. After enlisting the help of her friends, Ria attempts to pull off the most ambitious of all wedding heists in the name of independence and sisterhood.”
Monolith
Director: Matt Vesely
Screenwriter: Lucy Campbell
“A bold science fiction thriller featuring one woman, one location, and a mystery uncovered through audio – in which a young journalist discovers a strange artifact and begins to convince herself it is evidence of an alien conspiracy. Recently disgraced and desperate for a story, The Interviewer holes herself up in her parents’ luxurious home and gets to work on the only job she can get – hosting a clickbait investigative podcast. When she receives an anonymous email leading her to a retired housekeeper who claims her life has been destroyed by a strange black brick, The Interviewer embarks on a mystery that leads her down a rabbit hole of truth and lies at the heart of her own story.”
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Director: Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley
Screenwriter: Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley and Michael Gilio
“A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves brings the rich world and playful spirit of the legendary roleplaying game to the big screen in a hilarious and action-packed adventure.”
Hypnotic
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Screenwriter: Robert Rodriguez, Max Borenstein
“A detective becomes entangled in a mystery involving his missing daughter and a secret government program while investigating a string of reality-bending crimes.”
Joy Ride
Director: Adele Lim
Screenwriter: Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao
“Joy Ride is a hilarious and unapologetically explicit story of identity and self-discovery that centers on four unlikely friends who embark on a once-in-a-lifetime international adventure. When Audrey’s (Ashley Park) business trip to Asia goes sideways, she enlists the aid of Lolo (Sherry Cola), her irreverent, childhood best friend who also happens to be a hot mess; Kat (Oscar® nominee Stephanie Hsu), her college friend turned Chinese soap star; and Deadeye (Sabrina Wu), Lolo’s eccentric cousin. Their no-holds-barred, epic experience becomes a journey of bonding, friendship, belonging, and wild debauchery that reveals the universal truth of what it means to know and love who you are.”
Did your most anticipated movie at SXSW 2023 make our most anticipated list for this festival? Let us know on social media.
