[SXSW ’23] The features we cannot wait to see at SXSW

This year’s SXSW will host some of the world premieres of some of the year’s most anticipated movies. But Evil Dead Rise and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves are not the only movies we are excited about. The Austin festival has a number of great films on its lineup. Here are some of the ones we are looking forward to most.

Nathaniel Muir

Brooklyn 45

A good old fashioned supernatural thriller, this world premiere is about five military veterans who have been friends since childhood. The group have reunited to support their troubled host. When the night turns into an impromptu séance, the best friends are forced to face the ghosts of their pasts.

Chronicles of a Wandering Saint

Rita is in constant competition with the other women in her church group to see who is the most saintly. Tired of being overlooked, she decides to stage a miracle that will ensure she is the most admired woman in town. She soon learns that the road to sainthood is not as glamorous as she thought.

The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster

Inspired by Mary Shelley’ Frankenstein, writer-director Bomani J. Story’s film is about a brilliant teenager named Vicaria who believes death is a disease that can be cured. More than just a modern retelling of a classic, the film also deals with family and topical issues. Story wanted to take audiences to “a place where you don’t usually see horror movies” while also tackling deep themes.

Jules Cabot

Furies

Furies is a Vietnamese action thriller from director Veronica Ngo. A young woman from the country, named Bi, escapes her childhood home for the city of Saigon, where she is recruited by a mysterious woman. The woman trains Bi to take down a Saigon crime lord. Furies looks like it will be an action-packed and violent revenge tale. 

Talk To Me

My favorite film to come out of last year’s SXSW was Sissy, a blood soaked and hilarious Australian slasher. Talk to Me also comes from the land down under, and makes its Texas premiere in the Midnighters section at SXSW. Backed by A24 — who premiered last year’s mega hit Everything Everywhere All At Once at SXSW — Talk To Me is about a group of friends who discover how to summon supernatural forces using an embalmed hand. It’s going to get weird. 

Problemista

Another A24 film at SXSW this year, Problemista looks like it will be hilarious and surreal. Problemista is about Alejandro, an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador trying to make it in New York City. Julio Torres (of HBO’s Los Espookys) wrote and directed Problemista, and he also stars as Alejandro. Problemista co-stars the ineffable Tilda Swinton as the strange artist who might be able to help Alejando, and I cannot wait to see Swinton and Torres together.

Tetris

Taron Egerton stars as Henk Rogers, an American video game salesman who travels to the Soviet Union in 1988. Based on a true story, Henk finds himself in over his head behind the Iron Curtain. Tetris will be an exciting Cold War thriller, and if you can’t catch it at SXSW, it will be premiering on AppleTV+ later in March.

The Wrath of Becky

After the events of 2020’s Becky, Becky (Lulu Wilson) is trying to rebuild her life. Becky and her family had been attacked by a group of Neo-Nazi prison escapees, and the violent encounter left her reeling. Becky thinks she’s moved on from her past, until her new home is broken into by yet another extremist group. Will Becky return to her old ways to protect her new life?

SXSW takes place from March 10 – March 19