SXSW 2026 is just around the corner. Hosted in Austin, Texas, SXSW started as a music festival and now includes film and TV, emerging technologies, and comedy. While Sundance is the cozy, intimate home of indie films, SXSW is known for its sprawl and focus on innovation. Sundance is the Outer Banks and SXSW is Myrtle Beach (IYKYK). Like my beloved Canadian Fantasia Fest, SXSW audiences know they can expect weird and wonderful genre benders, irreverent comedies, and experimental films, from the sublime to the absurd.
The film festival takes place from March 12-18, 2026, and features films from many categories, including narrative features, documentaries, festival favorites, premiers, midnight films, shorts, and TV series. You can purchase badges or individual tickets on the festival website.
Without further ado, here’s the top ten films I’m hoping to see at SXSW. As virtual press, it’s not always guaranteed I’ll be granted access. Also, I try to avoid picking movies I will be able to see at my local theaters. Do you have plans to attend? What will you be seeing? Let’s compare notes. All movies are English language, unless indicated otherwise. See you at the movies!
BABY/GIRLS, directed by Alyse Walsh & Jackie Jesko (documentary)
Description from SXSW: Set in post-Dobbs Arkansas, BABY/GIRLS follows three teens living in a Christian maternity home as they navigate pregnancy and early motherhood. The film offers an intimate, unfiltered look at girlhood and motherhood colliding in the American South.Why I’m into it: My life forever changed the day my unmarried older sister told my parents she was pregnant and dropping out of college. However distressing the news, my sister was loved and supported throughout pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood. Not every girl in her situation can say the same. This documentary features the voices of girls who take shelter in a Christian maternity home in Arkansas. I’m interested to see how the conversation has evolved about teenage pregnancy for those who live it first-hand, especially from impoverished areas of the country. So often, the loudest voices we hear discussing teen pregnancy are fueled by political ambition rather than lived experience or connection to the people impacted. In these girls, I will look for the ghost of my sister and others who have gone before her.
BEAST RACE, directed by Ernesto Solis, Rodrigo Pesavento, Fernando Meirelles (action) [Portuguese language]
Description from SXSW: In the ruins of a dystopian Rio de Janeiro—a city fractured by class conflict and addicted to blood sport—a resistance leader is forced to enter a violent, high-stakes race to save his sister from a fate worse than death.Why I chose it: Dystopian storylines combine the two elements – violent action and sociopolitical truth. You get to learn about social inequities through made up characters. In this case, BEAST RACE shines a light on the Brazilian animal lottery, an illegal activity that preys upon people with limited income. I’m hoping for unexpected heroes and moments of goodness to break through a world that wants to treat people like collateral.
BEYOND THE DUPLEX PLANET, directed by Beth Harrington (documentary)
Description from SXSW: In 1979, artist David Greenberger's talks with senior citizens become a word-of-mouth hit 'zine, The Duplex Planet. Four decades on, now a senior himself, he has much to tell us about the nature of art, conversation and growing old.Why I’m interested: My newish role as caretaker for my parents has me more interested in the process of aging and how others help seniors find continued pathways to dignity and purpose. An activities director at a nursing home, David Greenberger began a zine in the late 1970s, interviewing residents and publishing their work. As people age towards their last hurrah, often they feel stripped of their humanity and personality. They are shuffled into homes, asked to take up less space, and become side characters in their own story. The focus becomes maintaining physical safety, while intellectual or artistic pursuits lie dormant. Greenberger’s work serves as an inspiration to others wanting to help seniors know that they are still important and valued at any age.
BLACK ZOMBIE, directed by Maya Annik Bedward (documentary, history)
Description from SXSW: From the flickering screens of Hollywood horror to the haunted cane fields of colonial Haiti, BLACK ZOMBIE unearths the buried origins of the zombie, reclaiming it as a symbol of survival and spiritual resistance.Why I’m interested: While horror has a reputation for being all about jump scares and bloody knives, we who enjoy the genre know that it’s really a way to explore real-world fears and trauma from a safe distance. BLACK ZOMBIE promises to unpack the origins of the zombie subgenre in a new way. I’ve always heard zombie stories serve as a metaphorical window into the stupor of American consumer culture, so I’m curious what connections will be unearthed. This also promises to cover a survey of zombie films that bring these points to light, and as someone who has only connected with their love for horror in the last decade, I’m always grateful to learn about hidden gems.
CEREMONY, directed by Banchi Hanuse (documentary)
Description from SXSW: At ramshackled Nuxalk Radio in Bella Coola, an inquiry into the vanished ooligan run unravels a buried history of erasure and ignites the quiet revolution of a Nation that refuses to disappear.Why I’m interested: Indigenous storytelling is one of my interests. This time, the story involves a vital fish species that goes missing from the waters, a local radio station, and a tale of survival. I’m intrigued and ready for the mystery. Indigenous storytelling inevitably leaves me feeling indignant for these groups who endure neglect, mischaracterization, and continual assaults on their culture.
CHILI FINGER, directed by Edd Benda, Stephen Helstad (comedy, crime)
Description from SXSW: When a small town lawyer discovers a severed finger in her chili, she blackmails the restaurant for a cash payout in an effort to regain control over her mundane life. The situation quickly spirals out of control, and her life descends into chaos.Always fresh, never frozen: Where do I begin with this one? Set in the Midwest, CHILI FINGER to life a bizarre incident that took place 18 years ago when a woman claimed she found a finger in her chili at Wendy’s. Filmed in Illinois, this looks like a love letter to the Midwestern upbringing of my youth. Plus, the cast includes Sean Astin, Judy Greer, John Goodman, and Bryan Cranston. If that all wasn’t enough, the music score is composed by Dan Deacon, a favorite here at 1 of my Stories. All told, this may be my most anticipated film, as I love a good scandal. Bonus tip: the YouTube rabbit hole is deep with this one, as you can find the original newscasts from when the inciting incident took place as well are more recent videos of local residents sharing their enthusiasm that a movie is being filmed in their hometown.
PRETTY LETHAL, directed by Vicky Jewson (action/thriller)
Description from SXSW: An action-packed thriller where five ballerinas, stranded in a remote forest, take shelter at an unsettling roadside inn. They must weaponize years of brutal training, turning grace, discipline, and even pointe shoes into tools for survival.Strike a pique pose: Last year, the John Wick spin-off BALLERINA came out, starring Ana de Armas. I hoped to see fight scenes that combined dance moves with deathly kicks and punches. Alas, ‘twas not to be. Based on the trailer, PRETTY LETHAL seems to be what I expected from the earlier film. I’m not sure about Uma Thurman’s Russian accent, but I’m hoping for well-choreographed fight scenes and witty banter between these women warriors.
SENDER, directed by Russell Goldman (thriller)
Description from SXSW: After receiving a series of unwanted packages containing unnervingly targeted items, a woman tumbles down a paranoid rabbit hole to find her mysterious sender.Return to sender: With a cast like Britt Lower, Rhea Seehorn, Jamie Lee Curtis, and David Dastmalchian, odds are this package will earn an exemplary rating. But I always appreciate a creative twist on a real-world situation. We are a package-driven society, but usually the headaches that come with that territory are porch pirates, shipping delays, and broken or missing items. But what if you received meaningful items that you never ordered? Is this a Secret Santa or a new form of stalking? For Julia, it’s a mystery she must solve.
SUMMER OF ‘94, directed by Dave LaMattina, Chad Walker (animated musical) [Persian]
Description from SXSW: When the World Cup landed in the U.S. in 1994, it arrived in a country with no league, no culture, and no clue. A ragtag group of players faced an impossible task: don't embarrass their nation in front of the entire world.It was the summer of ‘94: I graduated from high school in 1994, so there’s something magical about stories set in the 90s. I wasn’t fully awake at the time to the larger world around me. Even today, current events is not my strong suit, but the “ragtag group of players” phrasing has me picturing a BAD NEWS BEARS situation, minus Walter Matthau. I’m not one to watch competitive sports and know next to nothing about the World Cup, but I do appreciate an underdog sports film, especially one that allows me to visit the post- high school time frame, when the world seemed wide open for the taking.
WE ARE THE SHAGGS, directed by Ken Kwapis (documentary, music)
Description from SXSW: WE ARE THE SHAGGS is a music documentary about The Shaggs, an all-girl band that created some of the most provocative and polarizing music in rock-and-roll history.Foot Foot don’t live here no more: It sounds like a twisted version of the Beach Boys’ beginnings. In the 1960s, three sisters are forced to start a band by their ambitious father. Then I heard the music, off tempo, off key, and sounding as if the three members of the band were each playing a different song. I look further and discover the girls have gained a cult following and have inspired bands to cover their tunes, especially “My Pal Foot Foot.” It’s fascinating, atonal, and something I can’t stop thinking about now.
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