A tender story about finding love even amid utter decay. Having its US Premiere in the Animated Shorts Competition at SxSW Online, we speak with director Bára Anna Stejskalová and Producer Jakub Koštál from LOVE IS JUST A DEATH AWAY. Welcome to SxSW and congratulations! Is this your first SxSW experience? Bára: Yes, it is! […]
Film Festivals
Reviews, interviews, and news about film festivals.
SxSW 2021 Film Review – DISINTEGRATION LOOPS

My favorite thing about watching documentaries is that you always learn something new. I had never heard of William Basinski’s Disintegration Loops before watching the documentary. I was not aware of its existence until now and its importance to many people. I was listening to the album while writing this review. I was amazed by […]
SxSW 2021 Interview – FRUITS OF LABOR director Emily Cohen Ibañez

FRUITS OF LABOR is about a teenage farmworker who dreams of graduating high school, when ICE raids in her community threaten to separate her family and force her to become her family’s breadwinner. The film takes place on the central coast of California. The serene nature of the central coast bares stark contrast to the […]
SxSW 2021 Interview – REKLAW director Polaris Banks

Lott has devoted the remaining years of his life to personally pardoning criminals by destroying crime scene evidence. Driven by his faith in the healing power of unconditional forgiveness, Lott and his uniquely talented team of outcasts troll the streets waiting to intercept the right 911 call. Nearby, Melissa wakes after drugging herself in a […]
SxSW 2021 Review – Dear Mr. Brody

Our SxSW reviews keep right on rolling, and we are happy to feature a movie from a filmmaker who was here a few years ago with a terrific documentary called TOWER. DEAR MR. BRODY is director Keith Maitland’s latest feature. DEAR MR. BRODY (United States, dir. Keith Maitland) ***1/2 out of **** Imagine for a […]
SxSW 2021 Interview – ALIEN ON STAGE directors Danielle Kummer and Lucy Harvey

British bus driver’s amateur stage show of Ridley Scott’s Alien accidentally makes it to a famous London theatre! With awkward acting and special effects requiring more luck than judgment, will their homemade homage be alright on the night? It’s a very warm, uplifting, joyful story. Having its World Premiere in the Documentary Spotlight section at […]
SxSW 2021 Interview – LILY TOPPLES THE WORLD director Jeremy Workman

LILY TOPPLES THE WORLD is about Lily Hevesh, the world’s most acclaimed domino toppling artist and the only woman in her field. Part a portrait of an artist documentary, part of a coming of age story, the documentary follows Lily over three years beginning with her freshman year at college. Through the course of the […]
SxSW 2021 Interview – JAKOB’S WIFE director Travis Stevens

JAKOB’S WIFE is an exploration of a marriage between Anne Fedder (Barbara Crampton) and her pastor husband Jakob Fedder (Larry Fessenden). Over the course of their 30 year relationship, Anne has felt her world shrink to the point where she barely feels present in her own life. When extraordinary events begin happening in their small […]
SxSW 2021 Interview – THE LOST SONS director Ursula MacFarlane

THE LOST SONS is a stranger than fiction story, almost a fairy tale, a film about identity, belonging, family, and secrets. It begins in 1960s Chicago with the shocking kidnapping of a day-old baby, taken from his mother’s arms by a woman disguised as a nurse. Despite a massive manhunt, the trail runs cold and […]
SxSW 2021 Interview – THE FABULOUS FILIPINO BROTHERS director Dante Basco

Come see this movie! It’s about four brothers, played by actual real brothers, starring in four different stories all surrounding a Filipino wedding. It’s funny and weird and romantic and in every story, something strange happens, maybe strange is the wrong word… fantastic is better, well, I mean, yeah fabulous. The Fabulous Filipino Brothers, that’s […]
SxSW 2021 Interview – GAIA director Jaco Bouwer and writer Tertius Kapp

GAIA is not about a loving earth mother. It’s a predestined purge that will make human history irrelevant – the flowers at the end of the anthropocene. Having its World Premiere in the Midnighters Section at SxSW Online, we speak with GAIA director Jaco Bouwer and writer-slash-producer Tertius Kapp. Welcome to SxSW! Is this the […]
SxSW 2021 Interview – METAMORPHISM director Kate Saltel

METAMORPHISM is a short animated experimental film about the tie between metamorphism and humans. Metamorphism is the change in a rock due to heat or pressure. Similar to rocks, humans change due to intense pressure or heat. For humans, these pressures may include family, school, wealth and so forth. I was inspired when recognizing how […]
SxSW 2021 Interview – SUBJECTS OF DESIRE director Jennifer Holness

Subjects of Desire is a film about Black women and beauty. It looks at how the media representation of Black women and the stereotypes that have been created undermine the power of Black women. Having its World Premiere in the Documentary Feature Competition section of SxSW Online, we talk with SUBJECTS OF DESIRE director Jennifer […]
SxSW 2021 Interview – PAUL DOOD’S DEADLY LUNCH BREAK director Nick Gillespie

In my own words – the film is about a guy called Paul who tries to enter a talent contest, he messes up his audition, and then attempts to go on a revenge killing spree; not wanting to add spoilers but I can tell you that goes very badly for him too. Having its World […]
SxSW 2021 Interview – LUCHADORAS directors Paola Calvo & Patrick Jasim

Do you want to see real Female Superheroes in a Documentary? LUCHADORAS portrays the women of Ciudad Juarez as fighters, giving a new and different image of what it means to be a woman in Mexico. Our protagonists fight in the Lucha Libre ring and in their daily lives, getting back up after each blow. […]