If you haven’t heard the name Zoe Lister-Jones before, it’s time you fix that. I have attended SxSW since 2007 and have seen many, many movies in Austin over the last decade and a half, but a real highlight was at the 2009 edition where I met Zoe along with acclaimed director Daryl Wein for a great little indie called BREAKING UPWARDS that featured a relationship between the two that was funny, strange and really ran with its small budget creating such a memorable little comedy. Since then, the two have went on to many projects and now Ms. Jones has returned with a Roku Original Series called SLIP which premiered at the Stateside Theatre late last week where she was also in attendance.
ABOUT: Mae works at an art museum and has been living with Elijah for thirteen years. While there is still love between them, there is little romance to be found, and they have hit a standstill around Elijah wanting a child and Mae feeling apprehensive. When Mae “slips” and has a one night stand with Eric, she wakes up the next morning in a panic, only to realize she has somehow entered a parallel universe in which she and Eric are now married, and all traces of her life with Elijah have been wiped from existence.
JASON’S REACTION: When I originally made my way down to SxSW I intended just to cover the feature films and pass on the TV section of the festival, but then I saw a lot of the talent involved and this was one of the shows that had my interest. I’m really happy I took a chance on this one as the Roku Original SLIP created by long time SxSW alum Zoe Lister-Jones, about a woman who somehow “slips” into another reality in her relationships, starting out with a loveless relationship and then ending up married in another life. Despite being intended for a streamer, SLIP is very cinematic and it looked and sounded amazing on the big screen, and is a major showcase for Lister-Jones who is no stranger to the festival with BREAKING UPWARDS and HOW IT ENDS and is so expressive and emotive here, along with a really sharp sense of humour. Her performance is absolutely flawless here, and I am also shocked how much she put herself on screen (this is definitely a very sexual show where Jones has several nude scenes and is not afraid to go all out) and is also matched by a fun and lively supporting cast.
The screening here at SxSW was the premiere of three episodes around 25 minutes each and there are four more in this season that will premiere on Roku in April. You can count me in to be watching the rest of this series and to see more TV premieres at SxSW in the future.
This film and many others like it showed at South By Southwest this year from March 10-19. For more information on this and other titles, point your browser to www.sxsw.com!