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“The things inside your head, they’re only as real as you want them to be. If you want, you can just decide they’re not real.” Early on in “The Strange Ones,” Nick (Alex Pettyfer) tells this to his younger travel buddy Sam (James Freedson-Jackson), before seemingly making a coffee mug disappear. On its surface, the film is about two brothers heading out on a camping trip, but it quickly becomes apparent that not everything is as it seems, from the pair’s names to their endgame (to the existence of their coffee mugs). The film’s co-directors, Christopher Radcliff and Lauren Wolkstein, may be relatively new to audiences (“The Strange Ones” is their feature-length debut; in fact, it’s an expansion upon their own 2011 short, based on real-life true-crime stories), but movie buffs will recognize flashes of their cinematic inspirations throughout. The film may be intentionally vague, but...

Alex Pettyfer has never struck me as a serious actor. His resume, which includes mediocre turns in movies where he's the lead but far from the most interesting person on screen, hasn't suggested much beyond a pretty face though a turn with Steven Soderbergh in Magic Mike looked promising, his performance was somewhat lost among a gluttony of other, more memorable performances.

When Pettyfer emerged in a mysterious trailer for Christopher Radcliff and Lauren Wolkstein's The Strange Ones, I wasn't sure what to think but one this is certain: with his latest film, Pettyfer suggests that there may be more to him than just a pretty face.

Pettyfer and James Freedson-Jackson star as Nick and Sam respectively, companions - though everyone assumes the pair are brothers - on a [Continued ...]...

Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of film critics two questions and publishes the results on Monday. (The answer to the second, “What is the best film in theaters right now?”, can be found at the end of this post.)

This week’s question: What is the most overlooked and/or underrated movie of 2017?

E. Oliver Whitney, Screencrush.com, @cinemabite

Despite the critical praise, “A Fantastic Woman” only a one-week qualifying run last month, and I worry is it’ll easily be forgotten this awards season. Daniela Vega gives one of the most astounding performances I’ve seen this year, one that comes from somewhere fierce and internal, portraying the life and struggle of a trans woman that cinema has rarely shown an interest in exploring. But since you can’t see it until it has a proper release in Febraury, do check one of the year’s other...

With their first feature, the ambitious and exceptionally well-crafted The Strange Ones, directors Christopher Radcliff and Lauren Wolkstein demonstrate an undeniable mastery of mood. The atmosphere of disquiet that they drum up casts a spell, without question, but one that serves the story only to a point. However nuanced and artful, the nightmarish unease is laid on so thick that, in combination with the cryptic narrative, it gradually turns to murk.

The film's expressionistic exploration of trauma and identity centers on a teen boy who's either a runaway or an abductee, and whose traveling companion might or might not be...

John Waters has been called the “Pope of Filth,” the “Sultan of Sleeze,” the “Prince of Puke,” and the “King of Bad Taste.” Naturally, who wouldn’t want to know his favorite films of the year? Known for pushing the envelope over the edge and back again with iconic films like “Cry Baby,” “Pink Flamingoes,” and “Hairspray,” the cult filmmaker is a devoted cinephile with a wide range of interests. Waters always has a few surprises on his yearly top ten list, and 2017 is no exception.

Topping the list is Edgar Wright’s “Baby Driver,” a somewhat surprising choice for the fan of all things trashy and grotesque. Making a strong showing in third place is “The Strange Ones,” a psychological thriller and feature debut by Christopher Radcliff & Lauren Wolkstein. Waters also liked Todd Haynes’ “Wonderstruck” and Woody Allen’s “Wonder Wheel.”

Read More:John Waters Touts New Indie Theater...

The onslaught of best-of-the-year lists from guilds and critics groups have only just begun, but one of the few of genuine interest each year comes from a single person: the wonderfully eccentric director John Waters, whose eclectic tastes always includes a mix of the unexpected and underseen.

Topping his list this year is Edgar Wright’s action-romance Baby Driver, which was a bright spot this past summer. Also named is one of the best-directed films of the year—and one that should be getting more love in year-end wrap-ups—Bertrand Bonello’s uncompromising Nocturama. Waters also includes a pair of Amazon Studios releases: Wonderstruck and Wonder Wheel, as well as an early 2018 release we’re looking forward to, The Strange Ones.

Check out the list below courtesy of Chaos Reigns.

1. Baby Driver (Edgar Wright)

2. I, Olga Hepnarová (Tomáš Weinreb & Petr Kazda)

3. The Strange Ones (Christopher Radcliff & Lauren Wolkstein)

4. Nocturama (Bertrand Bonello...

The Strange Ones premiered at this year’s SXSW. The psychological thriller, dark and foreboding, introduces an abundance of newcomer talent in addition to showcasing some familiar faces. Marking the...

Directed by, Lauren Wolkstein and Christopher Radcliff, The Strange Ones debuted earlier this year at SXSW and tells the tale of two brothers who make their way across the wild.

  Movie Trailers for Sherlock Gnomes, Coco, Fifty Shades Freed, and More Films New teaser trailers and full movie trailers for mainstream, independent, and documentary films have been released by numerous movie studios. These movies include: Sherlock Gnomes, Coco, Fifty Shades Freed, The Disaster Artist, Downsizing, Voyeur, A Prayer Before Dawn, In the Fade, The Strange Ones, and [...]

Continue reading: Movie Trailers: Sherlock Gnomes, Coco, Dakota Johnson & Jamie Dornan Married in Fifty Shades Freed, & More...

Trailers are an under-appreciated art form insofar that many times they’re seen as vehicles for showing footage, explaining films away, or showing their hand about what moviegoers can expect. Foreign, domestic, independent, big budget: What better way to hone your skills as a thoughtful moviegoer than by deconstructing these little pieces of advertising? This week […]

The post This Week in Trailers: Mr. Roosevelt, In The Fade, Saving Capitalism, The Breadwinner, The Strange Ones appeared first on /Film.

"Remember - it's not real... It's all in your head." Vertical Entertainment has debuted a full-length official trailer for an indie crime thriller titled The Strange Ones, to follow-up the teaser from a few weeks ago. This mysterious thriller from directors Christopher Radcliff & Lauren Wolkstein first premiered at the SXSW Film Festival earlier this year. The story follows two travelers as they make their way across a remote American landscape, with odd things happening. This stars Alex Pettyfer, James Freedson-Jackson, Emily Althaus, Tobias Campbell, Owen Campbell, and Gene Jones. The film won a Special Jury prize at SXSW for the Breakthrough Performance of James Freedson-Jackson. The more they show us, the more intrigued I am by this, there's something else going on and I can't help but say I'm curious to find out. Here's the official trailer for Christopher Radcliff & Lauren Wolkstein's The Strange Ones, on YouTube: You can...

  Movie Trailers for The Beyond, The Strange Ones, and Den of Thieves, and More Films New teaser trailers and full movie trailers for mainstream, independent, and documentary films have been released by numerous movie studios. These movies include: The Beyond, The Strange Ones, Den of Thieves, The Commuter, Bright, and Winchester: The House That Ghosts Built, and [...]

Continue reading: Movie Trailers: The Beyond, The Strange Ones, Gerard Butler is in a Den Of Thieves, & More...

One of the more enigmatic, visually striking short films I’ve seen at Sundance was Lauren Wolkstein and Christopher Radcliff’s The Strange Ones back in 2011. Six years later, the duo have returned with their feature-length expansion. Premiering at SXSW Film Festival, where star James Freedson-Jackson was awarded Special Jury Recognition for Breakthrough Performance, it’ll now get a release in just a few months and the first trailer has landed.

“Despite its overall narrative obliqueness, scene to scene The Strange Ones proves to be an engaging, well-made film masking the absurdity of its various levels and alternative realities,” we said in our review. “Well-acted by lead James Freedson-Jackson, the film takes its subject matter more seriously than it takes its plot.”

See the teaser and poster below.

Mysterious events surround two travelers (James Freedson-Jackson and Alex Pettyfer) as they make their way across a remote American landscape. On the surface all seems normal,...

One of the movies out of SXSW which has intrigued me the most is The Strange Ones. The full length adaptation of writer/director Christopher Radcliff and Lauren Wolkstein's short film of the same name, the full length adaptation expands on the central idea of their short: a man and a boy traveling to an unnamed place with trouble following them wherever they go.

The feature stars James Freedson-Jackson, one of the boys who made his debut with Cop Car a few years ago, and Alex Pettyfer of Magic Mike fame taking on a decidedly different role.

This time around the Nick and Sam are brothers, or posing as brothers, on a road trip where things are constantly going wrong for people and places they come into contact with.

If the trailer is any indic [Continued ...]...

"Remember - it's all in your head. It's not real..." Vertical Entertainment has unveiled the first teaser trailer for an indie crime thriller titled The Strange Ones, from young directors Christopher Radcliff & Lauren Wolkstein, which premiered at the SXSW Film Festival earlier this year. The story follows two travelers as they make their way across a remote American landscape, with mysterious things happening. This stars Alex Pettyfer, James Freedson-Jackson, Emily Althaus, Tobias Campbell, Owen Campbell, and Gene Jones. The film won a Special Jury prize at SXSW for the Breakthrough Performance of James Freedson-Jackson. This looks like pretty much every other "strange America" film about people lost in the wilderness, getting into all kinds of trouble. I can't even tell what this is about, but the trailer is cool at least. Here's the teaser trailer for Christopher Radcliff & Lauren Wolkstein's The Strange Ones, on YouTube: Mysterious events surround two...

Hitting the open road has long been one the great American pastimes, but in Lauren Wolkstein and Christopher Radcliff‘s “The Strange Ones,” it’s the setting for some crackling tension. And today we have the exclusive trailer for the film.

Starring Alex Pettyfer, James Freedson-Jackson (who won Special Jury Recognition for Breakthrough Performance at this year’s SXSW Film Festival), Emily Althaus, and Gene Jones, the story follows two people traveling across the country, but the facade of normalcy hides something darker.

Continue reading ‘The Strange Ones’ Trailer: A Road Trip Unfolds With Escalating Tension [Exclusive] at The Playlist.

If September was a precursor to the fall season, October delivers beyond imagination with a slate packed with some of the year’s best films (not just limited to arthouse and foreign fare). There’s big-budget sci-fi, jaunts through the French countryside, cinematic social experiments, explorations of cinematic icons, gruesome exploitation films, and much more. Check out our picks of what to see and let us know what you’re most looking forward to.

Matinees to See: Walking Out (10/5), Better Watch Out (10/6), The Mountain Between Us (10/6), Dina (10/6), Breathe (10/13) Man From Earth: Holocene (10/13), The Foreigner (10/13), Human Flow (10/13), Marshall (10/13), Professor Marston & the Wonder Women (10/13), The Killing of the Sacred Deer (10/20), The Strange Ones (10/20), One of Us (10/20), Félicité (10/27), and Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold (10/27)

Bonus: Spielberg (Susan Lacy; Oct. 7)

Synopsis: A documentary about the king of blockbusters.

Trailer

Why You Should See It: What more could we want to know about...

Today opens Fantasy Filmfest, the largest genrefilm festival in Germany, with screening locations in seven major German cities: Munich, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Neuremburg, Berlin and Cologne. There will be an opportunity to catch the latest cream of the crop: "It",  "My Friend Dahmer", "Victor Crowley", "It Came from the Desert", "It Comes at Night", "VampyrVidar", "Blade of the Immortal", "Sicilian Ghost Story", "Jungle", "The Villainess", "Super Dark Times", "Tragedy Girls", "The Strange Ones", "Playground", "Land of the Little People", "Killing Ground", "I Remember You", "Game of Death" and so much more For further info, look up http://www.fantasyfilmfest.com/...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Business as usual for festival unfolding on famous Paris avenue hit by two terror attacks in recent weeks.

Lauren Wolkstein and Christopher Radcliff’s thriller The Strange Ones has scooped the top prize at the sixth edition of France’s Us-focused Champs-Elysées Film Festival, which wan June 15-22.

The feature, starring Alex Pettyfer and James Freedson-Jackson as two brothers on a mysterious trip into the wilderness, premiered at SXSW earlier this year.

The American Independent Jury Prize comes with a €10,000 cash award for the French distributor of the film but, as it has yet to be acquired for France, the...

Princess CydNow in its ninth season, BAMcinemaFest has become New York’s premiere festival for gems of American indie cinema, expertly culled from the best of the fests thus far this year. While hosting works from numerous local Brooklynites like Alex Ross Perry, whose Golden Exits will close the event, the intimate festival also boasts an exceptional assortment of films from across the country, this year no short on mysteries, overt and clandestine. The selection’s varying styles are all a testament to the diversity of independent filmmaking that is alive and well in America today.Director Aaron Katz returns with Gemini, a lo-fi L.A.-set noir circling around a movie starlet Heather (Zoe Kravitz) and her devoted assistant Jill (Lola Kirke). Always the expert examiner of relationships in miniature, Katz plumbs beyond the quandary of the employer-employee transactional one here to capture the fragile peculiarities and tender idiosyncrasies of a female friendship.

Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of film and TV critics two questions and publishes the results on Monday. (The answer to the second, “What is the best film in theaters right now?”, can be found at the end of this post.)

This week’s question: With “The Mummy” opening to mostly negative reviews this weekend, Universal’s attempt to kickstart its “Dark Universe” franchise is stuck in a rut. What would you do (or recommend the studio do) to make good movies out of Universal’s classic monsters?

Violet Lucca (@unbuttonmyeyes), Film Comment

The obvious response is “don’t try,” but since we’re a few years away from getting back to using original intellectual property in film, I’ll give them a few options.

One: ditch the self-seriousness of the modern action blockbuster and revive the genre mashup of the “Abbott and Costello Meet…” series. Get Channing Tatum...

Keep up with the wild and wooly world of indie film acquisitions with our weekly Rundown of everything that’s been picked up around the globe. Check out last week’s Rundown here.

– Focus Features has acquired the worldwide rights to “The Little Stranger,” excluding the U.K., France and Switzerland, where it will be distributed by Pathé. Academy Award nominee Lenny Abrahamson (“Room”) will direct the film, a chilling ghost story, which will begin production in the U.K. this summer for release in 2018. “The Little Stranger” will star Academy Award nominee Charlotte Rampling, Domhnall Gleeson, Ruth Wilson and Will Poulter. Lucinda Coxon, who wrote the screenplay adaptation of Focus’ “The Danish Girl,” has adapted “The Little Stranger” from Sarah Waters’ acclaimed 2009 novel of the same name.

In a remote English village after the close of World War II, a local practitioner, Dr. Faraday (Gleeson), is called to the...

Vertical Entertainment and DirecTV have acquired North American rights to Lauren Wolkstein and Christopher Radcliff’s The Strange Ones, starring Alex Pettyfer, James Freedson-Jackson, Emily Althaus and Gene Jones.

Written by Radcliff, the film revolves around two travelers making their way across a remote American landscape. On the surface all seems normal, but what appears to be a simple vacation soon gives way to a dark and complex web of secrets.

Cinetic is handling international sales at Cannes.

The film made its world premiere in March at the SXSW Film Festival where it was awarded the special jury recognition for breakthrough...

Rooftop Films has announced its lineup for the 2017 Summer Series. This year’s series will feature more than 45 outdoor screenings in more than 10 venues, including films like Michael Showalter’s Sundance hit “The Big Sick” Ana Lily Amirpour’s “The Bad Batch,” (dates still Tbd).

The series kicks off on Friday, May 19 with “This is What We Mean by Short Films,” a collection of some of the most innovative, new short films of the past year. The screening will take place on the roof of The Old American Can Factory, in Gowanus, Brooklyn. The following night, Saturday, May 20, Rooftop will present a sneak preview screening of Zoe Lister-Jones’ 2017 Sundance entry, “Band Aid,” free and outdoors at House of Vans in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

The entire lineup so far is below. Tickets are already for sale.

Friday, May 19

“This is What We Mean by Short Films”

Saturday, May 20

“Band Aid” (Zoe Lister-Jones)

Saturday,...

The Strange Ones is a maddening, yet exceptionally-directed debut feature from acclaimed short filmmaking duo Lauren Wolkstein and Christopher Radcliff, adapted from their 2011 short the film of the same name. Opening with a series of images, The Strange Ones never gives away the story, allowing us to wonder with two guys whom seem to be brothers, Nick (Alex Pettyfer), the protective older one, and Jeremiah (James Freedson-Jackson), the younger one. Running from a burning house revealed to us quickly in the film’s evocative opening sequence, they soon find themselves in a motel where desk clerk Kelly (Emily Althaus) offers to let them stay for free off-season. Nick, it would appear, has been providing additional compensation to Kelly, although looks can be incredibly deceiving as Jeremiah berates Kelly for trusting Nick, claiming him to be cruel, violent, and gay in a chilling monologue.

Nick seemingly holds special supernatural powers, telling...

If one wants to experience the best independent cinema the year has to offer this summer, one of your best bets is the well-curated line-up at Brooklyn’s BAMcinémaFest. They’ve now unveiled this year’s slate for the festival running from June 14-25, including some of of my favorite films of the year thus far (A Ghost Story, Golden Exits, Columbus, Marjorie Prime, and Landline) as well as highly-anticipated others (the SXSW hit Gemini and Stephen Cone‘s Princess Cyd come to mind).

“I’m incredibly proud of the program our team has put together,” says Gina Duncan, Associate Vice President, Cinema. “From the endearing comedy The Big Sick to the micro-budget Princess Cyd and Lemon, the audacious first feature from Janicza Bravo, the line-up truly reflects the breadth of American independent cinema today. Other highlights include the world premiere of Jim McKay’s, En el Séptimo Día an...

Although there’s no shortage of regional film festivals throughout the year, few — if any — are better curated than the Maryland Film Festival. With a slate organized by Director of Programming Eric Allen Hatch, the downtown Baltimore festival, which takes place from May 3-7, offers the finest in independent and international cinema of the past year, as well as some of our most-anticipated world premieres.

Now in its 19th year, we’re pleased to debut the full line-up for the 6-screen festival, and can exclusively reveal that Brett Haley‘s The Hero (one of our favorite films from Sundance) will be the Closing Night film. World premiering at the festival is Stephen Cone‘s Princess Cyd, his follow-up to one of last year’s finest films, Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party, along with Josh Crockett‘s Dr. Brinks & Dr. Brinks.

We can also exclusively reveal the Opening Night Shorts — 5 short...

Keep up with the always-hopping film festival world with our weekly Film Festival Roundup column. Check out last week’s Roundup right here.

Lineup Announcements

– Sundance Institute and Picturehouse have announced that the 2017 Sundance Film Festival: London will open with the European premiere of “Beatriz at Dinner.”

The film world premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, USA, and will be introduced to London audiences by director Miguel Arteta, screenwriter Mike White, and lead actress Salma Hayek on June 1 at Picturehouse Central.

– The American Pavilion has announced its 2017 lineup for the American Pavilion Emerging Filmmaker Showcase. The impressive program features 25 short documentary and narrative films by up-and-coming filmmakers from the U.S. and around the world, all of which will screen at The American Pavilion during the Cannes Film Festival. More information about the showcase and links to view the films’ trailers are available at its official site.

He starred opposite Kevin Bacon's sinister sheriff in Jon Watts' Cop Car, performed alongside Bruno Mars at the 2014 Super Bowl Halftime Show, and played the young version of Kilgrave on Jessica Jones. To follow up on his memorable roles thus far in his career, James Freedson-Jackson can next be seen in the new movie The Strange Ones, which recently made its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival, and we had a chance to catch up with the ambitious actor for our latest Q&A feature to discuss working with Bacon and Bruno, his role as Sam in The Strange Ones, and more.

Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us, James! What attracted you to playing the role of Sam in your new movie, The Strange Ones?

James Freedson-Jackson: The script Chris and Lauren had come up with was completely unique to me while reading it.

‘The Strange Ones’ Tells a Masterful and Unforgettable Tale of Innocence LostLauren Wolsktein and Christopher Radcliff’s haunting tone poem goes places few films dare to go.

Perhaps no film at SXSW this year will leave audiences in a darker mental place than The Strange Ones, an expansion of the acclaimed 2011 short of the same name. The striking directorial debut of both Lauren Wolkstein and Christopher Radcliff, previously known for their incredible short films, continues their pattern of taking severe trauma and deconstructing it in deeply complex and cinematic ways. With the subject matter of films like Mysterious Skin and the subdued, nature-heavy craft of recent works like Krisha, the film rises above most indie features of its kind that tackle child abuse and accomplishes something far more sophisticated and sinister.

The film’s titular “strange ones” are young Sam (played to perfection by James Freedson-Jackson, a star in the making who recently won the fest’s...

SXSW handed out its annual film awards tonight, naming Ana Asensio’s Most Beautiful Island as the best narrative work of the festival, and Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous’s prison therapy piece The Work as best documentary.

In addition to Asensio’s crime thriller, the SXSW jury also acknowledged the work of The Strange Ones and A Bad Idea Gone Wrong, which both received nods for performance. Miao Wang’s coming-of-age story Maineland and Nanfu Wang’s I Am Another You, about underground culture in Florida, both also won documentary awards.

You can see the full list of winners here; meanwhile, the festival also garnered strong buzz for a number of films that weren’t up for award consideration, including entusiastic reviews touting James Franco’s The Disaster Artist and Edgar Wright’s next film, Baby Driver.

[via Variety]...

Expanded from their 2011 short, Lauren Wolkstein and Christopher Radcliff’s The Strange Ones starts with a house fire. A young boy (James Freedson-Jackson) stands paralyzed in front of it, and next we see him on the road with someone (claiming to be?) his older brother (Alex Pettyfer). Over the course of a long, strange road trip, we slowly put together some (but definitely not all) the pieces of a story of sexual assault and two people on the run from the law. Motels, diners and farms are among the upstate New York locations. The impressively assured, enticingly semi-enigmatic film had its premiere Saturday morning […]...

For a good 45 minutes, “The Strange Ones” is a bracing, unpredictable movie, building its disquieting suspense around unknown relationships and invisible threats. Eventually, the feature-length debut of co-directors Christopher Radcliff and Lauren Wolkstein reveals all its cards, and the full picture of this brief tone poem doesn’t match the level of engagement generated early on. But its atmospheric sophistication holds strong throughout, channeling a wonder for the natural world reminiscent of Terrence Malick with an air of existential dread straight out of Andrei Tarkovsky. The result is a strong indication of filmmakers in command of their material, and eager to keep viewers guessing throughout.

See MoreThe 2017 IndieWire SXSW Bible: Every Review, Interview and News Item Posted During the Festival

The minimalist setup opens with a pair of siblings on the run. Buff hunter Nick (Alex Pettyfer) drives through a rural landscape with his apparent younger brother Sam (relative newcomer James Freedson-Jackson,...

Opening across North America at the beginning of Holi weekend in India, a release from Dharma Productions—whose films are almost notorious at this point for their vibrant set pieces, high-voltage entertainment value, and penchant for glitzy romance— seems as apt a way as any to kick off a festival centered on celebration, colors, and love. Fortunately, while “Badrinath Ki Dulhania” leaves plenty of room for eye candy, it also isn’t all style without substance.

Writer-director Shashank Khaitan takes down the flashiness a notch in exchange for an attempt at some well-meaning social commentary. The results are mixed, but make for a more thought-provoking experience than your run-of-the-mill Bollywood romcom.

The film makes its progressive intentions clear right away, as leading man Badrinath—aka Badri—Bhansal (Varun Dhawan) introduces us via voiceover to his household. It’s one of the most well-to-do in the city of Jhansi, but a submissive bunch,...

Food porn doesn’t have to tell a good story, but the best culinary documentaries recognize that food is story. Australian director Matthew Salleh’s first feature, “Barbecue,” embraces that approach, careening across 12 countries in search of different approaches to the art of roasting meat with fire. He captures gorgeous scenery and food in lush 4K imagery, loading up enough cultural nuance to make Anthony Bourdain look like a homebody. Anyone who salivates at the site of a grill will find much to lust over.

Salleh’s approach borrows from a now-familiar genre as he combines philosophical ramblings from his subjects with tranquil imagery of their cooking processes, stringing them together with an awe-inspiring score. It’s an approach you’ll recognize from “Jiro Dreams of Sushi,” “The Birth of Sake,” or even the Netflix series “Chef’s Table” — quiet documentaries about the ways cuisines reflect broader ways of seeing the world.

Exclusive: The competition kicks off today at SXSW as the festival gets underway officially in Austin. One of the pics in the Narrative Feature Competition section is The Strange Ones, which will be making its world premiere Saturday morning at the Stateside Theatre. Lauren Wolkstein and Christopher Radcliff co-directed the mystery thriller, which stars Alex Pettyfer and James Freedson-Jackson as brothers surrounded by mysterious events as they make their way across a…...

Festival’s director of film Janet Pierson talks convergence, TV, politics.

Pierson has flown the film flag for nine years at Austin’s ever-growing cross-collaborative SXSW, whose humble origins began alongside the already established music fest in 1994.

Previously a producer rep with husband John Pierson – working on films such as She’s Gotta Have It, Slacker and Clerks – Pierson is no-nonsense when it comes to championing the festival’s unique ability in bringing together film, music and interactive professionals.

She has also favoured selecting populist films that do not compete with the cinephile tone of Berlin or Cannes.

As the film festival gets underway today through March 19, the newly promoted Pierson, now director of film, talks to Screen about this year’s increased collaboration with the interactive and music events, the programme’s robust line-up of breakout and alumni talent, new additions such as the Vr/ Ar track, and how contemporary politics has shaped part of the...

Festival’s director of film Janet Pierson talks convergence, TV, politics.

Pierson has flown the film flag for nine years at Austin’s ever-growing cross-collaborative SXSW, whose humble origins began alongside the already established music fest in 1994.

Previously a producer rep with husband John Pierson – working on films such as She’s Gotta Have It, Slacker and Clerks – Pierson is no-nonsense when it comes to championing the festival’s unique ability in bringing together film, music and interactive professionals.

She has also favoured selecting populist films that do not compete with the cinephile tone of Berlin or Cannes.

As the film festival gets underway today through March 19, the newly promoted Pierson, now director of film, talks to Screen about this year’s increased collaboration with the interactive and music events, the programme’s robust line-up of breakout and alumni talent, new additions such as the Vr/ Ar track, and how contemporary politics has shaped part of the...

Festival’s director of film Janet Pierson talks convergence, TV, politics.

Pierson has flown the film flag for nine years at Austin’s ever-growing cross-collaborative SXSW, whose humble origins began alongside the already established music fest in 1994.

Previously a producer rep with husband John Pierson – working on films such as She’s Gotta Have It, Slacker and Clerks – Pierson is no-nonsense when it comes to championing the festival’s unique ability in bringing together film, music and interactive professionals.

She has also favoured selecting populist films that do not compete with the cinephile tone of Berlin or Cannes.

As the film festival gets underway today through March 19, the newly promoted Pierson, now director of film, talks to Screen about this year’s increased collaboration with the interactive and music events, the programme’s robust line-up of breakout and alumni talent, new additions such as the Vr/ Ar track, and how contemporary politics has shaped part of the...

Janet Pierson has sailed the film flag for nine years at Austin’s ever-growing cross-collaborative SXSW, whose humble origins began alongside the already established music fest in 1994.Previously a producer rep with husband John Pierson – working on films such as She’s Gotta Have It, Slacker and Clerks – Pierson is no-nonsense when it comes to championing the festival’s unique ability in bringing together film, music and interactive professionals.She h

Janet Pierson has sailed the film flag for nine years at Austin’s ever-growing cross-collaborative SXSW, whose humble origins began alongside the already established music fest in 1994.

Previously a producer rep with husband John Pierson – working on films such as She’s Gotta Have It, Slacker and Clerks – Pierson is no-nonsense when it comes to championing the festival’s unique ability in bringing together film, music and interactive professionals.

She has also favoured selecting populist films that do not compete with the cinephile tone of Berlin...

Janet Pierson has sailed the film flag for nine years at Austin’s ever-growing cross-collaborative SXSW, whose humble origins began alongside the already established music fest in 1994.Previously a producer rep with husband John Pierson – working on films such as She’s Gotta Have It, Slacker and Clerks – Pierson is no-nonsense when it comes to championing the festival’s unique ability in bringing together film, music and interactive professionals.She h

Janet Pierson has sailed the film flag for nine years at Austin’s ever-growing cross-collaborative SXSW, whose humble origins began alongside the already established music fest in 1994.

Previously a producer rep with husband John Pierson – working on films such as She’s Gotta Have It, Slacker and Clerks – Pierson is no-nonsense when it comes to championing the festival’s unique ability in bringing together film, music and interactive professionals.

She has also favoured selecting populist films that do not compete with the cinephile tone of Berlin...

This year’s SXSW Film Festival is currently raging in Austin, Texas, complete with a packed slate that should keep festival attendees pretty happy in between bouts of chowing down breakfast tacos and basking in the good ol’ Texas sunshine. As ever, the festival features a strong lineup of both fresh premieres and festival favorites, new and returning stars, and plenty of opportunities for talent to break out on the festival stage.

From filmmakers to actors (and, sometimes, both at the same time), familiar faces looking to try a new craft to total newbies, this year’s festival has plenty of stars on the rise to look out for (ouch, so bright).

Read More: SXSW 2017: 13 Must-See Films At This Year’s Festival

Who’s going to break out in a big way at this year’s festival? We’ve got some ideas.

Ansel Elgort, actor, “Baby Driver”

If you...

Lineup and Pre-Festival Announcements and News

‘Life’ Will Close South by Southwest

SXSW: Midnighters, Short Films and Vr Round Out 2017 Lineup

Baby Driver,’ ‘The Strange Ones’ and More Join 2017 SXSW Lineup

SXSW 2017 Episodic Lineup to Include ‘Dear White People,’ ‘American Gods’

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South By Southwest Announces Lee Daniels As Keynote Speaker For 2017

Pre-Festival Analysis

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SXSW 2017:...

Brace yourself. The annual multi-pronged South By Southwest Conferences and Festivals — SXSW, of course — is hitting Austin, Texas later this week for days and days of fresh film offerings (and music and interactive stuff, too, but we can only do so much here). With it comes the promise of a brand new season of festival-going, along with a slew of films to get excited about finally checking out (and, because it’s Austin, lots of tasty barbecue to enjoy).

From SXSW regulars like Bob Byington and Joe Swanberg to rising stars like Nanfu Wang and Laura Terruso to marquee names like Terrence Malick and Edgar Wright — and just about everything in between — this year’s SXSW Film Festival is offering up its most robust slate yet. We’ve picked out a baker’s dozen of worthy new features to add to your SXSW schedule.

Check out 13 new films from this...

Daniel Espinosa’s “Life” will serve as the Closing Night Film at South by Southwest on March 19, the festival has announced. Starring an ensemble cast led by Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds and Hiroyuki Sanada, the sci-fi thriller is due in theaters the following week.

Read More: SXSW: Midnighters, Short Films and Vr Round Out 2017 Lineup

“We are thrilled to close out the 2017 SXSW Film Festival with such a special film as Life,” said Janet Pierson, SXSW Director of Film. “Our audiences will love this taut space thriller’s twists and turns as well as its amazing cast.”

“I’m so honored that ‘Life’ has been chosen as the closing film at South by Southwest,” added Espinosa. “The people that flock to Austin each year are some of the most engaged and passionate fans of film out there and are the perfect audience to introduce our visceral sci-fi thriller.

After drawing attention to the festival’s annual Gaming Awards, organizers behind the South by Southwest Film Festival have posted the full, comprehensive lineup, revealing that the likes of Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver and Free Fire, the riotous ensemble thriller from Ben Wheatley, are among those films that will screen for critics and attendees.

Per SXSW 2017‘s website, this year’s showcase will host “84 World Premieres, 11 North American Premieres, and 6 Us Premieres. First-time filmmakers account for 51 films, continuing our tradition of unearthing the emergent talent of tomorrow.” British auteur Ben Wheatley (Kill List, Sightseers, A Field in England) is a regular of the Texas festival, and will be rubbing shoulders with other favorites including Michael Winterbottom, Nacho Vigalondo, Michael Showalter.

SXSW 2017 begins on March 10th in Austin, Texas and you can get up to speed on everything the festival has to offer down below.

Narrative Feature Competition

A Bad Idea Gone Wrong...

Open Road Films has released the first-look photo for its upcoming Thurgood Marshall biopic, “Marshall.” The studio has also set the nationwide release date for October 13.

Directed by Oscar nominee Reginald Hudlin, the film stars Chadwick Boseman as legendary attorney and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and Josh Gad as lawyer Sam Friedman. Kate Hudson, Dan Stevens, James Cromwell, Sterling K. Brown and Keesha Sharp complete the cast.

Read More: IndieWire’s Sundance 2017 Portrait Studio – Our Favorite Shots of the People Who Shaped This Year’s Festival

The film covers Marshall’s early years as a young lawyer tasked with defending a black chauffeur in a highly publicized sexual assault case. Paired with young Jewish lawyer Friedman in a segregationist court, he’s forced to fight prejudice as he and Friedman work their case — which helped set the stage for the future Civil Rights Movement.

Read More: ‘Baby Driver,’ ‘The Strange Ones...

With Sundance behind us, the next major American festival is waiting in the wings. The SXSW Film Festival lineup has landed, and there’s a lot to dig through.

Read More: SXSW 2017 Episodic Lineup to Include ‘Dear White People,’ ‘American Gods’

Unlike Sundance, which attracts a lot of industry attention around a handful of high-profile titles, SXSW is more about discovery. As usual, there are a lot of compelling possibilities in the program, from the newcomers in its competition sections through the more peculiar and surprising offerings in the Visions section. IndieWire got a few tips from SXSW Film director Janet Pierson and extracted these promising possibilities.

Small Stories, Big Steps

The festival’s narrative feature competition is often the place where filmmakers on their first or second feature get a sudden boost. It was there that Lena Dunham’s “Tiny Furniture” and Destin Cretton’s “Short Term 12” both took off.

Gods, best friends and struggling comedians lead the TV line-up at this year’s SXSW film festival, with six new series set to compete as Episodic selections.

This represents the fourth year that SXSW has recognized television, and in 2017 the Episodic category has increased from five to six picks: Besides the previously announced “American Gods,” adapted by Bryan Fuller and Michael Green from Neil Gaiman’s book, SXSW will screen Justin Simien’s “Dear White People,” the Netflix series based on Simien’s 2014 feature film. Showtime’s “I’m Dying Up Here” (executive produced by Jim Carrey), TV Land’s “Nobodies” (executive produced by Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone) and AMC’s “The Son” (starring Pierce Brosnan) will also make their premieres in Austin.

Also set to be screened at this year’s event: Rachael Holder’s “I Love Bekka & Lucy.”At past SXSW fests, the Episodic category has only selected shows from established networks.

South by Southwest is right around the corner, and the lion’s share of the program has now been released. Here are some we’re looking forward to.

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