We’re two months away from this year’s South By Southwest, and the organizers have started to announce their first wave of films that will play at the festival.
Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard’s The Cabin in the Woods, which has been withheld from release due to MGM’s financial issues, will be the opening night film of SXSW before Lionsgate opens it wide on Friday, April 13th. Starring Thor’s Chris Hemsworth, the film recently played as part of Harry Knowles’ Butt-Numb-A-Thon to great responses.
Lena Dunham, whose directorial debut Tiny Furniture played the festival two years ago, will will unspool the first three episodes of her new HBO comedy series Girl. Produced by Judd Apatow (Bridesmaids), the series centers on a group of young women in New York, struggling to survive and make their mark. So it’s basically the antithesis of Sex and the City, since these women are young and all.
Other filmmakers that will be showcasing new material include Kevin Macdonald and his documentary on Bob Marley (aptly titled Marley) and famed music video director Jonas Akerlund’s Small Apartments starring Matt Lucas.
The SXSW Film Festival runs March 9-17. Movie titles and synopses below.
Beauty is Embarrassing (World Premiere)
Director: Neil Berkeley
A funny, irreverent and insightful look into the life and times of one of America’s most important artists, Wayne White.
The Cabin in the Woods (World Premiere)
Director: Drew Goddard, Writers: Joss Whedon & Drew Goddard
Five friends go to a remote cabin in the woods. Bad things happen. If you think you know this story, think again. From fan favorites Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard comes The Cabin in the Woods, a mind-blowing horror film that turns the genre inside out. Cast: Kristen Connolly, Fran Kranz, Anna Hutchison, Chris Hemsworth, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins, and Bradley Whitford
CITADEL (World Premiere)
Director & Writer: Ciarán Foy
An agoraphobic father teams up with a renegade priest to save his daughter from the clutches of a gang of twisted feral children. Cast: Anuerin Barnard, James Cosmo, and Wumni Mosaku, Jake Wilson, Amy Shiels
GIRLS (World Premiere)
Director & Writer: Lena Dunham
Created by and starring Lena Dunham (Tiny Furniture), the HBO show is a comic look at the assorted humiliations and rare triumphs of a group of girls in their early 20s. Cast: Lena Dunham, Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke, Zosia Mamet, Adam Driver
MARLEY (North American Premiere)
Director: Kevin Macdonald
The definitive documentary on the life, music, and legacy of Bob Marley.
The Oyster Princess (1919) with original live score by Bee vs. Moth (World Premiere)
Director: Ernst Lubitsch, Writers: Hanns Kraly & Ernst Lubitsch
The Oyster Princess is Ernst Lubitsch’s tart 1919 silent comedy that parodies the rich and the spoiled. Austin jazz/rock band Bee vs. Moth performs their original score live with the film for the first time.
Small Apartments (World Premiere)
Director: Jonas Åkerlund, Writer: Chris Millis
When Franklin Franklin accidentally kills his landlord, he must hide the body; but, the wisdom of his beloved brother and the quirks of his neighbors, force him on a journey where a fortune awaits him. Cast: Matt Lucas, Billy Crystal, James Caan, Johnny Knoxville, Juno Temple, James Marsden, Dolph Lundgren, Saffron Burrows, Rosie Perez, DJ Qualls
