25 Gems We Hope to See at SXSW 2025

Do you feel that? There’s a shift in the air—the energy is electric, and people are flocking to Austin, Texas, for one reason: it’s time for the SXSW Film & TV Festival. SXSW isn’t just another film festival. It’s like one giant celebration for couch potatoes who’d rather binge a movie or dive into a new series than hit the club. But here’s the twist: this is the club. And in the club, we all fam. 

For movie and TV lovers, this festival will have something for every palette. If you’re on the hunt for a buzzy premiere, you’ll find titles like A24’s Death of a Unicorn, Paul Feig’s highly anticipated sequel Another Simple Favor, and new horror The Drop. If you’d rather nestle into a few hidden gems, you may like the play adaption, The Dutchman, messy romance The Threesome, or comedic mystery The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick. People who prefer their stories bite-sized will also have access to a buffet of short films. Then, there’s the TV series. Long story short, there’s way too much going on at SXSW, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. 

If you’re overwhelmed by the thought of how may films and TV shows are available to be see, let us help you narrow down your watchlist. Here are 25 movies and series to keep on your radar at this year’s SXSW Film & TV Festival.

#1 Happy Family USA

#1 Happy Family USA is an adult-animated series following the maniacally upbeat Husseins – the most patriotic, most peaceful, and most definitely-not-suspicious Muslim family in post-9/11 “Amreeka.” With satire and absurdity, it redefines finding humor in hardship as they navigate the early 2000s under the watchful eyes of their terrified neighbors.

Directors: Griffith Kimmins, Hannah Ayoubi, Maaike Maliwanag Scherff
Screenwriters: Ramy Youssef, Pam Brady, Josh Rabinowitz, Theresa Mulligan Rosenthal
Cast: Ramy Youssef, Mandy Moore, Chris Redd, Alia Shawkat, Akaash Singh, Salma Hindy, Whitmer Thomas, Randa Jarrar

40 Acres

After a series of plagues and wars leaves society in ruins, the Freemans are surviving — even thriving — on a farm in the middle of nowhere… so long as they repel the occasional raiding party. Former soldier Hailey (Danielle Deadwyler) and her partner Galen (Michael Greyeyes) fled the collapse along with their children, training them to fight (and, yes, kill). But now Hailey’s eldest Emanuel (Kataem O’Connor) is a young man, and when he meets a young woman (Milcania Diaz-Rojas) in the forest beyond the fence, his need for human contact could place the whole family in jeopardy.

Director: R.T. Thorne
Screenwriters: R.T. Thorne, Glenn Taylor
Cast: Danielle Deadwyler, Kataem O’Connor, Michael Greyeyes, Milcania Diaz-Rojas

American Sweatshop

In a device driven world, American Sweatshop takes a searing look at the toll of social media through the eyes of Daisy, who finds herself sucked into the underbelly of the internet. Daisy, and a motley group of coworkers, toil in a cottage industry of agencies that evaluate harmful and offensive pictures and videos uploaded to social media. With detached caution and a deranged sense of humor, they examine the millions of posts that get “flagged for review.” But one particularly violent video grabs hold of Daisy, luring her out of this office, away from the safety of her keyboard and into a dangerous world as she obsessively seeks to hold someone accountable.

Director: Uta Briesewitz
Screenwriter: Matthew Nemeth
Cast: Lili Reinhart, Daniela Melchior, Jeremy Ang Jones, Josh Whitehouse, Tim Plester, Christiane Paul, Joel Fry

Another Simple Favor

Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) and Emily Nelson (Blake Lively) reunite on the beautiful island of Capri, Italy, for Emily’s extravagant wedding to a rich Italian businessman. Along with the glamorous guests, expect murder and betrayal to RSVP for a wedding with more twists and turns than the road from the Marina Grande to the Capri town square.

Directors: Paul Feig, Producers: Paul Feig, Laura Fischer
Screenwriters: Jessica Sharzer, Laeta Kalogridis
Cast: Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Andrew Rannells, Bashir Salahuddin, Elizabeth Perkins, Michele Morrone, Alex Newell, Henry Golding, Allison Janney 

The Astronaut

After returning from her first space mission, astronaut Sam Walker is placed under NASA’s care at a high security house for rehabilitation and medical testing. However, when disturbing occurrences begin happening around the property, she fears that something extraterrestrial has followed her back to Earth.

Director: Jess Varley
Screenwriter: Jess Varley
Cast: Kate Mara, Laurence Fishburne, Gabriel Luna, Ivana Milicevic, Macy Gray

Death of a Unicorn

A father and daughter accidentally hit and kill a unicorn while en route to a weekend retreat, where his billionaire boss seeks to exploit the creature’s miraculous curative properties.

Director: Alex Scharfman
Screenwriter: Alex Scharfman
Cast: Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega, Will Poulter, Téa Leoni, Richard E. Grant, Anthony Carrigan, Sunita Mani, Jessica Hynes, Stephen Park

Drop

A widowed mother, on her first date in years, arrives at an upscale restaurant where she meets her handsome date. But their chemistry begins to curdle as she begins being irritated and then terrorized by a series of anonymous drops to her phone.

Director: Christopher Landon
Screenwriters: Jillian Jacobs, Chris Roach
Cast: Meghann Fahy, Brandon Sklenar, Violett Beane, Jacob Robinson, Ed Weeks

The Dutchman

Clay, a successful but troubled black businessman, attends therapy sessions with his wife, Kaya, in an attempt to salvage their marriage. But their mysterious therapist is not all that he seems, and begins to unexpectedly appear to Clay outside of their sessions. On a New York subway train, Clay encounters Lula, a seductive but sinister white stranger who slowly begins to unravel his life. Clay must discover the truth behind this encounter to get back to his wife, heal his fractured soul, and survive the night. In this modern adaptation of the 1964 Obie Award winning play, The Dutchman brings a contemporary edge to the original, exploring themes of race and identity in America.

Director: Andre Gaines
Screenwriters: Andre Gaines, Qasim Basir
Cast: André Holland, Kate Mara, Zazie Beetz, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Aldis Hodge, Lauren E. Banks

Forge

In Miami, the resourceful Zhang siblings—Raymond and Coco—sell forged paintings to unsuspecting parties. Despite their thriving underground operation, the siblings are still short on cash when they cross paths with disgraced millionaire Holden Beaumont. Sensing an opportunity to make a fortune, Holden convinces the Zhangs to forge long lost masterpieces as a front for his family’s collection. Meanwhile, FBI Art Crimes agent Emily Lee moves from New York to Miami, discovering a plethora of forgeries cropping up in the South Florida art market. As Emily continues to investigate the Zhang siblings’ work, their lives converge to devastating effect in the Zhang family dim sum restaurant.

Director: Jing Ai Ng
Screenwriter: Jing Ai Ng
Cast: Kelly Marie Tran, Andie Ju, Brandon Soo Hoo, Edmund Donovan, Eva De Dominici, T. R. Knight, Jack Falahee, Sonya Walger

Friendship

Suburban dad Craig has his life turned upside down by the arrival of a new neighbor. As Craig’s attempts to make an adult male friend spiral out of control, their blossoming relationship threatens to ruin both of their lives.

Director: Andrew DeYoung
Screenwriters: Andrew DeYoung
Cast: Tim Robinson, Paul Rudd, Kate Mara, Jack Dylan Grazer

Hallow Road

Two parents receive a distressing late-night call from their teenage daughter, who has just accidentally hit a pedestrian. They jump in their car, racing to get there before anyone else stumbles across the scene. As they head deeper into the night, disturbing revelations threaten to tear the family apart as they soon realize they might not be the only ones driving down Hallow Road.

Director: Babak Anvari
Screenwriter: William Gillies
Cast: Rosamund Pike, Matthew Rhys, Megan McDonnell

Holland

In this wildly unpredictable thriller, Nicole Kidman is the meticulous Nancy Vandergroot, a teacher and homemaker whose picture-perfect life with her community pillar husband and son in tulip-filled Holland, Michigan tumbles into a twisted tale. Nancy and her friendly colleague become suspicious of a secret, only to discover nothing in their lives is what it seems.

Director: Mimi Cave
Screenwriter: Andrew Sodroski
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Matthew Macfadyen, Jude Hill, Gael García Bernal

I Really Love My Husband

Just one year into her marriage, Teresa (she/her) hopes her honeymoon in the tropical paradise of Bocas del Toro, Panamá, will be the pinnacle of her relationship thus far. Yet, upon arrival, her perception of her husband Drew (he/him) as a people-pleasing golden boy begins to push her to the edge. Stripped of the routines that barely sustain their newlywed bond and unwilling to confront her true feelings, Teresa becomes captivated by Paz (they/them), a free-spirited expat who manages their vacation rental. In an impulsive attempt to reignite their fading connection, Teresa suggests a wild way to spice up their marriage.

Director: GG Hawkins
Screenwriter: GG Hawkins
Cast: Madison Lanesey, Travis Quentin Young, Arta Gee, Lisa Jacqueline Starrett, Elizabeth de Robbins, Armodio Sophia, Meggan Taylor, Mitch Bisschop, Amberlin Morse

Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore

Marlee was born into a hearing family, like roughly 95% of Deaf people. Growing up in Illinois, she faced episodes of isolation and abuse. Marlee became a star at the age of 19 playing the lead in Children of a Lesser God opposite William Hurt. A tumultuous relationship marked by domestic violence and substance abuse ensued. After winning the Academy Award for Best Actress, Marlee channeled her sudden rise to fame into advocacy towards accessibility. She staged a long career in television and insisted deaf actors be cast in 2022’s Oscar-winning film CODA. For the first time in her own language, Matlin will reflect on her life, and reclaim her story.

Director: Shoshannah Stern
Cast: Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur, Henry Winkler, Aaron Sorkin, Lauren Ridloff, John Maucere, Randa Haines, Sian Heder, Shoshannah Stern, Jack Jason

Mixtape

In Sheffield, 1989, teenagers Daniel and Alison meet at a house party, and bond over their love for music. Daniel is popular, Alison is a wallflower. When they meet on the dance floor, their lives are forever changed. The relationship they forge that night will follow them forever, and leave them wondering what could have been.

Twenty years later, Daniel is in Sheffield and Alison in Sydney. Both are married, with children nearly grown. Life looks different for both of them than how they’d imagined it at seventeen.

Daniel, powerless to the strong hold the memory of Alison still has on him, reaches out to her in the hope that they might be able to rekindle that spark.

Director: Lucy Gaffy
Screenwriter: Jo Spain
Cast: Jim Sturgess, Teresa Palmer, Florence Hunt, Rory Walton-Smith

On Swift Horses

Muriel and her husband Lee are beginning a bright new life in California when he returns from the Korean War. But their newfound stability is upended by the arrival of Lee’s charismatic brother, Julius, a wayward gambler with a secret past. A dangerous love triangle quickly forms. When Julius takes off in search of the young card, cheat he’s fallen for, Muriel’s longing for something more propels her into a secret life of her own, gambling on racehorses and exploring a love, she never dreamed possible.

Director: Daniel Minahan
Screenwriter: Bryce Kass
Cast: Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jacob Elordi, Will Poulter, Diego Calva, Sasha Call

Real Faces

Julia (29), an ambitious casting director, moves to Brussels and finds a freelance job in the advertising industry and meets Eliott (32), a recluse microbiologist who studies lichen and works on his PhD. Intrigued by each other’s opposing professions and personalities, Julia and Eliott slowly grow closer. Julia gets assigned an important perfume ad, and she sees it as the ultimate opportunity to prove herself. After her frantic, long working days, Eliott is her only source of tranquility. Until Julia loses herself and crosses people’s boundaries, including Eliott’s. During the perfume ad shoot, things spiral out of control, pushing Julia to finally decide to take her life in her own hands.

Director: Leni Huyghe
Screenwriters: Leni Huyghe, Vincent Vanneste
Cast: Leonie Buysse, Gorges Ocloo, Joely Mbundu, Yoann Blanc, Karlijn Sileghem

Selena y Los Dinos

Selena y Los Dinos delves into the life and enduring impact of Selena Quintanilla, the Queen of Tejano music. Through never-before-seen archival footage, personal photographs, and heartfelt interviews, the film paints a vivid portrait of Selena’s journey from a young girl in Corpus Christi to an iconic superstar whose voice continues to resonate across generations. Told through the eyes of her devoted family and bandmates, this film reveals the relentless efforts they have made to honor her memory and preserve her legacy. Selena y Los Dinos not only celebrates her remarkable talent but also highlights the resilience and love of a family determined to ensure that Selena’s light never fades.

Director: Isabel Castro

Slanted

As a senior in high school, Joan Huang idolizes winning Prom Queen as the embodiment of popularity, beauty and the ultimate form of acceptance into American life. In her relentless pursuit for the crown, she undergoes an experimental racial transformation to become White and win Prom Queen. However, what she thought was a dream come true soon reveals itself to be an emotional and physical nightmare. Slanted offers a searing and unapologetically satirical view on race and the uncomfortable journey of learning to love yourself and your culture.

Director: Amy Wang
Screenwriter: Amy Wang
Cast: Shirley Chen, McKenna Grace, Vivian Wu, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Amelie Zilber, Fang Du, Elaine Hendrix, R. Keith Harris

Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror

From humble origins as a London fringe theater play to its meteoric rise, fall and resurrection as the biggest cult film of all time, this is the definitive story of the Rocky Horror Show. With intimate access to its creator Richard O’Brien and other major players such as Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon and Lou Adler, the documentary explores what makes the play and film so singular: Its groundbreaking and transgressive themes, iconic performances and epic songs that took over popular culture. The cult phenomenon that sprung around it is unparalleled and created not only the midnight screenings, which continue to this day, but also a safe haven for those who ever felt different or marginalized.

Director: Linus O’Brien
Screenwriter: Avner Shiloah
Cast: Richard O’Brien, Tim Curry, Lou Adler, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Richard Hartley, Jim Sharman

The Studio

Seth Rogen stars as Matt Remick, the newly appointed head of embattled Continental Studios. As movies struggle to stay alive and relevant, Matt and his core team of infighting executives battle their own insecurities as they wrangle narcissistic artists and craven corporate overlords in the ever-elusive pursuit of making great films. With their power suits masking their neverending sense of panic, every party, set visit, casting decision, marketing meeting, and award show presents them with an opportunity for glittering success or career-ending catastrophe. As someone who eats, sleeps, and breathes movies, it’s the job Matt’s been pursuing his whole life, and it may very well destroy him.

Directors: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg
Screenwriters: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg
Cast: Seth Rogen, Catherine O’Hara, Ike Barinholtz, Chase Sui Wonders, Kathryn Hahn

The Surrender

A fraught mother-daughter relationship is put to a terrifying test when the family patriarch dies, and the grieving mother hires a mysterious stranger to bring her husband back from the dead. As the bizarre and brutal resurrection spirals out of control, both women must confront their differences as they fight for their lives – and for each other.

Director: Julia Max
Screenwriter: Julia Max
Cast: Colby Minifie, Kate Burton, Neil Sandilands, Vaughn Armstrong, Mia Ellis, Pete Ploszek, Chelsea Alden, Alaina Pollack, Riley Rose Critchlow, Lola Prince Kelly

The Threesome

One fateful night, the stars seemingly align for Connor — a kind and unassuming young man — as his long-time crush — the electric and irreverent Olivia — steers them into a threesome with a sweet, alluring stranger Jenny. The encounter sparks a relationship between Connor and Olivia, and their love grows quickly, all the way toward planning a life together. But their happy romance is soon demolished when Jenny reappears in their lives, thrusting all three into a difficult and messy journey toward true accountability and adulthood.

Director: Chad Hartigan
Screenwriter: Ethan Ogilby
Cast: Zoey Deutch, Jonah Hauer-King, Ruby Cruz, Jaboukie Young-White, Josh Segarra, Robert Longstreet, Arden Myrin, Kristin Slaysman, Allan McLeod, Julia Sweeney

Trash Baby

The year is 2003 and it’s another sweltering summer in Pine Park. After an unexpected run-in with the cool girl next door, Stevie (12) finds herself befriending trail park queen and neighbor, Edie (20).

Swirling in a new world of puberty, boys, and drinking, Stevie is convinced it is time to leave childhood behind in exchange for new friends and a world she has long romanticized.

That is until the reality of her new found idol’s life which contains fractured experiences of motherhood, corrupted innocence, and a world of violence starts to bleed into the frame. Soon Stevie must decide if she is truly ready to let innocence go or choose to embrace childhood while it lasts.

Director: Jacy Mairs
Screenwriter: Jacy Mairs
Cast: Esther Harrison, Chloe Kramer, Eddie Lee Wollrabe, Brianna Paige Dague, Andre Wollrabe, Makenna DeCaro, Serenity Hibbard, Dominic Hendrikz, Nick Sutton, Elijah Carnazzo

The True Beauty of Being Bitten

After a tragic accident, Yvonne drives down to her friend Camille’s bucolic new home for some time away. She’s welcomed by A.J. and Isaac, two new friends of Camille, who also maybe live there. The group promises a weekend of homemade meals from fresh, local produce and parlor games by candlelight.

But when Yvonne develops troubling symptoms from a tick bite, the rural paradise fades away, revealing a breeding ground for a disturbing new life.

Director: Pete Ohs
Screenwriters: Callie Hernandez, Zoë Chao, James Cusati-Moyer, Jeremy O. Harris, Pete Ohs
Cast: Zoë Chao, Callie Hernandez, James Cusati-Moyer, Jeremy O. Harris

This is but a mere taste of all the offerings you’ll find at this year’s festival. Find the full 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival lineup here.