The South by Southwest Film and TV Festival released the program for this year’s event, which will run March 7–14. The opening night’s TV selection will be the world premiere of “The Studio,” the anticipated new series from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who served as showrunners, directors and screenwriters.
Starring Rogen as the newly appointed head of a Hollywood studio, the show also features Catherine O’Hara, Ike Barinholtz, Chase Sui Wonders and Kathryn Hahn. The series begins streaming on Apple TV+ on March 26.
The festival’s opening night film selection will be announced separately.
Rogen and Goldberg have become reliable forces at SXSW, having previously brought projects such as “Long Shot,” “Good Boys,” “Sausage Party” and numerous others to the festival.
“We are thrilled to welcome Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg back to SXSW,” said Claudette Godfrey, the festival’s VP, Film & TV, in a statement. “This brilliantly conceived series is exquisitely cast and written, capturing the fanatical love, dedication, pressure and, yes, the hubris that defines our industry. It’s hilariously spot-on, bringing to life the stories we’ve all heard or witnessed firsthand. We can’t wait to experience the joy and energy radiating from the Paramount when we share this gem with the world.”
Films included in the festival’s high-profile headliner section will be the world premieres of Gavin O’Connor’s action thriller “The Accountant 2,” starring Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal; Flying Lotus’ sci-fi horror “Ash,” starring Eiza González and Aaron Paul; Alex Scharfman’s horror-comedy “The Death of a Unicorn,” starring Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega; Christopher Landon’s suspenseful “Drop,” starring Meghann Fahy and Brandon Sklenar; and Mimi Cave’s thriller “Holland,” starring Nicole Kidman and Matthew Macfadyen.
The narrative feature competition will include the world premieres of Ben Jacobson’s “Bunny,” Matthew Shear’s “Fantasy Life,” Annapurna Sriram’s “F—toys,” Alexander Ullom’s “It Ends,” Brwa Vahabpour’s “My Uncle Jens,” Elena Oxman’s “Outerlands,” Yana Alliata’s “Reeling” and Amy Wang’s “Slanted.”
The documentary feature competition will include the world premieres of Elaine Epstein’s “Arrest the Midwife,” Rashaad Newsome and Johnny Symons’ “Assembly,” Jessica Earnshaw’s “Baby Doe,” Xander Robin’s “The Python Hunt,” Paige Bethmann’s “Remaining Native,” Grace Hughes-Hallett’s “The Secret of Me,” Benjamin Flaherty’s “Shuffle” and Jamie Coughlin Silverman and Gabriel Silverman’s “The Spies Among Us.”
In the narrative spotlight section will be films including Uta Briesewitz’s “American Sweatshop,” starring Lili Reinhardt; Jess Varley’s “The Astronaut,” starring Kate Mara; Jay Duplass’ “The Baltimorons” starring Michael Strassner; J Pinder’s “Cotton Candy Bubble Gum,” starring Nick Darnell; Andre Gaines’ “The Dutchman,” starring André Holland; Amy Landecker’s “For Worse,” starring Landecker and Bradley Whitford; Jing Ai Ng’s “Forge,” starring Kelly Marie Tran; Geremy Jasper’s “O’Dessa,” starring Sadie Sink; Siobhan McCarthy’s “She’s the He”; Chad Hartigan’s “The Threesome,” starring Zoey Deutch; and Zak Hilditch’s “We Bury the Dead,” starring Daisy Ridley.
Titles in the documentary spotlight section include Steven Feinartz’s “Are We Good?” on comedian Marc Maron, Adam Bhala Lough’s “Deepfaking Sam Altman,” examining AI, Kate Blackmore’s “Make It Look Real” on intimacy coordinators, Linus O’Brien’s “Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror” about the classic 1975 midnight movie and Anayansi Prado’s “Uvalde Mom” on the aftermath of a school shooting in Texas.
Other premieres include Matt Johnson’s “Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie,” an adaptation of the Canadian television series; Babak Anvari’s “Hallow Road,” starring Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys; Tom J. Stern’s documentary “Butthole Surfers: the Hole Truth and Nothing Butt” about the notorious Texas psychedelic band; and H.E.R.’s documentary “The Makings of Curtis Mayfield,” on the legendary R&B musician.
On the TV side, other premieres include “#1 Happy Family USA” from showrunners Ramy Youssef and Pam Brady, starring Youssef and Mandy Moore; “Government Cheese,” from showrunners/screenwriters Paul Hunter and Aeysha Carr, starring David Oyelowo and Simone Missick; “Happy Face” from showrunner/screenwriter Jennifer Cacicio and director Michael Showalter, starring Annaleigh Ashford and Dennis Quaid; and “Spy High” from director Jody McVeigh-Schultz, produced by Mark Wahlberg.
“This lineup celebrates the fearless storytellers who make SXSW so unique,” said Godfrey in a statement. “We love to discover and elevate filmmakers who make bold statements, push boundaries, spark important conversations and challenge our perspectives in ways we never expected. When our incredible SXSW community gathers in March to experience these stories, the energy and inspiration is going to be absolutely transformative.”
