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SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST – more commonly known as SXSW – is returning to Sydney for a second time this October. SXSW is a mega-conference with events across music, tech, gaming, culture and film, but as one of the most attended festivals within the macro festival, SXSW’s screen showcase is perhaps the most anticipated session on the billing – and it has just announced its program.
So far, 39 Australian and international films and documentaries make up SXSW’s screen program. The event prizes innovation above all else, and the films on the program have it in excess. There’s a presumptive Oscar darling that could earn its star a Best Actor nod, a classic Christmas slasher with Australian flair, a comedy about a man whose ‘psychic ills’ see him roaming Queensland’s rainforest hinterlands, and an unorthodox pseudo-documentary about one of the defining indie bands of the ‘90s.
Yes, there will be something for everyone at SXSW 2024. But the problem is, the festival only lasts a week. So, unless you’re seriously – and perhaps concerningly – committed to seeing all 39 films on the program, you’ll likely need to take your pick of the bunch. We’re here to help you narrow down the choices by detailing the films we’ve added to our watchlists.
What are the best films to see at SXSW Sydney 2024?
Sing Sing
If you only have time to watch one film during SXSW 2024, make it Sing Sing. The film stars Colman Domingo as Divine G, a man wrongly imprisoned at Sing Sing maximum security prison for a crime he didn’t commit. There, he finds purpose in a theatre group who perform stage shows within the prison. The events of the film are based on the real-life Sing Sing’s rehabilitation through the arts program and besides Domingo, most of the actors are former inmates who took part in the program. Sing Sing made its Australian premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival, but it’s yet to receive an official Australian release date. Our advice: catch it at SXSW and see why Domingo is the frontrunner to win the next Oscar for Best Actor.
Inside
Inside follows Mel Blight, a youth who is transferred from juvenile detention to a maximum-security prison. There, he shares a cell with a notorious criminal who ensnares him within his religious gospel. Meanwhile another prisoner, heavily in debt but nearing parole, takes Mel under his wing. Ultimately, Mel must choose between his allegiance to both men. At its core, Inside is a story of finding salvation amid institutionalisation – a portrait of rehabilitation inside the Australian prison system. But while Inside is a prison film, as its director Charles Williams told us last month, it makes an effort to subvert its genre’s tropes at every turn.
Never Look Away
As journalists, we’re fairly partial to a films about journalists. There are plenty in Never Look Away, which centres on Kiwi camerawoman and photojournalist Margaret Moth, a woman who brought wars in Iraq, Lebanon and Bosnia and Herzegovina to living rooms with her daredevil acts. Moth had a habit of charging headlong into oncoming danger to get the best shots, with her almost fatal visit to Sarajevo’s sniper alley earning her international headlines. Never Look Away views Moth’s bravery through a different lens (quite literally), delving into the photojournalist’s self-destructive nature. The film is the directorial debut of New Zealander Lucy Lawless, who famously brought Xena: Warrior Princess to life in the ‘90s.
Pavements
With predominantly cryptic and frequently humourous lyrics laced with satire and sarcasm, Pavement is an unorthodox American band that defined the ‘90s indie scene. It’s only fitting that a film chronicling their rise is similarly enigmatic. A stylised hagiography or prestige musical biopic just wouldn’t capture the essence of Pavement, so rising auteur Alex Ross Perry has created an experimental hybrid of narrative, scripted, documentary and musical elements with a film that unapologetically flouts the rules and serves as an inquiry into the mythmaking of idolised performers.
Dìdi
Dìdi, which picked up two awards at the 2024 Sundance Asia film festival, is a semi-autobiographical film about coming of age in the era of the internet. Set in California in 2008, Dìdi paints a picture of modern adolescence through a 13-year-old first-generation, Asian-American child of immigrants. As its director Sean Wang explains, “Loosely inspired by my own upbringing, it is everything I want to say now about everything I experienced then.”
Carnage For Christmas
Australian horror films are currently experiencing something of a renaissance, and Carnage For Christmas is the latest addition to the nation’s burgeoning catalogue. The film follows a true-crime podcaster who returns to her hometown for the first time since transitioning. Once there, the ghost of a vengeful murderer arises with a desire to kill again – did we forget to mention that this takes place at Christmas time? Our amateur sleuth must solve the mystery before the entire town becomes victims.
A Grand Mockery
Josie is a man leading a life of fairly mundane discontent before what A Grand Mockery’s synopsis describes as ‘psychic ills’ lead him to begin roaming the rainforest hinterlands of Queensland. A work of comedic realism, A Grand Mockery serves as an ode to indie filmmaking before it went mainstream. And for the camera nerds, it’s shot on soft and luminous Super-8 film.
The Most Australian Band Ever!
Set in the ’80s, in The Most Australian Band Ever!, a friendship group comprising three ethnically disparate school kids from the western Sydney suburbs form a punk band called ‘The Hard-Ons’. The Hard-Ons face their fair share of challenges on their way to success, dealing with racism, a music industry unwilling to accept their sound, and the rise of the rival grunge genre. So, how do they overcome these obstacles? With their trailblazing pop punk noise, tasteful humour and commitment to just being themselves.
When is SXSW Sydney?
SXSW Sydney 2024 will run from Monday October 14th to Sunday October 20th.
All events across film, music, gaming and tech will take place within this timeframe, with film screenings occuring throughout the week. A student showcase that spotlights emerging talent and an XR showcase that demonstrates the applications of extended reality tech in storytelling will also figure into the program.
We’ll have more details on timings once the official schedule is released.
Where is SXSW Sydney?
SXSW Sydney 2024 will have an entire precinct spanning Sydney’s International Convention Centre, Tumbalong Park, Darling Park, Haymarket, Ultimo and Chippendale. Each venue is less than a 15-minute walk from the next.
Where can you get tickets to SXSW Sydney?
In lieu of tickets, access to SXSW Sydney is provided through badges and wristbands. A badge will get you varying levels of access to the festivals of your choosing – be it music, film, gaming or tech and innovation – but they’re the pricier option. If your only interest is the film segment, a screen wristband will get you into every screen festival event. Badges and wristbands are available to purchase at sxswsydney.com.
Related:
Director Charles Williams on subverting the prison genre with ‘Inside’
