SXSW Festival Announces Movie Lineup

After months of receiving and reviewing submissions, the South by Southwest Film Festival finally announces the lineup of feature films for this year's event. The lineup includes over 40 world and U.S. premieres, set to be unveiled March 11 to March 19, 2005 in venues throughout Austin, Texas. Recent additions to the program include Unleashed (starring Jet Li and Morgan Freeman - pictured above), All we are Saying (directed by Rosanna Arquette), The Ring Two (starring Naomi Watts), Drop Dead Sexy (starring Jason Lee and Crispin Glover), and Murderball (directed by Harry Alex Rubin and Dana Adam Shapiro). The festival's Opening Night Film is The Wendell Baker Story (starring Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, and Eva Mendes).

"This is a great year for film festivals," comments Festival Producer Matt Dentler. "The quality out there is among the highest we've ever seen, and I think it's reflected in our program."

The sections revealed include: the Narrative and Documentary Feature Competitions, Emerging Visions, Spotlight, 'Round Midnight, Discoveries From Down Under, Lone Star States, and 24 Beats Per Second. The 2005 program was created from over 2500 submissions from around the globe. The Narrative Feature Competition includes World Premieres starring Elijah Wood (Hooligans), Lorraine Bracco (Max & Grace), Dominic Monaghan (Shooting Livien), and more. The Documentary Feature Competition features the new film from award-winning director Kate Davis (Pucker Up), as well as The Comedians of Comedy, following a stand-up tour headlined by Patton Oswalt. The “Emerging Visions” section features a wide range of work from feature newcomers, including the sci-fi epic CL.One and the Iraq war documentary Occupation: Dreamland.

Some of the themes at SXSW 2005 include films about live comedy (Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic, Culture Clash in Americca, The Aristocrats) and live music (The Fearless Freaks, Scratch: All the Way Live, Press On). Returning for the March festival is the popular sidebar, “‘Round Midnight,” a collection of genre films including horror tales Reeker and The Roost. The section “Lone Star States” offers new work by Texas filmmakers, including the Girl Scout prison documentary Troop 1500. "This has also been an exciting year for Texas filmmakers in general," Dentler comments, citing Oscar and Independent Spirit nominations from Austinites Richard Linklater and Bryan Poyser. "And I think our selection of new Texas films only continues the tradition."

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