20 2013 SXSW Films We're Excited About

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The SXSW film festival grows in size and importance every year. Paste’s film editor Michael Dunaway landed in Austin last Thursday for the 2013 edition, and here, in alphabetical order, are the 21 films that has him most excited so far.

11. Mud

The Category: Festival Favorites
The SXSW Synopsis: “Mud” is an adventure about two boys, Ellis and his friend Neckbone, who find a man named Mud hiding out on an island in the Mississippi. Mud describes fantastic scenarios—he killed a man in Texas and vengeful bounty hunters are coming to get him. He says he is planning to meet and escape with the love of his life, Juniper, who is waiting for him in town. Skeptical but intrigued, Ellis and Neckbone agree to help him. It isn’t long until Mud’s visions come true and their small town is besieged by a beautiful girl with a line of bounty hunters in tow.
The Key Players: Director Jeff Nichols; Matthew McConaughey, Tye Sheridan, Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Paulson, Ray McKinnon, Sam Shepard, Michael Shannon
The Draw: Two years ago, Jeff Nichols turned heads at Sundance with his second film Take Shelter. He returned this year in the spotlight section, with Mud, a coming-of-age thriller about two young boys who encounter a man on the run in rural Arkansas. Ellis (Tye Sheridan from Tree of Life) lives on the river with his parents, who are on the brink of splitting up, when he and his friend Neckbone (Jacob Lofland) discover Mud (Matthew McConaughey) living alone on an island in the river. It’s a sweet tale that displays plenty of faith in humanity without ever veering into sappiness and always keeping you on the edge of your seat—just the kind of thing you hope to find at a festival like Sundance. And Nichols once again coaxes amazing performances from his cast.—Josh Jackson

12. Muscle Shoals

The Category: 24 Beats Per Second
The SXSW Synopsis: Located alongside the Tennessee River, Muscle Shoals, Alabama is the unlikely breeding ground for some of America’s most creative and defiant music. The music of Muscle Shoals changed the world and sold millions of copies. At its heart is Rick Hall who founded FAME Studios. Overcoming poverty and personal tragedy, he brought black and white together in Alabama’s cauldron of racial hostility to create music for the generations while giving birth to the Muscle Shoals Sound and The Swampers. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Percy Sledge, Gregg Allman, Clarence Carter, Alicia Keys, Bono, and others bear witness to Muscle Shoals’ magnetism, mystery, and why it remains influential.
The Key Players: Director Freddy Camalier; Aretha Franklin, Mick Jagger, Alicia Keys, Bono, John Paul White, Gregg Allman, Keith Richards, Steve Winwood, Jimmy Cliff, Rick Hall
The Draw: By now there’s a formula for the music-scene documentary, but Greg ‘Freddy’ Camalier wasn’t content to follow. For starters, the cinematography is blockbuster-worthy, bringing to life not just the iconic studios but the landscape of this quiet Alabama town on the banks of the Tennessee River, which feels like a character in the film. Add to that impressive archival footage and memorable modern-day interviews with musicians who cut records there (Percy Sledge, Keith Richards, Aretha Franklin), the studio players who created that Muscle Shoals sound and the musicians they influenced (Bono, Alicia Keys), and you have the best documentary of the festival.—Josh Jackson

13. Reincarnated

The Category: 24 Beats Per Second
The SXSW Synopsis: “Reincarnated” follows Snoop Dogg on a spiritual journey as he immerses himself in Rastafari, explores musical and religious histories deeply rooted in Jamaica, and reemerges from his experience as “Snoop Lion”. Recording an album with world-renowned hitmaker Diplo and his Major Lazer production team, Snoop draws on recent personal experiences for lyrical inspiration. An exploration of modern Jamaica and meetings with the Nyabinghi Rasta and the family of urban legend Christopher Dudus among others also influence Snoop’s new view of the world. He is leaving behind his days as a gangsta rapper and re-emerging as an avatar for peace, extolling the virtues of the Rasta lifestyle.
The Key Players: Director Andy Capper; Snoop Lion
The Draw: There are doubtless going to be a lot of people who will go to see this film on a lark — surely Snoop is just doing all this Rastafarianism as a way to smoke more weed, right? But we think it’s just as likely this is going to be a surprisingly earnest story of a search for faith.

14. Short Term 12

The Category: Narrative Competition
The SXSW Synopsis: “Short Term 12” is told through the eyes of Grace (Brie Larson), a twenty-something supervisor at a foster-care facility for at-risk teenagers. Passionate and tough, Grace is a formidable caretaker of the kids in her charge – and in love with her long-term boyfriend and co-worker, Mason (John Gallagher Jr). But Grace’s own difficult past – and the surprising future that suddenly presents itself – throw her into unforeseen confusion, made all the sharper with the arrival of a new intake at the facility: a gifted but troubled teenage girl with whom Grace has a charged connection. While the subject matter is complex, this lovingly realized film finds truth – and humor – in unexpected places.
The Key Players: Director Destin Daniel Cretton; Brie Larson
The Draw: She’s actually been an actor for more than a decade, but Brie Larson has been on an indie-cred hot streak in the last three years, with roles in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Rampart, a recurring role on The United States of Tara, and roles in this year’s Sundance favorites The Spectacular Now and Don John’s Addiction. This film looks to be a great chance for her to really spread her wings.

15. The Spectacular Now

The Category: Festival Favorites
The SXSW Synopsis: This is the tale of Sutter Keely – high school senior, effortless charmer and would-be master of never worrying about the future – and of how he unexpectedly falls in love and also comes to terms with the fear, beauty and mystery of what comes next.
The Key Players: Director James Ponsoldt; Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kyle Chandler
The Draw: Shailene Woodley gives a performance of such fragility and power in The Spectacular Now that the rest of the movie almost feels dull by comparison. Director James Ponsoldt (Smashed) adapted Tim Tharp’s coming-of-age novel with heartfelt sincerity, and the result has wooed enthusiastic Sundance crowds. Miles Teller stars as Sutter, a high school senior with a great enthusiasm for human connection and partying, but little enthusiasm for classwork or future planning. Think Ferris Bueller with a concealed depression and an alcohol abuse problem. Woodley dominates every frame she’s in with sweet hesitations and a nervous smile. She provides a mesmerizing portrayal of young love.—Jeremy Mathews

16. A Teacher

The Category: Festival Favorites
The SXSW Synopsis: Diana, a young, attractive teacher at a suburban Texas high school, is well-liked by her students and colleagues. Her life seems to be following the status quo, but in reality she’s having a secret affair with her student Eric. She confides in no one but him, reveling in the teenage terrain of sexting and backseat quickies. Even when the risk of discovery looms over their relationship, her investment in the fantasy remains stronger than reality. Unable to control herself, she heads down a reckless path of self-destruction.
The Key Players: Director Hannah Fidell; Lindsay Burdge, Will Brittain, Jennifer Prediger
The Draw: A Teacher was one of the most buzzed-about films at Sundance, and Kim Sherman is an emerging indie producer powerhouse (A Horrible Way to Die, V/H/S, Sun Don’t Shine). And it’s always interesting when a director takes a Hollywood cliche and actually takes a thoughtful, non-cliched look at it.

17. Upstream Color

The Category: Festival Favorites
The SXSW Synopsis: A young woman is abducted and seemingly brainwashed via an organic material harvested from a specific orchid. She later meets a man and after the two fall for each other, they come to realize he may also have been subjected to the same process. The two search urgently for a place of safety within each other and struggle to assemble the fragments of their wrecked lives as they are unknowingly drawn into the life cycle of a presence that permeates the microscopic world, moving to nematodes, plant life, livestock, and back again.
The Key Players: Screenwriter/Actor/Director Shane Carruth; Amy Seimetz
The Draw: Shane Carruth’s Upstream Color builds a stunning mosaic of lives overwhelmed by decisions outside their control, of people who don’t understand the impulses that rule their lives. Told with stylistic bravado and minimal dialogue (none in the last 30 minutes), the film continually finds new ways to evoke unexpected feelings. The visuals combine with extraordinary sound design and rhythmic cross-cutting to create a hypnotic portrait of the story’s intertwined lives. An elaborate, intellectual sci-fi concept fuels the film, but a rich sense of humanity gives it power.—Jeremy Mathews

18. V/H/S/2

The Category: Midnighters
The SXSW Synopsis: Searching for a missing student, two private investigators break into his abandoned house and find another collection of mysterious VHS tapes. In viewing the horrific contents of each cassette, they realize there may be terrifying motives behind the student’s disappearance.
The Key Players: Directors Simon Barrett, Adam Wingard, Eduardo Sanchez, Gregg Hale, Timo Tjahjanto, Gareth Huw Evans, Jason Eisener
The Draw: V/H/S was one of the nice surprises of last year; a horror anthology that was uneven but outstanding in places. The followup doesn’t boast as many big names, but sometimes that works out even better.

19. We Always Lie To Strangers

The Category: Documentary Competition
The SXSW Synopsis: “We Always Lie To Strangers” is a story of family, community, music and tradition set against the backdrop of Branson, Missouri, a remote Ozark Mountain town that is one of the biggest tourist destinations in the United States. Here, millions from around the country, and particularly from the American Midwest, flock for a return to “old fashioned, traditional values” and the family-style entertainment of Branson’s 100+ staged music shows, many of which feature families performing together. As Branson faces economic uncertainty and changes in attitudes on social issues, the interwoven sagas of these performing families form a composite both of Branson and of contemporary America.
The Key Players: Directors AJ Schnack, David Wilson
The Draw: The premise of the film already sounds pretty fascinating. But then when we see that Schnack and Wilson are directing, our eyebrows really get raised. Wilson is one of the co-founders of Cinema Eye, these guys know documentary film.

20. When Angels Sing

The Category: Documentary Competition
The SXSW Synopsis:Michael despises Christmas. Now Christmas is getting even.
The Key Players: Director Tim Mccanlies; Harry Connick Jr., Connie Britton, Chandler Canterbury, Fionnula Flanagan, Lyle Lovett, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Eloise DeJoria, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson
The Draw: As we preach all the time, it’s important, during a film festival that features a lot of dark material, to find a fun comedy to see with a crowd, preferably right in the middle of the fest; the sense of group catharsis is truly wonderful. When Angels Sing sounds like it could fit the bill perfectly. First, the trailer looks hilarious. Second, there’s great pedigree here in the producers (Elizabeth Avellan produced all Robert Rodriguez’ films, for instance), director (Tim McCanlies wrote The Iron Giant), and in that wonderful cast. And how fun is it to watch a Christmas movie in March?