South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas, United States. It began in 1987 and has continued growing in both scope and size every year. In 2017, the conference lasted for 10 days with the interactive track lasting for five days, music for seven days, and film for nine days. There was no in-person event in 2020 and 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Austin, Texas; in both years there was a smaller online event instead.
Joseph Swanberg is an American independent filmmaker. Known for micro-budget films which make extensive use of improvisation, Swanberg is considered a major figure in the mumblecore film movement. His films often focus on relationships, sex, technology, and the filmmaking process, and he is credited with launching the career of Greta Gerwig.
Mani Haghighi is an Iranian film director, writer, film producer, and actor. Haghighi started making movies in 2001.
The Case Against 8 is an American documentary film, which premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2014. Directed and produced by Ben Cotner and Ryan White, the film documents the legal battle to overturn California's Proposition 8, focusing in particular on behind-the-scenes footage of David Boies and Theodore Olson during the Perry v. Schwarzenegger case.
Sasha Waters Freyer, also known as Sasha Waters, is an American documentary and experimental filmmaker, and educator. She is professor of Photography and Film at VCU School of the Arts in Richmond, Virginia. Waters Freyer has produced and directed 18 films, 14 of which originate in 16mm. With the exception of her first documentary, Whipped (1998), she has edited all of her films, including Garry Winogrand: All Things Are Photographable (2018).
Josh Greenbaum is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He has won an MTV Movie Award, CINE Golden Eagle and Emmy Award. He directed the feature documentary The Short Game, winner of the SXSW Audience Award, which was acquired by Netflix to launch their Originals film division. He also directed Becoming Bond, a documentary about George Lazenby, which won SXSW's Audience Award in the Visions category, as well as the critically acclaimed Too Funny to Fail, a documentary about The Dana Carvey Show. He is also the creator, director and executive producer of Behind the Mask, which earned Hulu its first ever Emmy nomination.
Werewolf is a 2016 Canadian drama film directed by Ashley McKenzie and starring Andrew Gillis and Bhreagh MacNeil. It marks McKenzie's feature film directorial debut. The film premiered at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival, and subsequently received numerous accolades, including several Canadian Screen Award nominations, and the $100,000 Toronto Film Critics Association prize for best Canadian film of the year in 2017.
Ashley McKenzie is a Canadian director, screenwriter, and editor. She is known for her feature film directorial debut Werewolf (2016), which won numerous accolades, including the $100,000 Toronto Film Critics Association prize for best Canadian film of the year.
The Queen is a 1968 American documentary film directed by Frank Simon and narrated by Flawless Sabrina. It depicts the experiences of the drag queens organizing and participating in the 1967 Miss All-America Camp Beauty Contest held at New York City's Town Hall. The film was screened at the International Critics' Week section of the 1968 Cannes Film Festival; however, the festival was ultimately curtailed and ended due to ongoing civil unrest in France before any awards could be given out.
Yes, God, Yes is a 2019 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Karen Maine and starring Natalia Dyer. It is Maine's directorial debut, based on her 2017 short film of the same name also starring Dyer. The film premiered at the SXSW Film Festival on March 8, 2019, and was selected as a "Best of SXSW" film by The Hollywood Reporter. It was released in select drive-in theaters and virtual cinemas in the United States on July 24, 2020, by Vertical Entertainment, before launching digitally and on video on demand on July 28, 2020. The film was made available on Netflix on October 22, 2020.
Edward Watts is an English filmmaker who is known for making documentaries and narrative-focused films. He has created films in conjunction with UK television network Channel 4 and ITN Productions. He is known for films including For Sama (2019), Escape From ISIS (2015) and The Mega Brothel (2015).
Factory 25 is a Brooklyn-based independent film distribution and production company, founded by Matt Grady in 2009.
For Sama is a 2019 documentary film produced and narrated by Waad Al-Kateab, and directed by Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts. The film focuses on Waad Al-Kateab's journey as a journalist and rebel in the Syrian uprising. Her husband is Hamza al-Kateab, one of the few doctors left in Aleppo, and they raise their daughter Sama Al-Kateab during the Syrian Civil War.
2021 in film is an overview of events, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies, festivals, a list of country-specific lists of films released, and movie programming.
Waad Al-Kateab is the pseudonym of a Syrian journalist, filmmaker, and activist. Her documentary, For Sama (2019), was nominated for four BAFTAs at the 73rd British Academy Film Awards, winning for Best Documentary, and was also nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 92nd Academy Awards. Her coverage of the Battle for Aleppo won an International Emmy Award for Current Affairs & News for Channel 4 News. The pseudonymous surname Al-Kateab is used to protect her family.
Red 11 is a 2019 American science fiction horror film produced, and directed by Robert Rodriguez. Rodriguez co-wrote the film with his son Racer Max, after previously collaborating on The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D in 2005. The film is inspired by Robert Rodriguez's experiences described in his 1995 book Rebel Without a Crew. The film stars Roby Attal, Lauren Hatfield, Alejandro Rose-Garcia, Eman Esfandi, Steve Brudniak, Brently Heilbron, Pierce Foster Bailey, Katherine Willis, Ulysses Montoya, and Carlos Gallardo.
Karen Maine is an American film director and screenwriter known for Obvious Child and Yes, God, Yes.
Hot Flash is a Canadian animated short film, directed by Thea Hollatz and released in 2019. The film centres on a woman working as a television newscaster, who experiences a menopause-related hot flash just as she is about to go on air to report on a snowstorm.
Grace Glowicki is a Canadian actress and filmmaker from Edmonton, Alberta. She is most noted for directing and starring in the 2019 film Tito, which was a shortlisted finalist for the John Dunning Best First Feature Award at the 9th Canadian Screen Awards in 2021.
Aaron Hillis is an American writer, film critic, director, film festival programmer, and curator.
