I've dreamt of attending South by Southwest for over a decade now. True to form, 2026 makes some dreams come true, but in classic Monkey's Paw form. While accredited to cover the festival, I can't get there in person this year because of everything that's going on in America. For some reason, it's just not an ideal destination for a queer, autistic journalist to go.
Luckily, the Austin-based festival proves itself as inclusive and welcoming as I hoped. Even as a remote writer, I've found the community nothing short of incredible. And while my focus this year is entirely on film, the sprawling event covers everything from technology to music, stand-up, and performance art. If you ever get the chance to go, you should. Hopefully, when things settle down, I will, too.
Until then, I've got a bunch of reviews lined up from the festival, along with interviews and insights from filmmakers who should be on your radar this year and beyond.
To start with, here are my picks for some of the most exciting films screening at the festival this year, along with some thoughts on why I think you'll love them, too.
The Ascent
World premiere
The Ascent has an incredible story behind it, even before the film begins. At 21, Mandy Horvath lost both of her legs in an unspeakable, violent act surrounded by secrecy. Years later, her life changed for good; she sets out to conquer Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa's tallest mountain, using only her hands to crawl to the summit.
I usually avoid true-life stories. I find them trite and hokey. They emphasize fake optimism and hagiography to tell uplifting stories that rarely, if ever, capture the truth. But take one look at Horvath and her attitude, and you know that's not the case here. Instead, the filmmakers have set out to paint a vibrant and messy portrait of a complex person with incredible goals.
If nothing else, I expect to be deeply moved by both the sights and Horvath's spirit.
The Audacity
World Premiere
The Audacity is the newest show from Jonathan Glatzer, writer and producer of series like Succession and Better Call Saul, so you know it's going to be a good one. SXSW presents the first two episodes as a feature, so while I'm cheating a bit to include it, I'm not too sorry.
Set in Silicon Valley, The Audacity feels like a darker, more complex sibling of Mike Judge's satire of the California hellscape. Billy Magnussen plays a data-mining CEO out for profit in a world increasingly skewed by billionaires and tech bros. It'll either make me laugh or cry in horror. I don't think there's any middle ground anymore.
If you're on location at SXSW, be sure to check out the Q&A moderated by the great Kara Swisher, too!
Black Zombie
World Premiere
I'm fascinated by film history, especially how it relates to broader cultural conversations, and even more to discussions that nobody wants to have. One of these topics is the zombie trope, its origins, and the way its visual imagery was usurped into something else entirely.
Black Zombie is the new documentary from Maya Annik Bedward, who previously did tremendous work on the BLK: An Origin Story series in 2022. It is easily one of my most anticipated films of the year.
Drag
World Premiere
Sometimes all you need is a killer idea, and the rest will follow. That's certainly the case with Drag, a black comedy and horror hybrid from Raviv Ullman and Greg Yagolnitzer, with producing-heavy Danny DeVito working behind the scenes.
Clocking in at a lean and mean 86 minutes, Drag is the story of two good-for-nothing sisters who break into a rural home in upstate New York. The robbery goes from bad to worse when one of them throws out their back, immobilizing them on the second floor of the house. Things go from bad to worse, and then quickly spiral out of control.
I have no idea how the whole thing plays out, but I've enjoyed every single closed-space horror film of this type in the last couple of years. I foresee enjoying the heck out of this one.
Grind
Like a cross between Office Space and Tales from the Crypt, Grind is an anthology film directed by Brea Grant, Ed Dougherty, and Chelsea Stardust that skewers modern gig work with the kind of incisive satire-horror we haven't seen in years.
The pedigree behind the lens is to die for: Grant is a multi-hyphenate talent whose previous film, Torn Hearts, was a fantastic mix of Americana and Psycho, while Stardust is beloved around these parts for her instant cult classic debut: Satanic Panic.
As the corporate dystopia around us grows increasingly awful by the second, it's the perfect time for a homegrown version of Black Mirror to work out some collective trauma.
Over Your Dead Body
World Premiere
I'm a big fan of Jorma Taccone, the director behind smart-dumb comedy classics like MacGruber and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. Pair that with a cast that includes Samara Weaving, Jason Segel, Juliette Lewis, and Timothy Olyphant, and I'd watch it even if it were a cold read of a phone book.
Instead, this pitch-black comedy follows a dysfunctional couple at a remote cabin with the intent to fix their broken relationship. The only problem is that both parties have a secret plan to kill the other before the weekend is out.
Think of it like a mix between Spy vs. Spy and The War of the Roses, and you're probably in the ballpark. I, for one, can't wait to see how it unfolds.
Pretty Lethal
World Premiere
Another big idea on a limited budget, Pretty Lethal is the kind of genre mix that reads extremely silly on paper, but has the potential to deliver huge thrills if done right.
The setup follows a group of five ballerinas on their way to a contest when they're suddenly stranded in a remote forest, with shelter only at an unsettling roadside inn. Because the rules of the universe state that every scenario like this ends in bloodshed, the ballerinas must use their training to survive in the hostile environment or die trying.
Vicky Jewson's feature debut packs genre cred from Uma Thurman and Michael Culkin, and the young cast features rising talents like Maddie Ziegler and Lana Condor.
The foundations are solid, fingers crossed for the rest.
Rock Springs
Rock Springs is the feature debut from Vera Miao, who previously directed the Two Sentence Horror Stories series, which I adore. On paper, it's a traditional ghost story set in a remote location as a family tries to escape their past trauma and runs headfirst into the supernatural.
What really excites me is the casting. Featuring the talents of Kelly Marie Tran, Benedict Wong, Jimmy O. Yang, and Fiona Fu, Rock Springs is loaded with impeccable actors who always deliver grounded, soulful performances. I'm ready to be terrified by them.
They Will Kill You
I've written at length about the demented talents of Kirill Sokolov. His debut feature, Why Don't You Just Die, is one of the wildest I've ever seen. He has an innate ability to draw laughs from even the darkest aspects of human nature, which is an incredible talent.
His latest, They Will Kill You, proves at least one thing: Sokolov has a thing for a specific type of title. But it's also a chance to play with a much larger budget and cast, including genre queen Zazie Beetz, who has yet to give a single bad performance.
I couldn't be more excited about this one.
Your Attention Please
Social media has been around for over 20 years now, and we still don't have a handle on what it's doing to us. In a world of influencers, targeted ads, and unstoppable forces of online bullying, grieving parents who've lost their children to suicide work tirelessly to fix things for the rest of us.
But, as everyone knows, this is an unjust world, and that battle is an endless uphill that would make Sisyphus blush.
The topic is a massive sprawl, one that touches every aspect of our daily lives, and Your Attention Please doesn't seek to provide all the answers. Instead, it elucidates how deep the rot goes. This won't be an easy watch, but my gut tells me it will be an essential one.
