SXSW 2021 is just around the corner. Set to take place March 16-21, the 35th edition of Austin-based fest is digital this year due to COVID-19. With more than half of the films set to screen in Competition directed or co-directed by women, there are plenty of titles on our radar this year, including a tribute to women wrestlers defying expectations in Mexico, an examination of Blackness and beauty standards, and a portrait of Selma Blair’s battle with multiple sclerosis. This list is by no means exhaustive — these are just some of SXSW’s many highlights.
We’ll be rolling out interviews with women directors screening films at the fest over the next week.
Here are some of our most anticipated films of SXSW 2021. Synopses are courtesy of the festival.
“Luchadoras” (Documentary) – Directed by Paola Calvo and Patrick Jasim
“Luchadoras”
What it’s about: “Luchadoras” portrays the courageous female wrestlers of Ciudad Juárez, a city known for its high murder rate against women – who in the ring and in their daily lives fight to redefine the image of what it means to be a woman in Mexico.
Why we’re excited: We’re still mourning the loss of “GLOW,” Netflix’s dearly departed dramedy about a rag-tag group of women wrestlers. “Luchadoras” will present another opportunity to see drama inside and outside of the ring, and to celebrate high-flying athletes kicking ass and subverting gender expectations. The doc will also show audiences a different side of Ciudad Juárez, which is infamous for its high femicide rate.
“We wanted to understand how women live in Ciudad Juárez, how is the day by day in such a city,” director Paola Calvo told us. “What we discovered was bigger, brighter, and much more powerful than what any press article had ever managed to reveal about the place,” she emphasized.
“Women is Losers” – Written and Directed by Lissette Feliciano
“Women is Losers”
What it’s about: In 1960s San Francisco, a once-promising Catholic school girl, Celina Guerrera (Lorenza Izzo), sets out to rise above the oppression of poverty and invest in a future for herself that sets new precedents for the time.
Why we’re excited: Inspired by her mother’s experiences, writer-director Lissette Feliciano’s “Women is Losers” promises to tell a story of struggle, ambition, and hope. The protagonist, a young woman trying to overcome obstacles and build a better future, is a reminder of what so many real-life folks — past and present — have gone through. “I wanted to make a film where the hidden wounds, the unsaid truths of our parents’ generation were brought out into the light to help our own,” Feliciano told Women and Hollywood. “I wanted to make a film where our mothers, grandmothers, aunts, uncles, [and] fathers talk to us about everything — and I mean everything — they swept under the rug. I was drawn to make a film that says the unwritten rules of our world out loud in a way that gives you space to laugh at them and learn from them at the same time.”
In addition to remembering the plight and joy of our foremothers and fathers, Feliciano also wants viewers to be motivated after seeing “Women is Losers.” “In every way, ‘Women is Losers’ is a movie that asks you to hold onto your hope,” she said. “So, please leave my film thinking about all the good this world has to offer, then think ‘I can have that’ and then go get your ‘that.’”
“United States vs. Reality Winner” (Documentary) – Directed by Sonia Kennebeck
What it’s about: A state of secrets and a ruthless hunt for whistleblowers – this is the story of 25-year-old Reality Winner, who disclosed a document about Russian election interference to the media and became the number one leak target of the Trump administration.
Why we’re excited: The 2016 election seems like it happened an eternity ago, but we’re still dealing with the fallout. “United States vs. Reality Winner” tells the story of Reality Leigh Winner, the first person to expose Russia’s interference in the race, and will help contextualize why — even in the midst of COVID, the aftermath of the Capitol siege, and the new administration — it still matters.
Then there’s Winner herself, a young female whistleblower who was imprisoned for her efforts. We’re looking forward to learning more about her, her role in educating the public about one of the Trump White House’s many secrets, and how she has fared in the years since.
“Fruits of Labor” (Documentary) – Directed by Emily Cohen Ibañez; Written by Emily Cohen Ibañez and Ashley Solis Pavon
“Fruits of Labor”
What it’s about: A Mexican-American teenage farmworker dreams of graduating high school, when ICE raids in her community threaten to separate her family and force her to become her family’s breadwinner.
Why we’re excited: We have a new president but ICE and the immigration debate in the U.S. haven’t gone anywhere. Emily Cohen Ibañez’s doc puts a human face — a teen girl’s at that — on an issue that’s become so politicized that we sometimes forget that actual people’s lives and wellbeing are at stake. Yet “Fruits of Labor” is also a story about labor rights, families trying to make it in America, and the life of a young woman on the brink of adulthood.
“With the film, I invite viewers to think about the global food chain that too often devalues the essential labor of picking and packaging food. My hope is that the film serves as a poetic invitation to re-imagine work,” Emily Cohen Ibañez told us in a forthcoming interview. “I’d like to switch the equation and not look for deferred value but rather value workers and working families as full human persons where essential workers should be free from fear at the workplace, poverty, and an inability to seek higher education. I also want people to fall in love with Ashley and her family and find bits and pieces of identification with what it means to come-of-age.”
“Subjects of Desire” (Documentary) – Directed by Jennifer Holness
What it’s about: “Subjects of Desire” is a thought provoking film that examines the cultural shift in beauty standards towards embracing (or appropriating) Black aesthetics and features, deconstructing what we understand about race and the power behind beauty.
Why we’re excited: As conversations about Blackfishing and cultural appropriation become increasingly commonplace, “Subjects of Desire” promises to be a thought-provoking look into North America’s evolving beauty standards. An examination of popular culture from the past and present, the doc explores timely debates about beauty, Blackness, and power from varying perspectives. Director Jennifer Holness is the president and co-founder of Hungry Eyes Film & Television, which specializes in telling stories that engage with social issues and representations of Black Canadians, and we’re looking forward to seeing her take on this polarizing and emotionally-charged subject.
“Introducing, Selma Blair” (Documentary) – Directed by Rachel Fleit
“Introducing, Selma Blair”
What it’s about: “Introducing, Selma Blair” is a deeply intimate and raw portrait of the actress after she is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and makes a valiant, risky effort to try to slow the progression of her disease. For the acclaimed, yet often supporting actress, her starring role has finally arrived – she just has to show up and fully embrace herself.
Why we’re excited: In February 2019 Selma Blair made her first red carpet appearance after revealing her M.S. diagnosis. Dressed to the nines with a cane customized to match her outfit, the actor made a major splash at the Vanity Fair Oscars party, and lent her voice to important conversations about accessibility in fashion.
Known for her roles in titles such as “Legally Blonde,” “Cruel Intentions,” and “Hellboy,” Blair has been open and outspoken about her experiences with M.S. on social media and in interviews, detailing how the disease impacts her both personally and professionally. With “Introducing, Selma Blair,” Rachel Fleit will offer audiences an intimate look into Blair’s life as a single mom and actor with M.S., and her efforts to raise public awareness of the condition.
“Trapped” – Directed by Manal Khaled; Written by Manal Khaled and Rasha Azab
“Trapped”
What it’s about: “Trapped” revolves around a number of women from different walks of life whose destinies are tied together: being all under one siege. As the events unfold, their own personal stories reflect on a far bigger siege that depicts the shackles imposed by a patriarchal society.
Why we’re excited: The personal and political, the internal and external collide in “Trapped,” promising a drama that delves into its characters’ psychological and social struggles. The overarching premise — a group of very different women are caught in the middle of a siege — is a compelling metaphor for life in a patriarchy. And that’s the type of story we’re always ready to see.
The film is also an exploration of a broad range of women’s perspectives and opinions — it’s rare enough to see a war drama anchored by one woman, let alone several. As director Manal Khaled told us, “The women share similar dreams of change, of revolution. But their differences [contrast] when it comes to their awareness, openness, and methods to expression and rebellion.” In other words, women are not a monolith — and we’re always here for a movie that recognizes that.
“Language Lessons” – Directed by Natalie Morales; Written by Natalie Morales and Mark Duplass
What it’s about: A Spanish teacher and her student develop an unexpected friendship.
Why we’re excited: Made during quarantine, “Language Lessons” is a rare story about friendship, and even rarer, a story about friendship between a woman and a man. Natalie Morales’ feature directorial debut sees the “Dead to Me” actor playing a Spanish teacher working online. We’re keen to see how she and her co-star and collaborator Mark Duplass tell this screen-heavy story. Though she didn’t want to “spoil” how they pulled it off, she told us they “sort of had to invent a whole new way” of doing things because of “the nature of how [they] made the movie.”
In a time of unprecedented isolation, “Language Lessons” is a celebration of connection. Morales told us she wants audiences “to think about the things we assume about other people and how that’s just the tip of the iceberg of what a person really is. Everyone is their own universe and we often cut ties or write people off based on our own bias and skewed perceptions,” she explained. “This movie explores what happens when you get pushed beyond that point.”
“Hysterical” (Documentary) – Directed by Andrea Nevins
What it’s about: “Hysterical” is an honest and hilarious backstage pass into the lives of some of stand-up comedy’s most boundary-breaking women, exploring the hard-fought journey to become the voices of their generation and their gender.
Why we’re excited: “Hysterical” isn’t just the story of one woman’s attempt to crack comedy’s glass ceiling. It follows 15 different women at varying points in their career, offering a look at what it’s like for women of different ages, races, and sexual orientations to work in stand-up.
We were fans of Andrea Nevins’ last doc, “Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie,” and she told us that she “didn’t feel at all done exploring the historical landscape of female representation in America” after completing that film. With “Hysterical” she wanted to take her “exploration of women during the last six decades into the next decade by looking at women who are breaking boundaries, which is the job of the stand-up comedian. Boundaries say so much about our current terrain,” she observed. We’re looking forward to seeing comedians like Margaret Cho and Sherri Shepherd breaking boundaries and bringing laughs along the way.
“The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson” – Written and Directed by Leah Purcell
“The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson”
What it’s about: “The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson” is a reimagining of Leah Purcell’s acclaimed play and Henry Lawson’s classic short story. A searing Australian western thriller asking the question: how far do you go to protect your loved ones?
Why we’re excited: “The Drover’s Wife” is a passion project for writer-director Leah Purcell. It’s an adaptation of her play and, as she told Women and Hollywood, her mother used to read Henry Lawson’s short story to her when she was a young girl. “I still have the same book my mum used to read from. To some degree the story represented me and my mum’s situation. So this story has been with me for 45 years.” She added, “I fell in love with the High Country when I was acting in a film, shot in that location in 2006. I made a promise to myself that I will be back to film my own movie here. And in 2019 I kept that promise and made that dream a reality.”
The story of frontierswoman Molly Johnson (whom Purcell also portrays in the movie) seems to resonate deeply with the writer-director — and she has made it her own. Purcell, who is Indigenous, integrated “traditional elements of [her] people’s storytelling, including songlines and a dreaming structure,” into the film. “The Drover’s Wife” revamps a classic archetype, reclaiming it through a marginalized lens — and we’re never not psyched for those kinds of projects.
