SXSW will return with an in-person edition this year — and, happily, the fest’s recent pattern of gender parity among its filmmakers is back, too. Women directed or co-directed nine out of the 16 Feature Competition films, amounting to about 56 percent.
Among the Narrative Feature Competition selections is “Slash/Back,” Nyla Innuksuk’s pic about a group of Inuit girls in an isolated Arctic town trying to plan a party while simultaneously fighting off an alien invasion. Also screening is Beth de Araújo’s “Soft & Quiet,” which sees a group of alt-right women planning an attack, in real-time, on a runaway train.
The Documentary Feature Competition slate includes Daresha Kyi’s “Mama Bears” and Allison Otto’s “The Thief Collector.” The former is a portrait of a young lesbian and two conservative Christian mothers who are also passionate defenders of the LGBTQ+ community, and the latter traces the 1985 theft of the Willem de Kooning painting “Woman-Ochre.”
SXSW’s other offerings this year include “Bodies Bodies Bodies,” the sole woman-directed project in the Headliners section. From Halina Reijn, the pic revolves around a hurricane party that takes a turn for the worse. And the Documentary Spotlight category counts the Camille Hardman co-directed “Still Working 9 to 5” among its titles. Featuring Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda, and Lily Tomlin, the doc focuses on the persistent issue of workplace inequality, and explores how much hasn’t changed since the iconic comedy “9 to 5” was released in 1980.
The women-directed Feature Competition films are below, and you can check out the full 2022 lineup at SXSW’s website. The festival will be held in-person March 11-20, and will offer some online options as well.
NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION
It Is In Us All (Ireland)
Director/Screenwriter: Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Producers: Emma Foley, Tamryn Reinecke,
A formidable man who cares for nothing, is forced to confront his self-destructive core, when a violent car crash involving a sexually charged boy who epitomises life, challenges him to face his truth. Cast List: Cosmo Jarvis, Rhys Mannion, Claes Bang, Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Lalor Roddy (World Premiere)
Nika (Russia)
Director: Vasilisa Kuzmina, Screenwriters: Yulia Gulyan, Vasilisa Kuzmina, Producers: Yulia Gulyan, Antonina Lee
A child prodigy, the youngest Soviet poetess, and by the age of 27 a completely lost girl Nika Turbina is struggling with her past and for her future at the turn of the century. Cast List: Elizaveta Yankovskaya, Anna Mikhalkova, Ivan Fominov, Vita Korneenko (World Premiere)
Seriously Red (Australia)
Director: Gracie Otto, Screenwriter: Krew Boylan, Producers: Jessica Carrera, Sonia Borella, Timothy White, Robyn Kershaw
Find out who you are and do it on purpose. Cast List: Rose Byrne, Krew Boylan, Bobby Cannavale, Daniel Webber, Celeste Barber, Thomas Campbell (World Premiere)
Slash/Back (Canada)
Director: Nyla Innuksuk, Screenwriters: Nyla Innuksuk, Ryan Cavan, Producers: Dan Bekerman, Christopher Yurkovich, Alex Ordanis, Nyla Innuksuk, Stacey Aglok McDonald, Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, Ethan Lazar
In a remote Arctic community, a group of Inuit girls fight off an alien invasion, all while trying to make it to the coolest party in town. Cast List: Tasiana Shirley, Alexis Wolfe, Chelsea Prusky, Frankie Vincent-Wolfe, Nalajoss Ellsworth (World Premiere)
Soft & Quiet
Director/Screenwriter: Beth de Araújo, Producers: Josh Peters, Saba Zerehi, Joshua Beirne-Golden, Beth de Araújo
Playing out in real time, Soft & Quiet is a runaway train that follows a single afternoon in the life of a female white supremacist as she indoctrinates a group of alt-right women, and together they set out to harass two mixed-raced Asian sisters. Cast List: Stefanie Estes, Olivia Luccardi, Eleanore Pienta, Dana Millican, Melissa Paulo, Jon Beavers, Cissy Ly (World Premiere)
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION
Mama Bears
Director: Daresha Kyi, Producers: Laura Tatham, Daresha Kyi
Mama Bears is an intimate exploration of two “mama bears”—conservative, Christian mothers who have become fierce advocates for LGBTQ+ people—and a young lesbian whose struggle for self-acceptance exemplifies why the mama bears are so important. (World Premiere)
Master of Light
Director: Rosa Ruth Boesten, Producers: Roger Ross Williams, Anousha Nzume, Ilja Roomans
George Anthony Morton, a classical painter who spent ten years in federal prison travels to his hometown to paint his family members. Going back forces George to face his past in his quest to rewrite the script of his life. (World Premiere)
The Pez Outlaw
Directors/Producers: Amy Bandlien Storkel, Bryan Storkel
Steve Glew spent the 1990s smuggling rare pez dispensers into the USA from Eastern Europe, making millions of dollars. It was all magical until his arch-nemesis, The Pezident decided to destroy him. (World Premiere)
The Thief Collector
Director: Allison Otto, Screenwriter: Mark Monroe, Producers: Caryn Capotosto, Jill Latiano Howerton, Joshua Kunau
It was one of the most audacious and puzzling crimes of a generation. The Thief Collector unravels the mystery of the infamous 1985 heist of Willem de Kooning’s seminal painting, “Woman-Ochre.” (World Premiere)
