The line-up for the SXSW film and TV festival has been announced with new projects from Seth Rogen, Ben Affleck, Jenn Ortega and Nicole Kidman set to premiere at the Austin fest.
Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s Hollywood-set comedy series The Studio will kick off SXSW as the opening night TV screening. Rogen stars as the newly appointed head of an embattled studio as he and his executives struggle to make their movies relevant.
“The same undeniable creative electricity in The Studio runs through our 2025 program — you can feel a bit of magic happening in every film, series, and immersive experience we’ve curated this year,” said festival head Claudette Godfrey. “From groundbreaking independent films to unforgettable studio premieres and documentary revelations to genre-defying experiments, this lineup celebrates the fearless storytellers who make SXSW so unique.”
Elsewhere in the Headliner line-up is Affleck’s The Accountant 2, the sequel to the 2016 movie about a CPA who does the accounting for criminal organizations, and A24 titles Death of a Unicorn, which stars Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega as a father and daughter who discovers a unicorn. Flying Lotus movie Ash, Christopher Landon’s latest Blumhouse title, Drop, and Mimi Cave’s latest Holland, starring Nicole Kidman, are set for the fest.
In the TV premiere section is Ramy Youssef’s animated series #1 Happy Family USA, Dennis Quaid starring serial killer series Happy Face, and Apple TV’s David Oyelowo starrer Government Cheese.
The line-up announcement comes a day after SXSW revealed its latest round of keynotes speakers, including co-Chairman of Disney Entertainment Alan Bergman, Bluesky CEO Jay Graber and John Fogerty, among others.
SXSW will take place in Austin from March 7 to March 14.
See the Headliner, narrative feature and TV premieres section below. See the full line-up here.
HEADLINER presented by Epidemic Sound
Big names, big talent featuring red carpet premieres and gala film events with major and rising names in cinema.
The Accountant 2
Director: Gavin O’Connor, Producers: Ben Affleck, Lynette Howell Taylor, Mark Williams, Screenwriter: Bill Dubuque
Christian Wolff is brought out of hiding by Treasury Agent Marybeth Medina after someone close to them is killed by unknown assassins. To solve the murder, Wolff must recruit the help of his estranged but highly lethal brother Brax. Cast: Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Daniella Pineda, Allison Robertson, J.K. Simmons (World Premiere)
Ash
Director: Flying Lotus, Producers: Nate Bolotin, Matthew Metcalfe, Screenwriter: Jonni Remmler
A woman wakes up on a distant planet and finds the crew of her space station viciously killed. Her investigation into what happened sets in motion a terrifying chain of events. Cast:Eiza González, Aaron Paul, Flying Lotus, Iko Uwais, Kate Elliott, Beulah Koale (World Premiere)
Death of a Unicorn
Director/Screenwriter: Alex Scharfman, Producers: Drew Houpt, Lucas Joaquin, Alex Scharfman, Lars Knudsen, Tyler Campellone, Tim Headington, Theresa Steele Page
A father and daughter accidentally hit and kill a unicorn while en route to a weekend retreat, where his billionaire boss seeks to exploit the creature’s miraculous curative properties. Cast: Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega, Will Poulter, Téa Leoni, Richard E. Grant, Anthony Carrigan, Sunita Mani, Jessica Hynes (World Premiere)
Drop
Director: Christopher Landon, Producers: Jason Blum, Michael Bay, Brad Fuller, Cameron Fuller, Screenwriters: Jillian Jacobs, Chris Roach
A widowed mother, on her first date in years, arrives at an upscale restaurant where she meets her handsome date. But their chemistry curdles as she begins being irritated and then terrorized by a series of anonymous drops to her phone.
Cast: Meghann Fahy, Brandon Sklenar, Violett Beane, Jacob Robinson, Ed Weeks (World Premiere)
Holland
Director: Mimi Cave, Producer: Kate Churchill, Peter Dealbert, Nicole Kidman, Per Saari, Screenwriter: Andrew Sodroski
In this unpredictable thriller, Nancy is a teacher whose life with her husband in Holland, Michigan, tumbles into a twisted tale when she and her colleague become suspicious of a secret. Cast: Nicole Kidman, Matthew Macfadyen, Jude Hill, Gael García Bernal (World Premiere)
Thank you to our Headliner and Major Film & TV Sponsor Epidemic Sound: Unlock more magic in your production with world-class music, Hollywood-grade sound effects, and next-generation soundtracking tools. All rights included. Publish worry-free, worldwide.
NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION
World premieres showcasing the art of storytelling by emerging voices.
Bunny
Director: Ben Jacobson, Producer: Sarah Sarandos, Screenwriters: Mo Stark, Ben Jacobson, Stefan Marolachakis
Two best friends rally the neighbors in their tenement building to help them hide a dead body over the best/worst night of their lives. Cast: Mo Stark, Ben Jacobson, Liza Colby, Tony Drazan, Lina Rong Mei Chen, Genevieve Hudson-Price, Liz Caribel Sierra, Ajay Naidu, Richard Price, Henry Czerny (World Premiere)
Fantasy Life
Director/Screenwriter: Matthew Shear, Producers: Charlie Alderman, Chris Dodds, Philip Keefe, Amanda Peet, Emily McCann Lesser, David Bernon, Sam Slater
After getting laid off, a thirty-something paralegal in New York starts babysitting his psychiatrist’s three granddaughters and falls for their mother, an actress in a rocky marriage. Cast: Amanda Peet, Matthew Shear, Alessandro Nivola, Judd Hirsch, Bob Balaban, Andrea Martin, Zosia Mamet, Jessica Harper, Holland Taylor, Sheng Wang (World Premiere)
Fucktoys
Director/Screenwriter: Annapurna Sriram, Producer: Timothy Petryni
Join AP on a bubblegum grindhouse adventure through sunny and romantic Trashtown, USA. In this raucous odyssey a wanton minx quests hard across a dreamy landscape of smut, filth and psychics, hustling to lift a curse that has been f*cking her sh*t up. Cast: Annapurna Sriram, Sadie Scott, Francois Arnaud, Damian Young, Big Freedia, Brandon Flynn, Lorrie Odom, Jowin Batoon, Tamika Lawrence, Arianna Ortiz (World Premiere)
It Ends
Director/Screenwriter: Alexander Ullom, Producers: Carrie Carusone, Evan Barber
Four friends’ post-college plans are derailed when a wrong turn traps them on a never-ending backroad. Cast: Phinehas Yoon, Akira Jackson, Noah Toth, Mitchell Cole (World Premiere)
My Uncle Jens (Norway)
Director/Screenwriter: Brwa Vahabpour, Producers: Renée Hansen Mlodyszewski, Anda Ionescu
A young literature teacher lives a peaceful life in Oslo until his estranged uncle from the Iranian part of Kurdistan unexpectedly arrives for a visit. Cast: Peiman Azizpour, Hamza Agoshi, Sarah Francesca Brænne, Magnus Lysbakken, Theresa Frostad Eggesbø, Emir Hakki, Marko Lazic, Mohamed Chakiri (World Premiere)
Outerlands
Director/Screenwriter: Elena Oxman, Producers: Marc Smolowitz, Elena Oxman, Asia Kate Dillon, Allison Estrin, Henry Russell Bergstein
When Cass (they/them) is asked by an alluring woman to watch her 11-year-old daughter while she goes out of town, Cass is forced to confront the truth of their own tumultuous childhood. Cast: Asia Kate Dillon, Louisa Krause, Ridley Asha Bateman, Lea DeLaria, Daniel K. Isaac, Melinda Meeng, Allie Heng, Winter Dewitt, Safia Fredericks, Sedrick Cabrera (World Premiere)
Reeling
Director: Yana Alliata, Producer: Jack Forbes, Screenwriters: Yana Alliata, Amy Miner
A psychological drama set against a backdrop of celebration at a family’s Hawaiian estate, three siblings confront heartbreaking, inescapable truths after an accident that changed their lives forever. Cast: Ryan Wuestewald, Hans Christopher, Nikki DeParis, Fabrizio Alliata, Makena Miller, Nyah Juliano, Michael Carter (World Premiere)
Slanted
Director/Screenwriter: Amy Wang, Producers: Amy Wang, Mark Ankner, Trevor Wall
Desperate to fit in, an insecure Chinese American teenager undergoes experimental trans-racial surgery to become White in order to secure her chances of winning Prom Queen and the acceptance of her peers. Cast: Shirley Chen, McKenna Grace, Vivian Wu, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Amelie Zilber, Fang Du, Elaine Hendrix, Keith Harris (World Premiere)
TV PREMIERE
World premieres of prestige TV series premieres from acclaimed showrunners and directors.
#1 Happy Family USA
Showrunners: Ramy Youssef, Pam Brady, Directors: Griffith Kimmins, Hannah Ayoubi, Maaike Maliwanag Scherff, Producers: Ramy Youssef, Pam Brady, Andy Campagna, Mona Chalabi, Josh Rabinowitz, Ravi Nandan, Hallie Sekoff, Alli Reich, Screenwriters: Ramy Youssef, Pam Brady, Josh Rabinowitz, Theresa Mulligan Rosenthal
#1 Happy Family USA follows the Husseins – the most patriotic, most peaceful, and most definitely-not-suspicious Muslim family in post-9/11 “Amreeka” as they navigate the early 2000s under the watchful eyes of their terrified neighbors. Cast: Ramy Youssef, Mandy Moore, Chris Redd, Alia Shawkat, Kieran Culkin, Akaash Singh, Salma Hindy, Whitmer Thomas, Randa Jarrar (World Premiere)
Government Cheese
Showrunners/Screenwriters: Paul Hunter, Aeysha Carr, Director: Paul Hunter, Producers: Paul Hunter, Aeysha Carr, David Oyelowo, Charles D. King, Jelani Johnson, Ali Brown
Government Cheese is a seemingly surrealist family comedy set in 1969 San Fernando Valley that tells the story of the Chambers, a quirky family pursuing lofty and impossible dreams, beautifully unfettered by the realities of the world. Cast: David Oyelowo, Simone Missick, Jahi Di’Allo Winston, Evan Ellison, Bokeem Woodbine (World Premiere)
Happy Face
Showrunner/Screenwriter: Jennifer Cacicio, Director: Michael Showalter, Producers: Jennifer Cacicio, Robert King, Michelle King, Liz Glotzer, Melissa Moore, Conal Byrne, Will Pearson, Michael Showalter, Jordana Mollick
Inspired by a true-life story, Happy Face tells the story of Melissa Reed, daughter of Keith Jesperson, aka the Happy Face Killer. Cast: Annaleigh Ashford, Dennis Quaid, James Wolk, Tamera Tomakili, Khiyla Aynne, Benjamin Mackey (World Premiere)
Spy High
Director: Jody McVeigh-Schultz, Producers: Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, Archie Gips, Aliza Rosen, Jody McVeigh-Schultz, David Wendell
When 15-year-old Blake Robbins was accused of selling drugs, he filed a lawsuit alleging that his prestigious high school was spying on him. This fed a wild scandal with revelations that echo in the war over digital privacy in schools today. (World Premiere)
The Studio
Showrunners/Directors/Screenwriters: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Producers: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Alex Gregory, Peter Heck, Alex McAtee, Josh Fagen
In The Studio, Seth Rogen stars as Matt Remick, the newly appointed head of embattled Continental Studios. As movies struggle to stay alive and relevant, Matt and his core team of infighting executives battle their insecurities as they wrangle narcissistic artists and craven corporate overlords in the ever-elusive pursuit of making great films. Cast: Seth Rogen, Catherine O’Hara, Ike Barinholtz, Chase Sui Wonders, Katheryn Hahn (World Premiere)
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