Editorial Director/Box Office Editor
SXSW
After being online the past two years because of Covid, SXSW’s film festival returns with a vibrant in-person edition for its 29th edition, which will run March 11-20, 2022. The lineup revealed Wednesday includes the types of rollercoaster, Hollywood event films for which the Austin-based fest is so good at building buzz.
For anyone jonesing to get their film festival fix in the wake of Sundance’s in-person cancellation, there’s plenty to see at SXSW this spring — and this city couldn’t be more thankful, as the event during pre-pandemic times counts an attendance of 280,000 with a reported $355.9 million positive impact to the local economy.
“The Lost City”Paramount Pictures
This is the festival that shot A Quiet Place, Ready Player One and Us out of a cannon to the world, and this year sitting on top of SXSW’s 99 features (of which 76 are world premieres) include Paramount’s Sandra Bullock-Brad Pitt-Channing Tatum-Daniel Radcliffe adventure The Lost City, Lionsgate’s Nicolas Cage self-action satire The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, A24’s Pete Davidson horror movie Bodies Bodies Bodies, Netflix’s animation adventure comedy Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood from local Texan Richard Linklater, and for closing night the long-awaited Season 3 premiere of FX’s Atlanta.
See the full lineup below.
Here’s the SXSW 2022 program, per the festival.
HEADLINERS
Chee$e (Trinidad and Tobago, U.S.)
Director/Screenwriter: Damian Marcano, Producer: Alexa Marcano
A young man comes up with a plan after news that he’s gotten a girl pregnant. Cast List: Akil Gerard Williams, Lou Lyons, Ayanna Cezanne, Yidah Leonard, Binta Ford, Julio Prince, Trevison Pantin, Kevin Ash, Omar Jarra, Damian Marcano (World Premiere)
Chee$e
In a remote village “behind God’s back” (“even God must have forgotten about it,” the locals crack), Skimma dreams of leaving the only place he’s known to explore the world. When Rebecca tells him she’s pregnant, Skimma is torn between leaving the island and the responsibilities that come with fatherhood. But he has a plan. Taking advantage of skills honed beside a local cheesemaker, Skimma embraces a new profession: village weed supplier. Soon everyone wants what he’s cooking — even Rastaman Osiris. Meanwhile, Skimma’s distributor arranges a new deal he can’t resist. Faced with providing for a child and keeping his new enterprise away from the law, will Skimma find what he’s searching for?
Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.
Damian Marcano
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Film Screenings
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Chee$e at Violet Crown Cinema 1
Mar 11, 2022
9:15pm—11:00pm
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Chee$e at Violet Crown Cinema 3
Mar 11, 2022
9:45pm—11:30pm
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Chee$e at Online Screening
Mar 12, 9:00am CST – Mar 14, 9:00am CDT
9:00am—10:45am
Availability:Worldwide
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Chee$e at Alamo Lamar A
Mar 14, 2022
5:45pm—7:30pm
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Chee$e at Alamo Lamar C
Mar 17, 2022
7:15pm—9:00pm
Credits
| Director: | Damian Marcano |
| Producer: | Alexa Marcano |
| Screenwriter: | Damian Marcano |
| Cinematographer: | Damian Marcano |
| Editor: | MOVA |
| Sound Designer: | The Duponte Man |
| Music: | Cheah Meng, The Duponte Man |
| Principal Cast: | Akil Gerard Williams, Lou Lyons, Ayanna Cezanne, Yidah Leonard, Binta Ford, Julio Prince, Trevison Pantin, Kevin Ash, Omar Jarra, Damian Marcano |
| Additional Credits: | Production Manager: Tyker Phillip, DIT: Aaron Richards, Lead Drone Operator: Brandon Jelkes, Asst. Drone Operator: LJ Mitchell, Lead Grip: Jonathan Warren |
Contact
| Publicity Contact: | Kevin McLaughlin kmclaughlin@mainstagepr.com 347.614.6904 |
| Sales Agent: | Jim Ehrich RBEL |
“The last two years have been complicated, and full of uncharted new waters for all of us. While there’s been innovation in building community in isolation and figuring out how to pivot, we’ve intensely missed being able to gather together,” said Janet Pierson, VP, Director of Film at SXSW. “For our 29th edition of SXSW Film Festival, we are thrilled to share a bounty of creative work to experience together, in-person, with some virtual possibilities, as well. There are fantastic new projects to enjoy from a variety of voices, with, as always, surprising new discoveries.”
And as far as those riveting TV and film activations and walk-through experiences revolving around upcoming projects — in previous years those included Westworld, Alita, and Ready Player One — they are certainly coming back.
“A lot of people will be here with cool stuff,” Pierson tells Deadline.
As far as the pandemic outlook, Covid cases are looking to drop heading into the spring. On Tuesday, Austin Mayor Steve Adler sent out a public note reporting “new modeling from UT ” that “indicate that if we continue to get vaccinated and boosted, and wear masks, new cases will decrease and flatten – as soon as late February or early March,” he said.
While Texas doesn’t mandate masks, they will be enforced at SXSW in all conference session rooms, exhibitions, registration, and pre-function areas, and as determined by individual venues and client spaces. Unlike the Toronto Film Festival in September, there won’t be capacity restrictions at cinemas. Vax cards or negative Covid tests will be required for all credentialed SXSW participants at in-person events. All SXSW staff and volunteers on-site at the conference and festival will require proof of vaccination.
Adler also noted in his note yesterday, “To enable each of us to make our own decisions about the COVID risks we want to take, the County Judge and I recently signed orders recognizing businesses can enact protective measures if they want. Businesses are required to post signage near their front door letting potential customers know whether they are enforcing protections such as masking, proof of vaccine, negative COVID tests, or none at all.”
While there will be an online component to SXSW, it doesn’t encompass the entire film lineup and speaker panels. Only a curated assortment will be available to stream online, and film introductions and Q&As will be solely in-person. Every film will have an in-person premiere. There will be additional in-person screenings for most films, with those that have opted-in also getting an online screening for badge-holders starting at 9 a.m. the next day with a 48-hour viewing window.
Online screenings are subject to geoblocking and capacity limits at rightsholder, filmmaker or distributor discretion. While SXSW is a global event, most films will be restricted to access in the U.S., and their online availability may change.
“It’s a changeable, moveable situation,” Pierson tells us about this year’s hybrid edition.
“We all have been learning from each other, every step of the way,” she adds about how SXSW has taken notes from other global film festival and how they’ve adapted to the pandemic.
Several platforms will be integrated to create the SXSW 2022 experience across web, mobile and TV. Similar to Sundance, there’s a dedicated SXSW TV app can be accessed via Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV and Android TV so that those not attending can still access video content. SXSW TV is now available on iOS and Android. Live content, including Keynotes, Featured Sessions and Music Showcases, can be found in each of the 24-hour channels.
[Editor’s note: Deadline’s sister company P-MRC Holdings has a 50% stake in SXSW].
