Every March, hundreds of thousands of people descend on the city of Austin, TX for SXSW — making it one of the biggest professional events in the world. The storied Film and TV Festival serves as a launching pad for big Hollywood blockbusters and indie gems alike, meaning that attendees are sure to walk away having discovered the next big thing.
We at FandomWire are excited to again be covering the SXSW Film and TV Festival. If you are going to be in beautiful Austin, TX for the city’s top cinematic event of the year, here are a few films — five narrative and five non-fiction — that we think you should check out at this year’s festival.
Narrative Films Not To Miss at SXSW 2025
Corina
The biggest draw of Uzula Barba Hopfner’s Corina is a supporting performance by Ted Lasso’s Cristo Fernández. And while Fernández is awesome — almost as charming here as he was as the iconic Dani Rojas — viewers will walk away from Corina more stunned by lead actress Naian González Norvind, who is spellbinding as a young publishing company assistant who goes on a lighthearted, buoyant, and just downright pleasant journey.
Friendship
Starring I Think You Should Leave’s Tim Robinson alongside Ant-Man himself, Paul Rudd, Andrew DeYoung’s Friendship is one of the can’t-miss moviegoing experiences of SXSW 2025. At its TIFF world premiere, it was the hottest ticket of the festival, with every show selling out basically instantly and A24 snatching the film up for distribution very quickly. It feels like a feature-length episode of Robinson’s show, with a plot that’s not super cohesive, but if you’re a fan of that style of dark absurdist humor, Friendship is a laugh-a-minute comedy.
Fucktoys
Fucktoys has the most aggressive and intriguing title of SXSW 2025, that’s for sure. The film is a reimagining of the Fool’s Journey set in the world of “Trashtown.” With that setting and name, you should be expecting camp on the level of Lloyd Kaufman or John Waters, and that’s exactly what Annapurna Sriram delivers — albeit with her own unique, innovative voice. It’s certainly going to offend some (and even of those who are not offended, many won’t even like it) but the niche audience it targets will have a blast.
On Swift Horses
Another TIFF 2024 film making its US premiere at SXSW 2025 is On Swift Horses, which stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Jacob Elordi — both of whom are at the height of their careers. Based on the novel by Shannon Pufahl, the film follows a married woman and her brother-in-law, who both lead their own secret lives. It’s a steamy, deliciously gay romantic drama that’s very charming but also unexpectedly moving.
The Surrender
Julia Max’s The Surrender is the latest in a trend of indie horror movies that use the genre’s tropes as a way to explore repressed trauma. However, even if it’s not the most original film, Max has an incredible understanding of atmosphere in the horror genre, creating a film that’s genuinely scary without feeling hokey or losing sight of the film’s core emotions. Starring The Boys actress Colby Minifie and veteran Big Trouble in Little China actress Kate Burton, this is likely to be one of the biggest breakouts of the festival.
Documentaries Not To Miss at SXSW 2025
Deepfaking Sam Altman
One of the great things about SXSW is that it is such a melting pot of talent across industries and that often results in intersections in its programming. Deepfaking Sam Altman is a perfect combination of the festival’s film programming with its technology conference. In the film, director Adam Bhala Lough (the Emmy-nominated docuseries Telemarketers) sets out to make a documentary about OpenAI but finds himself developing a chatbot resembling its founder, Sam Altman, when Altman ignores a request for an interview. The result is entertaining, insightful, and unexpectedly emotional.
The Librarians
Documentarian Kim A. Snyder is quickly establishing herself as one of the predominant voices in documenting issues that relate to the educational system in the United States. After making several documentaries about gun violence in school — including the recently Oscar-nominated short Death By Numbers — her latest film explores another pressing issue: book-burning laws. The Librarians is one of the most important documentaries of the year, giving a voice to those who have seen a dangerous level of suppression.
Make It Look Real
Those who are attending SXSW as creators of film and television should absolutely not miss the documentary Make It Look Real. The film tells the story of Claire Warden, a trailblazing intimacy coordinator who works on independent films in Australia. Although a film like this quickly could have felt advertorial, Make It Look Real never falls into that trap, instead offering a nuanced — and very important — discussion of cinema’s relationship with intimacy. This is a must-see for cinephiles.
Sally
After impressing at Sundance, Cristina Constantini’s Sally Ride bio-doc, Sally, is making its way to Texas for its next stop, and considering the state’s long history of space exploration, the audience here is sure to be warmly receptive. However, what makes this documentary even more pressing for Texas audiences is the wave of recent anti-LGBTQIA+ laws that have been passed in the state. Constantini does an excellent job of exploring Ride’s role as a queer trailblazer, not only in her field but in the world as a whole, and that is something that the world needs to be reminded of right now.
Spreadsheet Champions
You’ve probably seen plenty of documentaries about unusual competitions, but you probably have never even heard of a Microsoft Excel championship. Said competition is at the heart of Kristina Kraskov’s indelibly charming Spreadsheet Champions, which follows a group of students as they prepare for the finals of what may be the nerdiest extracurricular activity known to man. Although that premise may not seem particularly cinematic on paper, you will be shocked by just how compelling the stories of these kids are. You’ll be genuinely invested.
SXSW runs March 7-15 in Austin, TX.
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