The 2023 South by Southwest Film & TV Festival took place from March 10 to 19 at several venues in Austin, Texas, as part of the larger South by Southwest annual event. The film program opened with fantasy heist comedy film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and closed with biographical sports drama film Air. The television program opened with satirical black comedy series Swarm and closed with comedy drama series Beef.
Official Selection Feature films Headliners TitleDirector(s)Production country Air Ben AffleckUnited States Bottoms Emma Seligman Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley Evil Dead Rise Lee Cronin Flamin' Hot Eva Longoria John Wick: Chapter 4 Chad Stahelski Joy Ride Adele Lim Problemista Julio Torres Tetris Jon S. Baird
Narrative Feature Competition TitleDirector(s)Production country I Used to Be Funny Ally Pankiw Canada Late Bloomers Lisa SteenUnited States Mustache Imran J. Khan Parachute Brittany Snow Pure O Dillon Tucker Raging Grace Paris Zarcilla United Kingdom Scrambled Leah McKendrickUnited States Story Ave Aristotle Torres
Documentary Feature Competition TitleDirector(s)Production country Angel Applicant Ken August MeyerUnited States Another Body Sophie Compton and Reuben Hamlyn Geoff McFetridge: Drawing a Life Dan Covert Join or Die Pete and Rebecca Davis Pay or Die Rachael Dyer and Alexander Ruderman Queendom Agniia Galdanova France, United States Riders on the Storm Jason Motlagh and Mark Oltmanns Austria You Were My First Boyfriend Cecilia Aldarondo and Sarah Enid Hagey United States
Narrative Spotlight TitleDirector(s)Production country Americana Tony TostUnited States Appendage Anna Zlokovic BlackBerry Matt Johnson Canada Bleeding Love Emma WestenbergUnited States Cora Bora Hannah Pearl Utt Deadland Lance Larson Down Low Rightor Doyle Fitting In Molly McGlynn Canada Frybread Face and Me Billy LutherUnited States Hail Mary Rosemary Rodriguez Hypnotic Robert Rodriguez If You Were the Last Kristian Mercado The Long Game Julio Quintana National Anthem Luke Gilford Northern Comfort Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson Germany, Iceland, United Kingdom Only the Good Survive Dutch SouthernUnited States Peak Season Henry Loevner and Steven Kanter Self Reliance Jake Johnson This Closeness Kit Zauhar Upon Entry Alejandro Rojas and Juan Sebastián Vásquez Spain War Pony Gina Gammell and Riley Keough United States
Documentary Spotlight TitleDirector(s)Production country A Disturbance in the Force Jeremy Coon and Steve KozakUnited States The Arc of Oblivion Ian Cheney Art for Everybody Miranda Yousef Being Mary Tyler Moore James Adolphus Black Barbie: A Documentary Lagueria Davis Citizen Sleuth Chris Kasick Confessions of a Good Samaritan Penny Lane Great Photo, Lovely Life Amanda Mustard and Rachel Beth Anderson The Herricanes Olivia Kuan The Lady Bird Diaries Dawn Porter Last Stop Larrimah Thomas Tancred The New Americans: Gaming a Revolution Ondi Timoner Periodical Lina Lyte Plioplyte Satan Wants You Steve J. Adams and Sean Horlor Canada This World Is Not My Own Petter Ringbom and Marquise Stillwell United States Who I Am Not Tünde Skovrán Romania, Canada, South Africa, Germany, United States Wild Life Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy ChinUnited States You Can Call Me Bill Alexandre O. Philippe
Global TitleDirector(s)Production country Ek Jagah Apni Ektara Collective India Kite Zo A: Leave the Bones Kaveh Nabatian Canada, Haiti My Drywall Cocoon Caroline Fioratti Brazil The Ordinaries Sophie Linnenbaum Germany Sister & Sister Kattia González Zúñiga Panama
Festival Favorites TitleDirector(s)Production country Fancy Dance Erica TremblayUnited States Food and Country Laura Gabbert Fremont Babak Jalali Going Varsity in Mariachi Alejandra Vasquez and Sam Osborn Is There Anybody Out There? Ella Glendining It's Only Life After All Alexandria Bombach Kokomo City D. Smith Little Richard: I Am Everything Lisa Cortés No Ordinary Campaign Christopher Burke Plan C Tracy Droz Tragos Polite Society Nida Manzoor United Kingdom Robert Irwin: A Desert of Pure Feeling Jennifer LaneUnited States The Starling Girl Laurel Parmet Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie Davis Guggenheim Theater Camp Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman
Midnighters TitleDirector(s)Production country Aberrance Baatar Batsukh Mongolia Brooklyn 45 Ted Geoghegan United States Furies Veronica Ngo Vietnam It Lives Inside Bishal Dutta United States Late Night with the Devil Colin and Cameron Cairnes Australia, United Arab Emirates Monolith Matt VeselyAustralia Talk to Me Danny and Michael Philippou The Wrath of Becky Matt Angel and Suzanne Coote United States
24 Beats Per Second TitleDirector(s)Production country 299 Queen Street West Sean Menard Canada The Zombies: Hung Up on a Dream Robert SchwartzmanUnited States Joan Baez: I Am a Noise Miri Navasky, Karen O'Connor, and Maeve O'Boyle Louder Than You Think Jed I. Rosenberg Love to Love You, Donna Summer Roger Ross Williams and Brooklyn Sudano Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes Sam Pollard and Ben Shapiro Rebelión José Luis Rugeles Gracia Colombia Revival69: The Concert That Rocked the World Ron Chapman United States
Visions TitleDirector(s)Production country The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster Bomani J. StoryUnited States Anhell69 Theo Montoya The Artifice Girl Franklin Ritch Caterpillar Liza Mandelup Chronicles of a Wandering Saint Tomás Gómez Bustillo Argentina, United States Molli and Max in the Future Michael Lukk Litwak United States Tobacco Barns Rocío Mesa Spain, United States Until Branches Bend Sophie Jarvis Canada, Switzerland With Love and a Major Organ Kim Albright Canada The Young Wife Tayarisha Poe United States
Television TV Premiere TitleShowrunner(s)Production countryNetwork A Small Light Joan Rater and Tony PhelanUnited States National Geographic American Born Chinese Kelvin Yu Disney+ Beef Lee Sung Jin Netflix The Big Door Prize David West Read Apple TV+ I'm a Virgo Boots Riley Amazon Prime Video Love & Death David E. Kelley HBO Max The Luckiest Guy in the World Steve James ESPN Lucky Hank Paul Lieberstein and Aaron Zelman AMC Mrs. Davis Tara Hernandez and Damon Lindelof Peacock Rabbit Hole Glenn Ficarra and John Requa Paramount+ Slip Zoe Lister-Jones The Roku Channel Swarm Donald Glover and Janine Nabers Amazon Prime Video
TV Spotlight TitleShowrunner(s)Production countryNetwork Blindspotting Rafael Casal United States Starz Demascus Tearrance Chisholm and Kirk Moore AMC Shatter Belt James Ward Byrkit Amazon Prime Video
Independent TV Pilot Competition TitleShowrunner(s)Production country A Guide to Not Dying Completely Alone Kevin YeeUnited States Chuchi & Adaliz Ashley Soto Paniagua Grown Jocko Sims Harbor Island Calvin Lee Reeder Marvin? Anton van der Linden and George Gottl Netherlands Metal Man Tomas PaisUnited States Notarize Me Erika Rankin
Short films Narrative shorts competition TitleDirectorProduction country Breaking Fast with a Coca Cola Amy Omar United States The Breakthrough Daniel Sinclair United States Closing Dynasty Lloyd Lee Choi United States Deliver Me Joecar Hanna United States Endless Sea Sam Shainberg United States The Fading (Les Battues) Rafaël Beauchamp Canada The Family Circus Andrew Fitzgerald United States Flores del Otro Patio Jorge Cadena Colombia, Switzerland Fuck Me, Richard Lucy McKendrick, Charles Polinger Australia, United States Graveyard of Horses Xiaoxuan Jiang China I Probably Shouldn't Be Telling You This Emma Weinswig United States It Turns Blue Shadi Karamroudi Iran The Key Rakan Mayasi Belgium, France, Palestine Leonetty Logan Jackson United States Never Fuggedaboutit Dustin Waldman United States Rest Stop Crystal Kayiza United States Scotty's Vag Chaconne Martin-Berkowicz United States Sisters of the Rotation Michel Zarazir, Gaby Zarazir Lebanon Slick Talk Courtney Loo, David Karp United States Take Me Home Liz Sargent United States
Documentary shorts competition TitleDirectorProduction country Ball People Scott Lazer United States El Bastón Nemo Allen Colombia, United States Birdsong Omi Zola Gupta, Sparsh Ahuja United Kingdom The Bus Sandra Reina Spain The Dads Luchina Fisher United States How to Rig an Election: The Racist History of the 1876 Presidential Contest Emily Kunstler, Sarah Kunstler United States Margie Soudek's Salt and Pepper Shakers Meredith Moore United States Mother of the Dawn Janell Shirtcliff United States Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó (Grandma & Grandma) Sean Wang United States Puffling Jessica Bishopp United Kingdom Roger J. Carter: Rebel Revolutionary Justin Fairweather United States Suddenly TV Roopa Gogineni Qatar Where the Sun Always Shines Rosie Baldwin United Kingdom
Animated shorts competition TitleDirectorProduction country Ashkasha Lara Maltz Argentina, Spain Beyond the Fringe Han Tang, Costanza Baj Spain Christopher at Sea Tom CJ Brown France, United Kingdom, United States The Debutante Elizabeth Hobbs United Kingdom Ice Merchants João Gonzalez Portugal Remove Hind Legs Before Consumption Lukas Wind, Finn Meisner, Leslie Herzi Switzerland Sandwich Cat David Fidalgo Spain Spring Roll Dream Mai Vu United Kingdom Sprout Zora Kovac United States A Tiny Man Aude David, Mikaël Gaudin France
Midnight shorts competition TitleDirectorProduction country Dead Enders Fidel Ruiz-Healy, Tyler Walker United States Every House is Haunted Bryce McGuire United States The Flute Nick Roney Ireland, United States Kodama Brian M Tang United States The Mundanes Nicole Daddona United States Pennies from Heaven Sandy Honig United States Pussy Love Linda Krauss Germany Run Alex Prager United States Vibrator Girl Kara Strait United States We Forgot About the Zombies Chris McInroy United States You're Not Home Derek Ugochukwu Ireland
Texas shorts competition TitleDirectorProduction country Breaking Silence Amy Bench, Annie Silverstein United States Call Me Mommy Haley Alea Erickson, Taylor Washington United States La Cosecha Samuel Díaz Fernández United States Dressed Bethiael Alemayoh United States Exit 238 Henry Davis United States Eyestring Javier Devitt Argentina, United States Funny Face Jude Hope Harris United States When You Left Me on That Boulevard Kayla Abuda Galang United States Wüm Anna Margaret Hollyman United States
Awards The following awards were presented at the festival:
Grand Jury Narrative Feature Competition Jury Award: Raging Grace by Paris Zarcilla Documentary Feature Competition Jury Award: Angel Applicant by Ken August Meyer Narrative Short Competition Jury Award: It Turns Blue by Shadi Karamroudi Narrative Short Competition Special Jury Award: Flores del Otro Patio by Jorge Cadena Documentary Short Competition Jury Award: Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó by Sean Wang Documentary Short Competition Special Jury Award: Suddenly TV by Roopa Gogineni Midnight Shorts Competition Jury Award: The Flute by Nick Roney Midnight Shorts Competition Special Jury Award: Pennies from Heaven by Sandy Honig Animated Short Competition Jury Award: The Debutante by Elizabeth Hobbs Music Video Competition Jury Award: Amanda Sum – "Different Than Before" by Mayumi Yoshida Music Video Competition Special Jury Award: Residente featuring Ibeyi – "This Is Not America" by Grégory Ohrel Texas Short Competition Jury Award: Breaking Silence by Amy Bench and Annie Silverstein Texas Short Competition Special Jury Award: When You Left Me On That Boulevard by Kayla Abuda Galang TV Pilot Competition Jury Award: Grown by Jocko Sims TV Pilot Competition Special Jury Award for Outstanding Performance: Josh Fadem in Harbor Island Janet Pierson Champion Award: Lizzie Shapiro Louis Black "Lone Star" Award: The Lady Bird Diaries by Dawn Porter Louis Black "Lone Star" Award Special Jury Award: The Herricanes by Olivia Kuan Thunderbird Rising Award: Paris Zarcilla for Raging Grace Thunderbird Rising Special Award: Brittany Snow for Parachute The Hope Award: Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie by Davis Guggenheim