SXSW 2025: 10 Films to Catch at This Year’s Festival

SXSW has once again unveiled a comprehensive and wide-ranging selection of film and TV selections for this year’s festival.

From star-studded Hollywood premieres to a thrilling collection of genre titles, pop culture documentaries, TV premieres, and more, the SXSW Film & TV Festival constantly delivers an exciting and unexpected lineup of new releases.

With that in mind, below are 10 features we’re most excited to see at this year’s festival, including the awkward comedy Friendship (starring Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd), the world premiere of the horror-comedy Clown in a Cornfield, to documentaries on UFOs, Marc Maron, and more.

The SXSW Film & TV Festival runs from March 7-15 in Austin, Texas. Festival passes and the complete schedule are available here.

$Positions

If Safdie Brothers films like Uncut Gems and Good Time weren’t quite stressful enough for you, may be recommend Brandon Daley’s $Positions? The film stars Mike Kunicki as Mike Alvarado, a blue-collar Midwesterner who puts his life savings into a volatile cryptocurrency, leading to 97 minutes of the worst life decisions possible.

Clown in a Cornfield

Based on Adam Cesare’s killer horror novel, Clown in a Cornfield is exactly what it sounds like; teens in a secluded small American town are stalked by a mysterious masked murder known as Frendo the Clown. Directed by Eli Craig (Tucker and Dale vs. Evil), except a potent mix of laughs and gore as Frendo finally makes his way to the big screen.

New Jack Fury

Designed as a long-lost ’80s cable Movie of the Week (complete with commercial breaks), New Jack Fury is a deliberately low-fi action/comedy hybrid that feels like a game of Double Dragon come to life. With characters that may or not be based off of Michael Jackson and Rick James thrown in the mix, New Jack Fury is destined to blow the roof off its SXSW world premiere.

Good Boy

Good Boy has a thrilling premise: Ben Leonberg’s feature is a horror film centered around a family dog, who happens to be the only one who can see the mysterious entities putting the family at risk. As long as nothing bad happens to the proverbial good boy we’re all in on this inventive twist on the haunted house trope.

Ash

Visionary musician and filmmaker Flying Lotus directs, soundtracks, and stars in this sci-fi tale about a woman investing the mysterious deaths of her shipmates aboard a space station. With Neill Blomkamp (District 9) serving as Executive Producer, Ash is one of the most anticipated films set to debut at this year’s festival.

Friendship

Wildly praised after its premiere at TIFF this past fall, Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd star in this comedy about an awkward man trying to make friends with his new neighbour. Two of the funniest comedians in our time in a modern send-up of What About Bob? It would be hard to be more excited for this one.

O’Dessa

It can be easy for your eyes to glaze over when combing through a film festival guide, but a “post-apocalyptic rock drama” sure stands out from the pack. Stranger Things star Sadie Sink plays the title character, a farm girl who “embarks on an epic quest to recover a cherished family heirloom in the post-apocalyptic future.”

Are We Good?

Lock the gates! Famed podcaster and comedian Marc Maron gets the documentary treatment in a film that follows Maron creating new stand-up material in the aftermath of the tragic death of his partner Lynn Shelton. Maron will also participate in a SXSW Featured Session with W. Kamau Bell on March 12 (and hopefully, jump one one of the many SXSW comedy showcases that week).

Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror

Get ready to do the Time Warp again! 40 years after its theatrical release, The Rocky Horror Picture Show phenomenon gets a documentary deep dive from director Linus O’Brien. Featuring rare interview with the cast including creator Richard O’Brien, Tim Curry, and Susan Sarandon, this is mandatory viewing for anyone who ever came home with rice in their hair after a midnight screening of the beloved cult classic.

The Age of Disclosure

According to the 34 senior members of the U.S. Government, military, and intelligence community interviewed in this documentary, UFOs and non-alien life not only exist, but the government has been secretly concealing their existence for 80 years. The Age of Disclosure promises to be a mind-blowing exposé of one of the most closely-guarded secrets in modern history.

The SXSW Film & TV Festival runs from March 7-15 in Austin, Texas. Festival passes and the complete schedule are available here.