Film-Forward

Not an easy film to watch, this dark satire is challenging, violent, gruesome, and maybe even necessary.

The film nimbly becomes a thriller without shedding its established rhythm. Before you know it, the tone has turned uncomfortably ominous. 

Andrea Riseborough, who is practically a regular at SXSW, has arguably never been better.

Director Alison Otto exposes the double life of an unassuming middle-aged couple responsible for the theft of a Willem de Kooning painting, now estimated to be worth $160 million.

What matters is the fight itself, and not just the results.

Werner Herzog splashes much-needed cold water on the idea that humans can simply colonize another planet if/when Earth becomes uninhabitable.

A claustrophobic sense of entrapment pervades Hany Abu-Assad’s Palestine-based political thriller.

Watching the ways the prison-bound relationships vary in their complications, compromises, and resolutions is one of the more moving aspects of director Sebastian Meise’s film.

The annual event offers a spotlight on women directors and coming-of-age stories, a festival staple.