A
is for Ashley Eakin, the writer-director of the award-winning short, "Single,” which is the relatable anti-rom-com we all need right now.
Pictured to left: "Single" / Courtesy of SXSW
B
Is for basic—the Internet slang that inspired Chelsea Devantez to write and direct her dark comedy, “Basic,” which explores “the insecure lil’ ho in all of us.”
Pictured to right: "Basic" / Courtesy of SXSW
C
Is for community, the heart of Paul Hairston’s “Lions in the Corner,” a short film about a club called Streetbeefs that aims to decrease gun and knife violence in a small Virginia town.
Pictured to left: "Lions in the Corner" / Courtesy of SXSW
D
Is for dogs, the stars of Travis Wood's satirical short, "Affurmative Action."
Pictured to right: "Affurmative Action" / Courtesy of SXSW
E
Is for editors, the talented people who stitch together the films we love. Claire Fieschi (SELFIE) and Kati Skelton (“The Voice in Your Head”) are just a few of the many wonderful editors behind the films at SXSW.
Pictured to left: SELFIE / Courtesy of SXSW
F
Is for fierce. Betye Saar’s art in Christine Turner’s “Betye Saar: Taking Care of Business” and the transgender coming out stories in Karen Bernstein’s I’m Gonna Make You Love Me inspire us to be unapologetic about who we are.
Pictured to right: I'm Gonna Make You Love Me / Courtesy of SXSW
G
Is for our global film community. Features Le Choc du Futur and Gunpowder Heart, and short films “Reminiscences of the Green Revolution,” “Summer Hit,” and “Call Center Blues” portray perspectives from many different countries. They remind us that no matter what, we are all connected by our shared human experiences.
Pictured to left: Gunpowder Heart / Courtesy of SXSW
H
Is for horror. Find thrills in the most unexpected of places in Carlyn Hudson’s “Waffle,” Jay Cheel’s Cursed Films, and Motherland: Fort Salem.
Pictured to right: "Waffle" / Courtesy of SXSW
I
Is for intergenerational healing. Carol Nguyen’s “No Crying at the Dinner Table” features intimate, cathartic interviews with Carol's own family as they discuss all the things they left previously unsaid.
Pictured to left: "No Crying at the Dinner Table" / Courtesy of SXSW
J
Is for justice, something that Abigail Goldman, the protagonist of Kevin Staake’s “Dieorama,” fights for as a criminal investigator. By day, at least. By night, Abigail dreams up events inspired by her work and models them into miniature dioramas.
Pictured to right: "Dieorama" / Courtesy of SXSW
K
Is for kindness. Check out Charlie Tyrell’s “Broken Orchestra” and witness a community’s efforts to provide music students with instruments amidst budget cuts.
Pictured to left: "Broken Orchestra" / Courtesy of SXSW
L
Is for love and loss, as explored by the powerful stories of Ingrid Haas’ “Still Wylde,” Matt Riddlehoover’s My Darling Vivian, Camila Urrutia’s Gunpowder Heart, and Daniel Antebi’s "SOFT."
Pictured to right: "Still Wylde" / Courtesy of SXSW
M
Is for music. Watch Marc Collin’s Le Choc du Futur for late-'70s electro-pop and Addison Wright’s “Hiplet: Because We Can” for classical-hip-hop fusion.
Pictured to left: "Hiplet: Because We Can" / Courtesy of SXSW
N
Is for neighborhood. While Mina Mileva and Vesela Kazakova’s Cat in the Wall and Jan Vejnar’s “Figurant” portray very different neighborhoods, they both satirize issues of class and culture in the global society we live in.
Pictured to right: Cat in the Wall / Courtesy of SXSW
O
Is for orchestration. We’d like to shout out a few of the underrepped composers that crafted the music behind a few of our favorite films: Midori Hirano (“Mizuko”), Devon C. Johnson (“Face to Face Time”), Ariel Marx (“Blocks”), and Sonal Aggarwal (“A Period Piece”).
Pictured to left: "A Period Piece" / Courtesy of SXSW
P
Is for parents, the characters at the forefront of Casey Wilson’s “Daddio,” Rachel Harrison Gordon’s “Broken Bird,” Daniel Newell Kaufman’s “Runon,” and Bridget Moloney’s “Blocks.”
Pictured to right: "Blocks" / Courtesy of SXSW
Q
Is for quilting, the competitive sport that attracts tens of thousands of people to one small Kentucky town every year. Join the festivities in Olivia Loomis Merrion’s “Quilt Fever.”
Pictured to left: "Quilt Fever" / Courtesy of SXSW
R
Is for reality. Escape and step into a virtual reality in Kate Cox’s “Vert,” where a couple married for 20 years transforms into their “ideal selves." If you’re still hungry for more sci-fi, watch Tales From the Loop and head to a small town that exists above a mysterious reality-bending machine.
Pictured to right: Tales from the Loop / Courtesy of SXSW
S
Is for sex. Nicole Bazuin’s “Modern Whore,” Matthew Puccini’s “Dirty,” and Shuchi Talati’s “A Period Piece,” break barriers with their intersectional perspectives on sex and all the stigmas that surround it.
Pictured to left: "Dirty" / Courtesy of SXSW
T
Is for technology, the blessing and the curse that kicks off the events in the Black Mirror-esque SELFIE, Alex Lee Moyer’s TFW NO GF, and Izzy Shill’s “Face to Face Time.”
Pictured to right: TFW NO GF / Courtesy of SXSW
U
Is for uprising and uniting with others—powerful themes that spark the action of Dean Colin Marcial’s historical romantic drama, “Reminiscences of the Green Revolution.”
Pictured to left: "Reminiscences of the Green Revolution" / Courtesy of SXSW
V
Is for vibrant visuals. In film, we have colorists to thank for the dazzling color palettes we see on screen. Hats off to the colorists behind the Amazon x SXSW films, like Roslyn di Sisto and Kassi Bellamy (who worked on “Modern Whore”) and Lindsey Mazur (who worked on “Hiplet: Because We Can”).
Pictured to right: "Modern Whore" / Courtesy of SXSW
W
Is for wedding. Watch the best man struggle to keep face under pressure at his brother's wedding in Rhys Marc Jones’ "Father of the Bride."
Pictured to left: "Father of the Bride" / Courtesy of SXSW
X
Is for xenophobia, which is what Geeta Gandbhir’s “Call Center Blues” combats through its portrayal of United States deportees who struggle to rebuild their lives in Tijuana, Mexico.
Pictured to right: "Call Center Blues" / Courtesy of SXSW
Y
Is for young love. Berthold Wahjudi’s "Summer Hit" reminds us of all the butterflies we felt when we fell in love—and confessed our love—for the very first time.
Pictured to left: "Summer Hit" / Courtesy of SXSW
Z
is for Zoya To, Joyce Zhao, and Melissa Garvin, the additional animators of Katelyn Rebelo and Kira Dane's gorgeously animated short, "Mizuko.”
Pictured to right: "Mizuko" / Courtesy of SXSW
