The SXSW Film Festival has announced the first slate of films for its 32nd edition, running March 7–14 in Austin. This lineup includes new films starring Mexican actors Gael García Bernal and Eiza González, and Jenna Ortega, of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, alongside an exciting mix of Latin American and U.S. titles.
García Bernal stars in Holland, an unpredictable thriller by Mimi Cave. The film, also featuring Nicole Kidman, Matthew Macfadyen, and Jude Hill, follows a teacher whose seemingly idyllic life with her husband in Holland, Michigan, unravels into a twisted tale of secrets and suspicion.
Eiza González leads Flying Lotus’ Ash, an American science-fiction horror-thriller. The story centers on a woman who awakens on a distant planet to find the crew of her space station brutally killed. Her investigation triggers a terrifying chain of events.
Jenna Ortega stars alongside Paul Rudd in Alex Scharfman’s comedy-horror Death of a Unicorn. The film follows a father and daughter who accidentally hit and kill a unicorn on their way to a weekend retreat, where his billionaire boss seeks to exploit the creature's miraculous properties.
Holland, Ash, and Death of a Unicorn will have their world premieres in the prestigious Headliner section, known for showcasing red-carpet events with major and rising talents in cinema.
The Documentary Spotlight section will include two U.S. Latinx films premiering at SXSW. ASCO: Without Permission by Travis Gutiérrez Senger celebrates the trailblazing Chicano art group ASCO, reimagining art and cinema through a genre-defying lens. Uvalde Mom by Anayansi Prado chronicles a mother’s fight for justice following a school mass shooting in Texas, highlighting a community’s battle against systemic neglect.
In the Global section, the Mexican comedy Corina, directed by Urzula Barba Hopfner and starring Naian González Norvind, will have its U.S. premiere. The film tells the story of a woman with agoraphobia, who must confront her fears to save her job.
Three Latino music films will have their world premieres in the 24 Beats Per Second section. The Dominican feature 42nd Street by José María Cabral delves into the lives of artists and dancers in Santo Domingo, clashing with societal norms in a vibrant urban counter-culture. La Salsa Vive by Juan Carvajal is a documentary on Afro-Cuban music, tracing its roots from New York to Cali, Colombia, the global salsa capital. Selena y Los Dinos by Isabel Castro explores the life and legacy of Tejano music icon Selena Quintanilla through archival footage and interviews.
In the Narrative Short Competition, the U.S. Latinx short Entre Tormentas by Fran Zayas follows a grieving man’s quest to recover his brother’s remains after a hurricane ravages his hometown. The Venezuelan documentary Looking for a Donkey by Juan Vicente Manrique, about two firefighters imprisoned for filming a donkey, will have its U.S. premiere in the Documentary Short competition. Also in this section, The Long Valley by Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck and Robert Machoian offers a meditation on the Salinas Valley, blending dreams and reality in one of California’s most productive agricultural regions.
Two Latinx shorts will debut in the Texas Shorts competition. Red Sands by Romina Cenisi explores the lives of Mexican-American off-roaders in West Texas, while Sweetbriar by Danny Rivera serves as a hybrid love letter to mothers, featuring the director’s own mother preparing to host her visiting queer son.
Finally, the Mexican video Sonidos de Bosque for Laboratorios Moreno, directed by Alejandro Espinosa, will compete in the Music Video competition.
