2008 SXSW Film Festival Line-Up Announced
By Peter Sciretta/Feb. 4, 2008 11:36 pm EST
SXSW Announces Lineup for 15th Film Festival
‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall,’ ‘Shine A Light,’ ‘Stop-Loss’ Among Titles Included
Austin, TX †February 5, 2008 †The 15th annual South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference & Festival is thrilled to announce the complete lineup of feature films slated to screen at the event, March 7-15, in Austin, TX. Over the course of nine days, 113 features will screen at the festival, with 64 of those having their world premieres at SXSW 2008. Among the high-profile films added to the festival’s “Spotlight Premieres” category are: Kimberly Peirce’s Stop-Loss, Nicholas Stoller’s Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Martin Scorsese’s Shine A Light, Michael Almereyda’s New Orleans Mon Amour, Joe Swanberg & Greta Gerwig’s Nights and Weekends, Jay & Mark Duplass’ Baghead, Liz Mermin’s Shot In Bombay, Nanette Burstein’s American Teen, Aaron Rose & Joshua Leonard’s Beautiful Losers, Morgan Spurlock’s Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?, and the festival’s Closing Night Film, Stephen Walker’s documentary Young@Heart. They join previously announced titles such as Opening Night Film 21, as well as Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, Dreams With Sharp Teeth, Then She Found Me, and Run, Fat Boy, Run.
“I think this year’s lineup represents our current world of extremes,” said SXSW Film Festival Producer Matt Dentler. “The films we found are both funny and emotional, both indie and Hollywood, both entertaining and political, both real and magical. It’s a well-rounded slate of films, from both veteran masters and promising newcomers.”
The festival’s main competition categories will once again find eight Narrative Features and eight Documentary Features, vying for their respective Grand Jury Prizes. The Narrative Feature Competition includes: Explicit Ills, directed by Mark Webber; The Lost Coast, directed by Gabriel Fleming; My Effortless Brilliance, directed by Lynn Shelton; Older Than America, directed by Georgina Lightning; Paper Covers Rock, directed by Joe Maggio; Up With Me, directed by Greg Takoudes; Wellness, directed by Jake Mahaffy; and Yeast, directed by Mary Bronstein. The Documentary Feature Competition includes: Bulletproof Salesman, directed by Michael Tucker & Petra Epperlein; FrontRunners, directed by Caroline Suh; Full Battle Rattle, directed by Jesse Moss & Tony Gerber; The Matador, directed by Stephen Higgins & Nina Gilden Seavey; Sex Positive, directed by Daryl Wein; Some Assembly Required, directed by Dori Berinstein; They Killed Sister Dorothy, directed by Daniel Junge; and We Are Wizards, directed by Josh Koury.
The complete lineup, by section and with synopsis descriptions, follows below. The lineup of short films, as well as panels and guest speakers, will be announced next week. Visit http://sxsw.com/film for more information and updates. Press inquiries should be sent to Elizabeth@sxsw.com.
