SXSW 2021 Wrap-Up: Highlights, Standouts, and Awards as the Texas Fest Flourishes Amidst Virtual Presentation


Covid-19 has done a number on the arts since it landed in America; but, if one thing must be said, it’s that the arts have flourished, finding new and exciting ways to showcase their material. 

This year’s SXSW was opened up virtually, allowing hundreds of filmmakers, actors, screenwriters, editors, and more to showcase their works (not to mention the festival’s other showcases, featuring music, keynote speakers, conferences, and more). Full-length narrative features, narrative shorts, documentaries (and their accompanying shorts), animation, festival favorites, and the heralded ‘Midnighters’ showing lined the festival. And though this was The Movie Buff’s first time covering SXSW, we couldn’t help but be taken in by the enormity of it all, and how much the festival does for the film community. 

At The Movie Buff, we were proud to be able to bring you coverage from the festival, and, as much fun as it was, SXSW has ended, giving way to final thoughts and take-a-ways. Below, we present our festival wrap-up, including some of our favorite films, a capsule review of one of “Sasquatch” (a three-episode docuseries premiering this April on Hulu) and a highlight on the festival’s Jury Awards. Thanks to all who followed our coverage; comments are welcome following the article. 

*You can find all of our SXSW 2021 coverage here.

‘Sasquatch’ 

“Sasquatch,” which premiered as part of the ‘Episodic Premiere’ section at SXSW, is a crazy ride. It’s a three-episode docuseries premiering on Hulu on April 20th, sort-of fitting with the inclusion of the marijuana aspect. In this capsule review, I’ll spoil as little as possible, as we’ll be posting a more in-depth review next month. 

“Sasquatch” is a true crime story with a twist; as investigative journalist David Holthouse looks into a 25-year-old triple homicide in Mendocino County, California. The reason why it’s so interesting is because, as Holthouse remembers it, someone came into a cabin and says he found three bodies that were killed by Bigfoot. 

Fans of this mythical creature wanting to learn how exactly Bigfoot comes into play in regard to a very well-researched docuseries will be pleased by the answers. This is especially the case, as it focuses most strongly on this in “Sasquatch’s” first episode. That first episode is my favourite of the three, as we meet oddball characters and learn about their thoughts of Sasquatch, and their interest in him is obvious; as, during these interviews, we can see the Sasquatch memorabilia that decorates their homes. 

The second and third episodes are strong as well, as they shift focus to tell us more about the area where the murders took place—in pot country, California. Learning about the politics within the area and how the citizens there made their living during these times is intriguing. As well, the way investigative journalist Holthouse seems to hit dead-end after dead-end in his journey of learning what happened is believable. There are great layers that make us wonder if he’s simply misremembering the events, and he also doubts himself as well. 

Holthouse is a fascinating vessel to tell this story as it’s apparent he’s great at his job; and the way director Joshua Rofé tells us all this information by focusing on important information during each episode is strong. Sasquatch fans will find satisfaction here, and the true crime junkies will be pleased, too. 

Overall grade: B+

Favorite Films of the Festival

“Paul Dood’s Deadly Lunch Break” is just a delight as a man plans to get his revenge on five people after they make him late for an audition for a national talent show. The satire, comedy, and excessive violence is exactly my taste and I sincerely hope this becomes a cult classic. (Read our review)

“Witch Hunt” combines impressive commentary following an alternate America where witches are real and witchcraft is illegal. It’s why I love genre film as it nailed the execution for me, with some truly compelling characters to boot. (Read our review)

“Under the Volcano” is a documentary I loved, as I was totally entertained learning music history through the musicians at AIR Studios Montserrat, headed by music producer George Martin. The film had me under its spell as we see iconic band after iconic band make music here. (Read our review)

“Don’t Peek” is my favorite short out of the ‘Midnight Shorts Competition. I loved “The Moogai” and “Stuffed,” too, but “Don’t Peek” is a great creepy six minutes with no dialogue, only eerie sounds as a girl plays a video game on her bed, and then a creature from the game wants to be let out of it. It’s a bit simplistic, sure, but man it’s great. (Read our review)

“Squeegee” is my favorite from the ‘Narrative Shorts Competition’ for the sheer hilarity of it as a CEO and a window washer meet for an erotic rendezvous between the glass on her floor. I laughed consistently throughout this, and one visual aspect with how the filmmakers use the rope is absolutely brilliant. (Read our review)

“How it Ends” is as close as you can get to a perfect movie. It has an amazing cast, leads that have insanely good chemistry, and an utterly intriguing sci-fi tone. The movie industry doesn’t often take a lot of risks, and part of me is surprised this movie got made. “How It Ends” probably won’t bring in a lot of money, but such a superb film doesn’t exactly need to. It can just be itself. (Read our review)

“Violet” was Justine Bateman’s directorial debut, and boy, it was a good one. Certainly the most indie of the movies I saw, “Violet” didn’t pull its punches when it came to challenging the audience’s mindset. It was a film that really made me think, and for me it was a highlight of the festival. (Read our review)

“Kid Candidate.” I’m not a huge fan of documentaries, but “Kid Candidate” didn’t really feel like one. The editing was chaotic and fast-paced, in direct contrast to most docs around. And with an inspiring message about the power of the youth to boot, “Kid Candidate” delivered a truly great film at the SXSW Film Festival. (Read our review)

“Executive Order” is a dystopian film that jars you to the core because at the end of the day, it doesn’t feel dystopian at all. It deals with hard subjects such as hatred of persons of color, while presenting the material in a digestible way. It’s a hard watch—as it should be—and leaves more questions than answers. With great acting and keen awareness, this was one of my favorites at SXSW. (Read our review) 

“The Box” was part of the the ‘Documentary Shorts’ section, and was one of the more powerful doc shorts I’ve seen in some time. It describes the effect of solitary confinement on prisoners, told from their point of view, and it’s truly horrifying what many go through. Between lasting psychological damage and the ludicrously-rationalized reasons that often land them there, “The Box” opened my eyes and made me think. (Read our review)

“The Oxy Kingpins” is essential viewing for anyone that wants to analyze the drug war from any kind of critical standpoint. It shows in powerful detail how several members of Big Pharma purposefully addicted millions of Americans to OxyContin and have yet to answer for it in any kind of serious consequence. It shines a light on the severe ramifications of white collar fraud, as well as the epidemiology of America’s opioid crisis from its genesis. (Read our review)

SXSW Film Festival Award-Winners

Below we list all the winners from the 2021 SXSW Film Festival. You can see the information for yourself by visiting https://www.sxsw.com/festivals/film-awards/#2021.

‘Narrative Feature Competition’ 

Winner—“The Fallout” (dir. Meghan Park)

Special Jury Recognition for Multi-hypenate Storyteller—“I’m Fine (Thanks for Asking)” (dirs. Kelley Kali and Angelique Molina) 

Special Jury Consideration for Breakthrough Performance—“Island” (dir. Martin Edralin, actor Rogelio Balagtas)

Documentary Feature Competition 

Winner—“Lilly Topples the World” (dir. Jeremy Workman) (Read our review)

Special Jury Recognition for Exceptional Intimacy in Storytelling—“Introducing, Selma Blair” (dir. Rachel Fleit)

Special Jury Recognition for Humanity in Social Action—“Not Going Quietly” (dir. Nicholas Bruckman)

Short Film Grand Jury Awards

Narrative Shorts

Winner—“Play it Safe” (dir. Mitch Kalisa) (Read our review)

Special Jury Recognition for Visionary Storytelling—“Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma” (dirs. Topaz Jones, rubberband)

Special Jury Recognition for Directing—“Like the Ones I Used to Know” (dir. Annie St-Pierre)

Documentary Shorts

Winner—“Águilas” (dirs. Kristy Guevara-Flanagan and Maite Zubiaurre)

Special Jury Recognition for Courage—“Red Taxi” (dir. anonymous)

Special Jury Recognition for Poetry—“I Ran From It and Was Still in It” (dir. Darol Olu Kae)

Midnight Shorts

Winner—“The Moogai” (dir. Jon Bell) (Read our review)

Special Jury Recognition for Bold Vision—“Stuffed” (dir. Theo Rhys)

Animated Shorts

Winner—“Nuevo Rico” (dir Kristian Mercado) (Read our review)

Special Jury Recognition for Innovation—“KKUM” (dir. Kang Min Kim)

Special Jury Recognition for Storytelling—“Your Own Bullshit” (dir. Daria Kopiec)

Music Videos 

Winner—Madame Ghandi, “Waiting for Me” (dir. Misha Ghose)

Special Jury Recognition for How the Hell Did They Do That?!—Waze & Odyssey, George Michael, Mary J. Blige, & Tommy Theo, “Always” (dir. Nelson de Castro)

Special Jury Recognition for Pure Joy—Kuricorder Quartet, “Southpaw” (dir. Sawako Kabuki)

Texas Shorts

Winner—“Summer Animals” (dir. Haley Elizabeth Anderson)

Special Jury Recognition for Vision—“O Black Hole!” (dir. Renee Zhan)

Texas High School Shorts

Winner—“A Really Dark Comedy” (dir. Manasi Ughadmathe)

Special Jury Recognition for Directing—“Beyond the Model” (dir. Jessica Lin)

Episodic Pilot Competition 

Winner—“4 Feet High” (dirs. Maria Belen Poncio and Rosario Perazolo Masjoan)

Special Jury Recognition for Best Duo—“Pretend Partners” (dir. Ron Najor)

Poster Design Competition 

Winner—Bob Moses feat. ZHU, “Desire” (Creative Dir. Owen Brown, Art Dir. and Illustrator Benjámin Kalászi, Graphic Designer Diego L. Rodríguez [Paramoidme])

Special Jury Recognition—“The Box” (Designers: James Burns and Shal Ngo, Aleksander Walijewski)

Title Design Competition

Winner—“The Queen’s Gambit Title Sequence” (Designer: Saskia Marka)

Special Jury Recognition—“Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn Title Sequence” (Designer: Michael Riley)

Virtual Cinema Competition

Winner—“Samsara” (dir. Huang Hsin-Chien)

Special Jury Recognition for Immersive Journalism—“Reeducated” (dir. Sam Wolson)

Brightcove Illumination Award—“The Fallout” (dir. Meghan Park)

Adam Yauch Hörnblowér Award—Delia Derbyshire, “The Myths and the Legendary Tapes” (dir. Caroline Catz) 

Adobe Editing Award—“R#J” (dir. Lam Nguyen)

Final Draft Screenwriters Award—“Paul Dood’s Deadly Lunch Break” (Writers: Brook Driver, Matt White, and Nick Gillespie)

Louis Black ‘Lone Star’ Award—“Without Getting Caught or Killed” (dirs. Tamara Saviano and Paul Whitfield)

ZEISS Cinematography Award—“Gaia” (Cinematographer: Jorrie van der Walt)

Mailchimp Support the Shorts Award—“Chuj Boys of Summer” (dir. Max Walker-Silverman)

Mailchimp Support the Shorts Special Jury Recognition—“Like the Ones I Used to Know” (dir. Annie St-Pierre)

Mailchimp Support the Shorts Special Jury Recognition—“Malignant” (dirs. Morgan Bond and Nickolas Grisham)

*article completed by Mark Ziobro, Daniel Prinn, and Gryphon Magnus.