SXSW

Ahead of its US release on June 5th, the new action-comedy Spy had a special unofficial world premiere at SXSW tonight, with actors Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham, Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale joining writer/director Paul Feig to show off the film to the Austin, Texas crowd. The room was filled with laughter from start to…

The Iris’ Larry Heath briefly caught up with Aussie actor Ben Mendelsohn while on the Red Carpet at the North American premiere of his new film Lost River, directed by Ryan Gosling. Ben talks about getting to know Ryan on The Place Beyond The Pines, leading to him being a part of this project, the experiences of…

Earlier tonight, the upcoming Action-Comedy Spy, reuniting Melissa McCarthy and Australia’s Rose Byrne with Bridesmaids director Paul Feig, premiered at SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas. We were lucky enough to be on the red carpet at the screening, and briefly caught up with star Melissa McCarthy to talk about being an action star in…

“I’m the luckiest human being in the world,” says Eugene ‘Gene’ Cernan. In December 1972, he was the commander of the Apollo 17 mission, the final moon landing. Leaving behind his footprints and his daughter’s initials in the dust, Cernan returned to Earth. From this simple and yet extraordinary premise, director Mark Craig weaves together Cernan’s story, from his…

Boxeadora, a short 16-minute documentary by American filmmaker Meg Smaker, starts with a brief foreword, “Since Castro’s revolution, Cuba has won more Olympic Gold Medals in boxing than any other country in the world”. Pretty mean feat for a small country, considering most of their opponents would be from nations with a lot more financial backing in sports….

John Hughes’ iconic coming-of-age film The Breakfast Club celebrates its 30th anniversary this year and to celebrate the release of a completely restored version of the movie, Universal and SXSW Film hosted the World Premiere and a special Q&A session with two of the movie’s stars, Molly Ringwald and Ally Sheedy. The Paramount Theatre was crammed early with fans of the…

Andrew Droz Palermo is no stranger to Austin, bringing and being a part of films premiering at the SXSW Film Festival in the past. This year however, he makes his narrative feature directorial debut with One & Two, a film revolving around a family unit isolated and mysterious, and the children of which who demonstrate special gifts….

How do you look at someone that’s committed a reprehensible act? Can they be forgiven, are they the devil and what do you do if they’ve achieved great success prior to this event? These are the sorts of questions that are raised in the documentary short, unmappable, which is about Denis Wood. The film is…

Ned Rifle is the final instalment in an American, satirical trilogy by writer and director, Hal Hartley. It fails to stand up as its own separate film and it is difficult for newcomers to follow (as Hartley gives little away and it has been so long between the release of this and the earlier instalments,…

For the love of food. For Grace is a documentary that follows world-acclaimed chef, Curtis Duffy as he embarks on a journey to open his dream restaurant called Grace. The film is an insightful look at the highs, lows and the meticulous and determined attention-to-detail that is required in opening a fine dining establishment. It…

Two young women from two continents live apart for a quarter of a century. Twinsters is the story of these two identical twin sisters who were separated at birth, adopted by different families and their subsequent reunion. This documentary is heart-warming, emotional and unique. In February 2013 LA-based actress, Sam Futerman received an odd Facebook…

To the untrained eye, Petting Zoo presents itself as your typical coming-of-age story told through the perspective of a pregnant teenager – a trope that has been documented countless times in today’s cinema. However, this film explores the issue of teenage pregnancy through an impoverished Texan youth, delivering a perspective that is separated entirely from…

It’s not a new concept by any means, but films about artificial intelligence can still cut deep into the human psyche. Ex Machina is no different – following the narrative of Caleb, a computer programmer who wins a mysterious competition at his work, and is rewarded with a week long stay in the secluded and…

A surprise appearance from Eva Mendes and a wedding proposal helped make for a memorable Q&A at the SXSW Film Festival tonight following the North American Premiere of Ryan Gosling’s film Lost River. Following a disappointing response to actor Ryan Gosling’s directorial debut at Cannes last year, it proved to resonate better with American audiences…

In January 2013 musician, Wilko Johnson was told he had ten months to live. In The Ecstasy of Wilko Johnson, English filmmaker Julien Temple (The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle, The Filth & The Fury) chronicles Johnson’s humble farewell tour and album as well as how the patient refuses chemotherapy treatment in order to live…

It’s just two days until the SXSW Film Festival kicks off in Austin, Texas – and it’s hard to know where to begin with the absolutely incredible lineup that – as usual – fills its program. Last year, both Boyhood and The Grand Budapest Hotel had premiere screenings at the festival and went on to win a myriad…

Ahead of its screening as part of SXSW this week, we chat to the director of Clipping.‘s music video “Body and Blood”, Patrick Kennelly. Patrick takes us through the collaborative processes, artistic references and his favourite parts of the shoot. the AU review then gets stuck into specifics with Patrick, talking camera gear, challenges and post-production…

It’s exactly a week until the SXSW Film Festival kicks off in Austin, Texas – and it’s hard to know where to begin with the absolutely incredible lineup that – as usual – fills its program. Last year, both Boyhood and The Grand Budapest Hotel had premiere screenings at the festival and went on to win a…

The Supper Suite by STK presented by David Manning’s A-List Communications is set to hit up SXSW this month in Austin, Texas. This year’s events include dinners and cocktail receptions celebrating official SXSW films: Hello, My Name Is Doris, starring Sally Field, Max Greenfield, Beth Behrs, Wendi Mclendon-Covey, Stephen Root, Elizabeth Reaser, Jack Antonoff, Natasha Lyonne,…

Alex Garland, writer of 28 Days Later and Sunshine, makes his directorial debut with the stylish and cerebral thriller, EX MACHINA. Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson), a programmer at an internet-search giant, wins a competition to spend a week at the private mountain estate of the company’s brilliant and reclusive CEO, Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac). Upon…

Don’t worry The Breakfast Club, we haven’t forgotten about you. In fact, the team over at South By Southwest (SXSW) have decided to make you look even nicer than you already are, splashing in a pop of colour. That’s right, a newly remastered version of the iconic The Breakfast Club will be screening this year…

American-Korean film Ktown Cowboys has released their trailer in anticipation to its world premiere at SXSW on March 15 at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin. Originally started as a web series on YouTube about life in Los Angele’s Ktwon through the eyes of American-Koreans, the full length feature was funded by a Kickstarter campaign in…

The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival have just revealed the lineup for the highly anticipated Midnighters section, as well as the complete short film lineup. The festival is to be held from March 13 – 21 in Austin, Texas. The SXSW Midnighters section is a crowd favourite for those who have an…

The SXSW Film Festival kicks off on March 13th, in Austin Texas, and as always, a few Australians are showing off their works. We’ll take you through the Australian screenings which have been announced so far: Happy with Bear, Director: Yianni Warnock. A Singaporean exchange student struggles with her inner turmoil by vicariously living through her…

South By Southwest (SXSW) have finally announced their film lineup for 2015 – something that all cinephiles have been awaiting anxiously. The festival – which is held in Austin, Texas from March 13 – 21 – is to show 145 features from emerging directors, master filmmakers, and unknown auteurs of our present day. “SXSW is…

The Possibilities Are Endless is a film that explores Edwyn Collins’ slow recovery and return to the stage after suffering from a stroke in 2005, which debilitated his music career and his life. Film-makers James Hall and Edward Lovelace work intimately with Collins to produce a beautiful film – voiced over by Collins himself superimposed…

Ahead of announcing the complete festival lineup on February 3rd, the 22nd South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival has started rolling out a list of the screenings which will be spread across Texas come March. This year, SXSW has announced their 2015 Opening Night Film, and world premiere BRAND: A Second Coming, by…

The Mule marks the Directoral debut of Angus Sampson and Tony Mahony, starring Sampson as Ray Jenkins alongside Leigh Wannell (Gavin) as “brothers in life”, with Gavin roping Ray into becoming a heroin mule following a trip to Bali. After getting nervous at Sydney Airport, he gets taken away by the police for suspicious behaviour and in…

If you were reading The Iris back in March of this year, you may remember we posted parts of an interview we conducted with Angus Sampson and Leigh Whannell to talk about their new film The Mule, which premiered at SXSW 2014. Some eight months later and the film has finally had an Australian release,…

Flight of the Conchords’ Jemaine Clement has found himself with steady work since the series about a pair of quirky New Zealand musicians living in New York came to an end. It’s seen him garner roles in big budget films (Men in Black 3, Rio) and balance that with some projects of his own. Often,…