SXSW Film Festival 2021 announces opening night headliner and other premiere highlights

The SXSW Film Festival has announced its opening night headliner as the 28th annual event prepares to announce its complete film lineup on February 10th, 2021.

Serving as the opening night headliner will be Michael D. Ratner‘s Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil, a powerful YouTube Originals documentary event that explores the aspects that led to Lovato’s near-fatal overdose in 2018.

“It’s impressive and rare to see a pop superstar tell their story so authentically and without pretense,” said Janet Pierson, Director of Film. “We’re privileged to present this intimate journey told with such vulnerability. Demi Lovato’s profound interest in mental health awareness is helping change the landscape of a crucial issue in this year of national and international trauma and loss.”

This year, the acclaimed program will be online, where it will draw thousands of fans, filmmakers, press, and industry leaders to immerse themselves in Film Screenings, Conference Sessions, Music Showcases, Online Exhibitions, Mentoring, Meetups and Special Events that define the cross-industry event.

In addition to Dancing with the Devil, other highlights that have been announced include the episodic premiere of Confronting a Serial Killer, a docuseries following reporter Jillian Lauren and her luring of Sam Little, the most prolific serial killer in American history; Hysterical, an honest and hilarious backstage pass into the lives of some of stand-up comedy’s most boundary-breaking women (including Margaret Cho, Kathy Griffin, Nikki Glaser, and Iliza Shlesinger), exploring the hard-fought journey to become the voices of their generation and their gender; and Violet from writer/director Justine Bateman, which tells the tale of a film development executive realising that the “guiding voice” inside her head has been lying to her about everything.  Olivia Munn, Luke Bracey, and Justin Theroux star.

For a full list of the highlights and the latest news on SXSW, head to the official site.

Peter Gray

Film critic with a penchant for Dwayne Johnson, Jason Momoa, Michelle Pfeiffer and horror movies, harbouring the desire to be a face of entertainment news.