For nine days in March, creatives of all stripes gather for the acclaimed SXSW Film Program to celebrate raw innovation and emerging talent both behind and in front of the camera.

Now in its 25th year, the 2018 Film Festival will host nine days of screenings from March 9-17, 2018. Featuring a high caliber and diverse film lineup, programming ranges from independent films by new filmmakers to Hollywood comedies and genre standouts.

Running simultaneously with SXSW Interactive and SXSW Music, film festival attendees have the opportunity to connect with tech and music industry experts, making the SXSW Film Festival an unparalleled experience at the forefront of discovery, creativity, and innovation.

Learn more about the Film Awards and browse our Screening Sections.

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Feature Film Screening Sections

Narrative Feature Competition
Ten world premieres, ten unique ways to celebrate the art of storytelling.

Documentary Feature Competition
Ten world premieres, ten real world stories that demonstrate innovation, energy and bold voices.

Headliners
Big names, big talent: Headliners bring star power to SXSW, featuring red carpet premieres and gala film events with major & rising names in cinema.

Narrative Spotlight
High profile narrative features receiving their World, North American or U.S. premieres at SXSW.

Documentary Spotlight
Shining a light on new documentary features receiving their World, North American or U.S. premieres at SXSW.

Visions
Visions filmmakers are audacious, risk-taking artists in the new cinema landscape who demonstrate raw innovation and creativity in documentary and narrative filmmaking.

Midnighters
Scary, funny, sexy, controversial – provocative after-dark features for night-owls and the terminally curious.

Episodic
Featuring innovative new work aimed squarely at the small screen, Episodic tunes in to the explosion of exciting material on non-theatrical platforms, including serialized TV, webisodes and beyond.

24 Beats Per Second
Showcasing the sounds, culture & influence of music & musicians, with an emphasis on documentary.

Global
A diverse selection of International filmmaking talent, featuring innovative narratives, artful documentaries, premieres, festival favorites and more.

Festival Favorites
Acclaimed standouts & selected previous premieres from festivals around the world.

Special Events
Live soundtracks, cult re-issues & much more. Our Special Events section offers unusual, unexpected & unique one-off film events.

Short Film Screening Sections

Narrative Shorts
A selection of original, well-crafted films that take advantage of the short form and exemplify distinctive and genuine storytelling.

Documentary Shorts
Slices of life from across the documentary spectrum.

Animated Shorts
An assortment of stories told using traditional animation, computer-generated effects, stop-motion, and everything in-between.

Midnight Shorts
Bite-sized bits for all of your sex, gore, and hilarity cravings.

Music Videos
A range of classic, innovative, and stylish work showcasing the scope of music video culture.

Texas Shorts
An offshoot of our regular narrative shorts program, composed of work shot in, about, or somehow relating to the Lone Star state.

Texas High School Shorts
A preview of the next filmmaking generation, as Texas High Schoolers present shorts of 5 minutes or less.

Virtual Reality
Virtual reality and augmented reality technologies are finding new ways to enhance our ability to perceive the world that surrounds us, and in many instances they are redefining how we experience the world. The 38 projects presented in our new Virtual Cinema emphasize storytelling, ingenuity and also showcase how other industries are embracing this new medium.

Excellence In Title Design
Inspired by an essential part of the theatrical experience, these are works of art in their own right.