Actors Olly Alexander and Greta Gerwig at the SXSW 2011 "The Dish & The Spoon" premiere - Photo by Erin Fotos/WireImage

SXSW Film & TV Legends: Greta Gerwig

Actress, Writer, Director, Icon

Long before Barbie floated down from her dream house, back when Lady Bird was just the lake that runs through central Austin, Greta Gerwig was a student attending SXSW. The annual Film & TV Festival debuted several of Gerwig's projects, premiering as many as three films in one season (2008). Her already legendary career began with on screen performances before diving into screenwriting and finally directing.

"I would not have a career in film without SXSW. I first came to the festival during my senior year in college, 2006, and spent five days watching movies and realizing that there was a true community being formed in independent cinema. What SXSW gave me, as a young actor, writer, director, and producer, was a sense of belonging and a place to be heard. That is more valuable than anything else for a young artist, the knowledge that you are not doing it alone or in a void." – Greta Gerwig

Learn more about Gerwig's journey in a 2017 look back at 25 Years of SXSW Film Festival and discover more SXSW Film & TV Alumni within the Festival Archives.

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2011 SXSW
Q&A The Dish and the Spoon

From writer/director Alison Bagnall comes The Dish & The Spoon. Greta Gerwig is Rose, a woman descending into an emotional tailspin after her husband admits to an affair. She drives to a Delaware beach town and discovers a stranded teenage boy marooned on the beach. The mismatched pair stumbles through a series of small adventures that build towards an unconventional romance in this funny and affecting film.

SXSW 2006

LOL

Cast - Greta

The relationships of three men are examined through their use of technology.

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LOL 2006 SXSW Film & TV Festival Official Selection

LOL 2006 SXSW Film & TV Festival Official Selection

SXSW 2007

Hannah Takes the Stairs

Writer/Cast - Hannah

Hannah is a recent college graduate interning at a Chicago production company. She is crushing on two writers at work, Matt and Paul, who share an office and keep her entertained. Will a relationship with one of them disrupt the delicate balance of their friendship?

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Hannah Takes The Stairs - 2007 SXSW Film & TV Festival Official Selection

Hannah Takes The Stairs - 2007 SXSW Film & TV Festival Official Selection

SXSW 2008

Yeast

Cast - Gen

A maddeningly oblivious, tyrannical and emotionally stunted young woman tries her best to negotiate two toxic friendships.

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Yeast - 2008 SXSW Film & TV Festival Official Selection

Yeast - 2008 SXSW Film & TV Festival Official Selection

SXSW 2008

Baghead

Cast - Michelle

Four "actors" go to a cabin in the woods for the weekend to write a movie script. They talk about a relationship movie or a paper bag over the head movie. It starts with an anonymous baghead and slowly escalates.

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Baghead - 2008 SXSW Film & TV Festival Official Selection

Baghead - 2008 SXSW Film & TV Festival Official Selection

SXSW 2008

Nights and Weekends

Director/Writer/Cast - Mattie

A man and woman must face the tension that builds between them during a long-distance relationship.

Nights And Weekends- 2008 SXSW Film & TV Festival Official Selection

Nights And Weekends- 2008 SXSW Film & TV Festival Official Selection

SXSW 2009

You Wont Miss Me

Cast - Bridget

A kaleidoscopic film portrait of Shelly Brown, a twenty-three year-old alienated urban misfit recently released from a psychiatric hospital.

You Won't Miss Me - 2009 SXSW Film & TV Festival Official Selection

You Won't Miss Me - 2009 SXSW Film & TV Festival Official Selection

SXSW 2011

The Dish And The Spoon

Writer/Cast - Rose

Reeling from her husband's affair, Rose collides with a marooned teenager in a boarded-up Delaware beach town.

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The Dish And The Spoon - 2011 SXSW Film & TV Festival Official Selection

The Dish And The Spoon - 2011 SXSW Film & TV Festival Official Selection

SXSW 2018

Isle Of Dogs

Cast - Tracy Walker (voice)

Set in Japan, Isle of Dogs follows a boy's odyssey in search of his lost dog.

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(Teaser) The Dish And The Spoon - 2011 SXSW Film & TV Festival Official Selection, Actors Olly Alexander and Greta Gerwig at the SXSW 2011 "The Dish & The Spoon" premiere - Photo by Erin Fotos/WireImage

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