Preview: Our SXSW 2026 picks

OBSCURAE’s headed to Austin! 

This March, i'm off to scoop on film premieres, quirky high-concept midnight flicks, and all of the festival faves OBSCURAE might’ve missed over the last year. South By Southwest is a festival that celebrates the very best in emerging talents and unique perspectives, and its lineup more than reflects that.

This will be my first time covering an out-of-state film festival, so I'm so stoked to dive through scenic Downtown Austin, getting back to you guys on the sights, sounds, and projects that you're most looking forward to seeing.

Here’s a sneak peek of what we’re getting into...

The Hit List

I Love Boosters (dir. Boots Riley)

Boots Riley’s long-awaited second feature takes aim at the fashion industry and boasts a beautiful color block palette, following a crew of shoplifters as they target a corrupt fashion maven. Details are slight, plot-wise, but with its sharp look and talent like Keke Palmer, Taylour Page, Demi Moore, and Will Poulter, it's easily my most anticipated film of the festival.

Pretty Lethal (dir. Vicky Jewson)

I've been following this film back since it was called Ballerina Overdrive, so consider my interest stoked. Stacked with big-name talent and up-and-comers alike (Uma Thurman, Maddie Ziegler, Lana Condor, Avantika), Pretty Lethal twists the intense demands of the ballet world into an on-pointe thriller where a feuding ballerina troupe has to band together to survive the night.

Forbidden Fruits (dir. Meredith Alloway)

The concept of a Mean Girls-meets-Bunny horror-comedy immediately drew my eye to Forbidden Fruits, the Meredith Alloway-directed, Diablo Cody-produced mall slasher where performative sisterhood is put to the test. Has equal capacity to be incredible or incredibly campy, and either way I'm sat for it.

Wishful Thinking (dir. Graham Parkes)

What if a bad anniversary gift caused an avalanche? Or an argument about doing dishes crashed the economy? What if your relationship had the power to destroy the world? Graham Parkes answers that in Wishful Thinking, a quirky little feature that casts Maya Hawke and Lewis Pullman as a couple in decline whose relationship gets supercharged with reality-warping power. 

The Odd, the Weird, the Scary:

Leviticus (dir. Adrian Chiarella)

A Sundance darling, Leviticus turns conversion therapy into a psycho-drama with an It Follows twist: two boys are stalked in their homophobic small town by a violent entity that takes the form of the person they most desire—each other.

They Will Kill You (dir. Kirill Sokolov)

Ready or Not set in the satanic hotel from Rosemary’s Baby is probably the best way I can describe They Will Kill You, Kirill Sokolov’s blood-soaked all-nighter. Zazie Beetz stars as a young woman targeted as a sacrifice by a demon cult, only for the cult to realize they've sorely underestimated her. A perfect flick for horror lovers.

Buddy (dir. Casper Kelly)

Casper Kelly first wowed me back in 2015 with viral AdultSwim short Too Many Cooks, a pre-Wandavision sitcom pastiche spilling into a never-ending nightmare. With Buddy comes his solo feature debut, which stars Cristin Milioti, Topher Grace, and youngster Delaney Quinn inside the kids' educational program from hell, funny, freaky, full of fluff monsters, and sicko puppetry.

Festival Faves:

Erupcja (dir. Pete Ohs)

After watching The Moment, Aiden Zamiri’s popstar satire, I’m confident in Charli XCX’s acting—funny, vulnerable, even in a fictionalized role. Her next lead in Erupcja promises range, shedding pop stardom for a film about a British tourist reconnecting with her former best friend. 

Basic (dir. Chelsea Devantez)

Ashley Park. Leighton Meester. The ugly rabbit hole of researching your ex-boyfriend’s dating pool obsessively. Basic finds the comedy in magically realistic paranoia, a deep liking of an Instagram spiral you can't help but relate to.

Seekers of Infinite Love (dir. Victoria Strouse)

Four dysfunctional siblings set out to save their sister from the cult she's been indoctrinated into in Seekers of Infinite Love, starring Hannah Einbinder, Justin Theroux, John Reynolds, and Griffin Gluck, a film that gives new meaning to cult comedy.