SXSW LONDON 2026 - cinemabang.com

South by Southwest® (SXSW®) London, the world’s leading festival celebrating the convergence of creativity, culture and technology, has announced the final wave of films for its Screen Festival, completing a bold, globally-driven line-up ahead of this year’s event, taking place June 1–6.

With its full programme now set, SXSW London doubles down on its reputation as a launchpad for daring new cinema and series - bringing together headline-grabbing premieres, emerging voices, and internationally acclaimed filmmakers pushing the boundaries of storytelling.

Anna Bogutskaya, Head of the Screen Festival said: “SXSW London is a connection point: we bring international storytellers to UK audiences, we bridge the gap between the music, tech and screen industries, and we create space for the films and series that might otherwise not be seen on UK screens. In our second edition, we are reconfirming our commitment to global storytelling in all its forms. I see the Screen Festival as the natural melting point of SXSW London as a whole, of the sounds championed by our music programme and the ideas platformed in the conference. In the selection of films, series and XR projects this year, we are platforming future-focused storytellers that help us navigate growing uncertainty.” 

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma will close out the festival ahead of its UK theatrical release later this summer on 21 August. Writer-director Jane Schoenbrun’s follow-up to their acclaimed horror films We’re All Going to the World’s Fair and I Saw the TV Glow stars Emmy Award-winner Hannah Einbinder (Hacks) as a filmmaker set to remake a cult slasher film with the film’s original final girl, played by award-winning actor, author and activist Gillian Anderson (The X-Files, Sex Education, Scoop). Anna Bogutskaya commented: “Jane Schoenbrun has been building one of the most fascinating bodies of work in cinema today. Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma builds on every touchpoint of Schoenbrun’s work, exploring horror, fandom, memory, and identity, and pushes it further. Every scene between Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson was so charged I was afraid the screen might catch fire.” 

This final announcement adds a further four world premieres to the programme, including The Playoffs (Dir: Bruno Safadi), a Headliner series produced by Brazil’s major media player Globo and starring and created by major Brazilian actor Cauã Reymond. Cauã will be in attendance for the series’ red carpet at The Barbican, adding international star power to this year’s programme. 

Concluding the set of world premieres isThe Boy With Light-Blue Eyes (Dir: Thanasis Neofotistos), a visually arresting and emotionally charged feature debut. It is joined by Test (Dir: Sam McConnell) (US), a timely and unnerving look at modern-day pressures faced by a queer bodybuilder, and James - Getting Away With It (Dir: Chris Atkins) (UK), a sharp documentary tracing the rise of the award-winning British band.

Adding to the programme is a Special Screening in collaboration with Silents Synced of The Cure Meets The Man Who Laughs, a re-scored edition of the 1928 silent classic with music from The Cure. 

Among the UK Premieres, The Invite, directedby Olivia Wilde, who also stars alongside Seth Rogen, Edward Norton, and Penélope Cruz, stands out as one of the programme’s most eagerly anticipated titles, while Marc by Sofia sees Sofia Coppola’s debut in documentary form, turning her lens to the world of fashion in a profile of her long-time collaborator Marc Jacobs.

Elsewhere, AMERICAN ZOO (Dir: Tim Travers Hawkins) delivers a gripping and unsettling documentary portrait of power and control, while Pretty/Dirty: The Life and Times of Marilyn Minter (Dir: Amanda Benchley, Jennifer Ash Rudick) offers an unfiltered look at one of contemporary art’s most provocative figures.

International highlights include Irkalla – Gilgamesh’s Dream(Dir: Mohamed Al Daradji), an ambitious and visually rich reworking of ancient myth, and Funky Freaky Freaks (Dir: Han Chang-lok), a wild, genre-defying ride that signals a bold new voice in Asian cinema.

European cinema makes a strong showing with Made in EU (Dir: Stephan Komandarev), a timely and politically charged reflection on identity, alongside Winter of the Crow (Dir: Kasia Adamik), a striking and emotionally driven drama starring Oscar-nominated actress Lesley Manville in a striking performance. 

Rounding out the slate, Leviticus(Dir: Adrian Chiarella) marks a terrifying debut, while Gaza’s Twins, Come Back to Me (Dir: Mohammed Sawwaf) is a powerful documentary about a family trying to reunite in Gaza. Also featured is The Night (Gaua) (Dir: Paul Urkijo Alijo), a haunting, folklore-infused work, and Bayaan(Dir: Bikas Ranjan Mishra), a gripping and socially resonant Indian procedural.

Together, these titles reinforce SXSW London’s position at the forefront of global screen culture - spotlighting films that are urgent, original and impossible to ignore.

World Premieres:

The Playoffs (Dir: Bruno Safadi)

The Boy With the Light-Blue Eyes (Dir: Thanasis Neofotistos)

Test (Dir: Sam McConnell)

James–Getting Away With It (Dir: Chris Atkins) 

UK Premieres:

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (Dir: Jane Schoenbrun)

Bayaan (Dir: Bikas Ranjan Mishra)

AMERICAN ZOO (Dir: Tim Travers Hawkins) (Documentary)

Funky Freaky Freaks (Dir: Han Chang-lok)

Irkalla – Gilgamesh’s Dream (Dir: Mohamed Al Daradji)

Made in EU (Dir: Stephan Komandarev)

Pretty/Dirty: The Life and Times of Marilyn Minter (Dir: Amanda Benchley, Jennifer Ash Rudick)

The Night (Gaua) (Dir: Paul Urkijo Alijo)

Leviticus (Dir: Adrian Chiarella)

Winter of the Crow (Dir: Kasia Adamik)

The Invite (Dir: Olivia Wilde)

Marc by Sofia (Dir: Sofia Coppola) (Documentary)

Gaza’s Twins, Come Back to Me (Dir: Mohammed Sawwaf) (Documentary)

About SXSW London 2026

Powered by the dynamism and diversity of Shoreditch, SXSW London has become the preeminent global platform for the convergence of business, technology and creativity.

Stretched across the streets of East London, the festival is unapologetically progressive and provocative. Contemporary life moves faster and faster. SXSW London fearlessly embraces the growing landscape at the intersection of technology and culture to connect speakers, delegates and performances beyond any single industry. The SXSW London community seeks provocative debates that resonate in a global city, known for its openness to opposing voices. In a time of uncertainty, SXSW London offers innovators and freethinkers practical optimism and a unique lens with which to navigate real world problems with clarity. Join us for a unique week of insights, networking and discovery across film, music, the visual arts, business and tech.

Discover the future intelligence that upends established ideas and leave with frontier thinking for a new competitive edge.

About The Headliner Titles:

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (Dir: Jane Schoenbrun) (US) - UK Premiere (Film) 

After years of slapdash sequels, the Camp Miasma franchise is handed over to an enthusiastic young director for resurrection. But when she visits the original’s star, a now-reclusive actress shrouded in mystery, the two women fall into a blood-soaked world of desire, fear, and delirium.

The Playoffs (Dir: Bruno Safadi) (Brasil) - World Premiere (Series)

Maurício is a bankrupt ex-player and now a soccer agent who struggles to get back on his feet behind the scenes of the soccer market. Alongside Cris, her main ally, he takes care of his spoiled talents as if they were his children, amidst the pressure of debts with the militia and the shadow of his problematic father, Valdemar. The series explores the ethical limits in a glamorous market, full of ostentation and luxury, where dirty play is worth more than talent and success costs one's own soul. Trying to rise again amidst crimes, betrayals, and family dramas, will Maurício survive?

About Titles in The Wider Programme:

American Zoo (Dir: Tim Travers Hawkins) (US) - UK Premiere (Documentary)

Home movies, discovered in the ruins of an abandoned zoo, reveal an extraordinary saga of families who played God with nature.

Bayaan (Dir: Bikas Ranjan Mishra) (India) - UK Premiere (Film)

Set in a remote town in Rajasthan, where devotion runs deep and silence is a must. The story begins when an anonymous letter accuses a revered cult leader of sexual abuse and officer Roohi, a young detective from Delhi is assigned to investigate allegations. As she delves into the case, she confronts the complex power dynamics within the community. Her commitment to justice is tested by the harsh and deep rooted power structures within the town. 

Funky Freaky Freaks (Dir: Han Chang-lok) (South Korea) - UK Premiere (Film)

In a small city where redevelopment has stalled, three high school friends struggle with their own obsessions: Yong-gi, a self-styled “attention seeker” dreaming of becoming a superhero; Ji-sook, a “pro-ana” obsessed with losing her weight; and Dumbo, a “netkama” who scams money online by pretending to be a girl. Their fragile friendship unravels when Woo-joo, a charming transfer student and an influencer, shows up. Ji-sook falls for him instantly, while Yong-gi, who has been secretly in love with her, can only watch. But when Woo-joo’s real self is revealed Ji-sook starts to collapse, Yong-gi’s hidden feelings turn into a dangerous plan for revenge. 

Gaza’s Twins Come Back to Me (Dir: Mohammed Sawwaf)- UK Premiere (Documentary) 

A mother faces harrowing obstacles and military barriers as she fights to reunite with her newborn twins, who were rushed to a distant hospital during wartime evacuations in Gaza.

Irkalla – Gilgamesh’s Dream (Dir: Mohamed Al Daradji) (Iraq, Qatar, France, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia) - UK Premiere (Film)

In war-torn Baghdad, a diabetic 9-year-old seeks his dead parents through a mythical gate to Irkalla in the Tigris River, while his friend faces militia recruitment. A story of loss and hope in a resilient city. 

James–Getting Away With It (Dir: Chris Atkins) - UK Premiere (Film)

The first fully authorised documentary about iconic Manchester band James, whose hits have accompanied generations of Brits for almost half a century.

Leviticus (Dir: Adrian Chiarella) - UK Premiere (Film)

Two teenage boys must escape a violent entity that takes the form of the person they desire most - each other.

Made in EU (Dir: Stephan Komandarev) (Bulgaria, Germany, Czech Republic) - UK Premiere (Film) 

A factory worker in rural Bulgaria becomes her town's first Covid case, unleashing a wave of blame and social ostracism. As the virus spreads, she faces mounting persecution from employers, coworkers, family, and neighbors. 

Marc by Sofia (Dir: Sofia Coppola) (US) - UK Premiere (Documentary)

An intimate, unconventional portrait of Marc Jacobs, crafted by Sofia Coppola to capture the genius and singular universe of the iconic American designer. 

Pretty/Dirty: The Life and Times of Marilyn Minter (Dir: Amanda Benchley, Jennifer Ash Rudick) (US) - UK Premiere (Film)

This unfiltered exposé strips away the glittering facade of artist Marilyn Minter,revealing an improbable journey from addict to icon. As she nears 80 and continues to explore society's taboos, alternative beauty, shame, sex and aging, will the art-world establishment finally embrace her? 

The Boy with Light Blue Eyes (Dir: Thanasis Neofotistos) (Greece) - World Premiere (Film)

Peter is a blue-eyed boy forced to hide behind a mask in a remote mountain village ruled by superstition. When his eyes are revealed and the village believes he is cursed, fear turns into violence, and his longing for freedom becomes a path of love, sacrifice, and truth.

Test (Dir: Sam McConnell) (US) - World Premiere (Film) 

An amateur bodybuilder in rural Ohio must confront a dysfunctional family, substance abuse, and his own emerging sexuality on his quest to become a champion.

The Invite (Dir: Olivia Wilde) (US) - UK Premiere (Film)

Joe and Angela are on thin ice and tonight might be when it all falls apart. Unfortunately, their upstairs neighbours are about to arrive for dinner, and everything that can go wrong goes worse.

The Night (Gaua) (Dir: Paul Urkijo Alijo) (Spain) - UK Premiere (Film)

Gaua, Basque for “night”, centres on a village in what is now Navarre, northern Spain, during the time of the Inquisition. Fleeing an abusive husband, Kattalin stumbles into the forest at witching hour to find three old women sharing stories. As their tall tales unfold in several chapters, the village’s dark secrets are revealed – a tangled web of stories that implicate the righteous and the wicked alike. 

Winter of the Crow (Dir: Kasia Adamik) (Poland, Luxembourg, UK) - UK Premiere (Film)

Inspired by the short story by Booker Prize and Nobel Prize winning author Olga Tokarczuk, the latest film from director Kasia Adamik is a thrilling cat-and-mouse game set at the onset of Poland’s Martial Law era in 1981, starring Academy Award nominee Lesley Manville who plays an ordinary woman caught in an extraordinary situation.

About the XR Programme: 

Collective Body

Directed by Sarah Silverblatt-Buser 

Music composer: Harvey Causon

Producers: Oriane Hurard, Aurélie Leduc, Arnaud Colinart

Technical director & developer: Ferdinand Dervieux

Lead Artist: Arthur Maugendre

Sound Designer: Côme Jalibert

France; 2025; 20’; Virtual Reality

Collective Body is an interactive, virtual reality experience that invites us to meet ourselves and each other through movement. Set in the middle of a New Mexican storm, participants are guided to rediscover their first ways of engaging with the world, symbolizing formative life events that culminate in a shared exploration of our embodied selves. These key moments—beginning alone, discovering the unfamiliar, first encounters, and joyfully moving together—represent how our personal and collective stories are written through movement. Collective Body asks: how does a body hold histories over time and how are those histories felt and shared?

The Clouds Are Two Thousand Meters Up 

Directed by Singing CHEN

produced by The Walkers Films, Reynard Films

producer: SUNG Chin-Hsuan

Lead Creators: SUNG Chin-Hsuan, CHUAN Ming-Yuan, HUANG Yu-Jie, Liz LIN, Jamie

HSIEH

Taiwan, Germany; 2025; 62’; Virtual Reality

After his wife’s tragic death, Guan receives her unfinished novel—a story intertwining the endangered clouded leopard and the Rukai tribe’s sacred origin myth. Driven by grief and curiosity, he embarks on a surreal journey into the mountains and her subconscious, guided by her words and the ancestral echoes of the forest, in search of answers, healing, and connection.

Adapted by a story from acclaimed Taiwanese author Wu Ming-Yi, The Clouds Are Two Thousand Meters Up is a single-user, free-roaming VR experience where the boundaries between memory, reality, and myth dissolve.

Cycle 

Directors: Matunda Groenendijk & Amit Palgi

Choreography & Dance: Amit Palgi

VR Design: Matunda Groenendijk 

Music & Sound: Mathijs Leeuwis & Anthony Fiumara

Netherlands; 2025; 15’; Virtual Reality 

Cycle is a philosophical 15-minute VR experience that reveals life's hidden patterns through dance, animation, and music.
What if you looked at your life from a distance? We all have certain patterns we repeat to sustain ourselves: we sleep, we eat, we work, we love, and we hate. It doesn't really matter where you come from or how you were raised. There's so much in life that connects us all, so why not celebrate that?
Cycle plays with the feelings of wonder and fear that life's duality can evoke. Because life can be unbearable and beautiful at the same time. We believe it's important to remind people that within this duality, we have a choice in how we look at life. 

Less than 5 gr of saffron 

Director: Négar Motevalymeidanshah

Production Company: Ten2Ten Films

Coproduction Company: Atlas V

Producer: Gwenaëlle Clauwaert

Lead Developer (Quill): Amaury Campion - Studio Geppetto 

Lead Developer (Unity): Michaël Bolufer - Studio Manette

Music: Kian Portorab, Laurent Vang

Sound Design: Laurent Vang

Sound creation and mix studio: Blanktone Studios

France; 2025; 7’; Virtual Reality

Golnaz, a 23-year-old immigrant Iranian girl, tries to cope with her new life in Germany. 

She finds a pack of Saffron that reminds her of home. Golnaz cooks some rice to add saffron, a heartwarming dish from her past. but she didn’t expect that this moment would bring her back into the most traumatic events of her life.Three years ago she survived a tragic drowning that took away her family while traveling illegally in a boat.

If you see a cat

Director/Screenplay: Atsushi Wada

Producer/VR Director: Kenji Ishimaru 

Production company: Kodansha Ltd.

CG Director: Omar Espinosa 

Sound Director: Masumi Takino 

Line Producer: Yumiko Kano

Japan; 2025; 37’; Virtual Reality

It is said that one out of every 20 people in Japan is currently being treated for some form of mental illness. The field of psychiatry in Japan has various problems such as historical backgrounds, difficulties in psychiatry itself, and structural distortions of psychiatry, which may hinder the recovery of people suffering from mental illnesses. In this work, a boy who lost his beloved cat and began hallucinating about the cat is diagnosed with a mental illness simply because he can see the cat, and is forcibly admitted to a hospital for treatment. What will the boy experience in the hospital? This is a work that only VR can provide a realistic view of the problems of psychiatry, the relationship between mother and child, and what salvation means to the boy.

Silent Disco - Totentanz 

Director: Fabio Thieme

Director of Photography/Cinematographer: Johannes Schmülling

Producer: Fabio Thieme

Co-Producer: Johannes Schmülling

Germany; 2025; 15’; Virtual Reality

“Silent Disco” is a VR performance in which viewers are sent to a virtual dance floor. In collective isolation, they experience a folkloric dance of death in the tension between virtual and physical ecstasy in the face of their own mortality.

When the sun never sets

Director: Elise Morin 

Creative Technologist: Ferdinand Dervieux 

Directors of Photography: Olivier Banon, Elise Morin

Assistants: Isaure Gentit, Margaux Audebert

France; 2025; 10’; Video Installation 

Where the Sun Never Sets is an immersive interactive installation exploring territories shaped by nuclear legacy. The viewer’s gaze activates a non-linear sound narrative, revealing human, scientific, and environmental stories. Each session generates a heatmap archived online, extending the experience through a dedicated web platform.

Cosmos Unseen - Black Holes 

Produced by  Atlantic Studios
In Collaboration with University of Sussex and Event Horizon Telescope team
Producer Anna Taylor
Creative Director Marcus Moresby
United Kingdom; 2025 ; 20’; Virtual Reality 

From the award-winning immersive storytellers at Atlantic Studios, Cosmos Unseen: Black Holes is a first-of-its-kind immersive experience that demystifies complex spacetime phenomena in your own home. Crafted for the October launch of the Google x Samsung AndroidXR headset, Cosmos Unseen is a breakthrough in scientific storytelling, letting users get hands-on with the mysteries of our universe, guided by the greatest scientific minds of our time. 

Lesbian Simulator

Director: Iris van der Meule
Production company: Studio Biarritz
in coproduction with Podium Biarritz, Art et Essai and Cassette for timescapes
The Netherlands, Canada, Belgium; 2025; 40’; Virtual Reality 

‘Lesbian Simulator’ is an interactive virtual reality artwork and video game which will prompt users to experience the world from the perspective of a lesbian. While this artistic ode to love and sexual preference doesn’t shy away from tackling serious issues as well, such as the discrimination and abuse that lesbians still face today, you can expect an uplifting experience full of joy, humour and a touch of glitter!

Ipseria 

Concept/Script/Direction/Modelling/3D Scans/Production:Isabell Bullerschen

3D Animation: Florian Baumann

Game Design: Sebastiaan Cator

Programming: Arno Justus

Sound: Aske Lyck Pedersen and Paloma López & Leslie García (interspecifics)

Switzerland; 2023; 10’; Virtual Reality

An unusual experience awaits recipients: a virtual reality with no digitally-generated content. ipseria and its virtual environment have their origin in the physical realm.

ipseria is/are multifaceted. polyphonic. collaborative. inclusive. queer. ever-evolving. intersectional. As a globally occurring form of life, ipseria exist/s as a mono- or multi-entity association in the mucus of vertebral organisms. Its/their features are akin to atoms, box jelly fish, slime molds, leopard slugs, or social amoebas. However, it/ they possess/es an unique skill: the reproduction beyond its/their species, thus queering the concept of identity and undermining classification systems.

About the Shorts Programme: 

Bodies

Exploring the body as language that is controlled, desired, ageing, and/yet always in flux. 

How to Dance (Dir. Aileen Ye)

Cosmonauts (Dir. Leo Černic) 

If you don’t like it look away (Au bain des dames) (Dir. Margaux Fournier) 

The Skin Will Tell You (Dir. Lucy Brydon) 

Gorgones (Dir. Dimitris Tsakaleas, Lida Vartzioti) 

Dog and Wolf (Pes a vlk) (Dir. Terézia Halamová) 

Tiny, Lonely Fish Floating in Dark Water 

Urban flânerie featuring unfolding city lives, collective struggles, and fleeting intimacies amid the hustle and bustle.

Double or Nothing (Dir. Tokay) 

Family Sunday (Domingo Familiar) (Dir. Gerardo Del Razo) 

Acid City (Dir. Jack Wedge) 

Ambush (Kameen) (Dir. Yassmina Karajah) 

Pankaja (Dir. Anooya Swamy) 

A South Facing Window (Dir. Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir) 

Bloodlines & Fault Lines 

Family as refuge, anchor and fault line - fragile bonds that comfort and confine us, quietly shaping us across generations. 

Norheimsund (dir. Ana Alpizar) 

My Brother Lyosha And I (Dir. Lena Tronina) 

Flowers (Dir. Ademola Falomo) 

I'm Glad You're Dead Now (Dir. Tawfeek Barhom) 

These Voices are Real (In Sedaha Vagheist) (Dir. Baran Nikrah) 

Agapito (Dir. Arvin Belarmino, Kyla Romero) 

The Kankurang (Dir. Imran Ciesay) 

Brief Encounters

Fateful meetings and clandestine confrontations. Short films depicting the ways in which we cross paths. 

Born Reckless (Dir. Romain Jaccoud) 

Fantasies of a Rescue Dummy (Dir. Adrian Maganza) 

Sauna Sickness (Dir. Malin Barr) 

Anba Dlo (Dir. Luiza Calagian, Rosa Caldeira) 

God is Shy (Dir. Jocelyn Charles) 

Welcome To The Cyber Rodeo (Dir. Jim Muntisov) 

Distant Voices 

The soft murmur of distant voices. The hauntological and oblique, our personal lost utopias, memories we just can’t shake.

Mimic (Dir. Christopher Bonwell) 

Should virtual petz die? (Dir. Carlo Galbiati) 

Random Awakenings of Tae Woo (랜덤하게깨어나는태우) (Dir. Zhiquan Liu) 

Someday the night will come (Un día llegará la noche) (Dir. Chica Barbosa) 

Interview With A Hero (Dir. Andy 'Celeste' Diep) 

Ramón Who Speaks to Ghosts (Dir. Shervin Kermani) 

Trading Cards (Dir. Radheya Jang) 

Protest Will Not Be Tolerated 

Where control is constant, rebellion slips through, and frustration and truth push back against systems of control. 

Kentucky Gaza (Dir. Omar Rammal) 

Asparagus Bear (Medo u šparogama) (Dir. Ivan Grgur) 

Curfew (Dir. Faye Ameera Saffron Craig) 

Paradise Garden (Les Jardins du Paradis) (Dir. Sonia Terrab) 

La barrière (Dir. Christophe Deram) 

Ali (Dir. Adnan Al Rajeev) 

Human/Nature 

An exploration of human behaviour through the eyes of animals, landscapes, and our uneasy relationship with the natural world. 

Dammen (Dir. Grégoire Graesslin) 

El pütì pèrs (Dir. Paolo Baiguera) 

Como Ler o Vento (Dir. Bernardo Ale Abinader & Sharon Hakim) 

The Tragedy of the Maned Wolf (Dir. Kimberly Palermo) 

Bleat! (Dir. Anath Subramaniam) 

Crazy For You (Loquita por Ti) (Dir. Greta Díaz Moreau) 

Ghosts, Ghouls, Glitches 

An eclectic collection of provocative and unhinged shorts that challenge, shock, and subvert expectations. 

Praying Mantis (Dir. Joe Hsieh)

Yathoom (Dir. Hana Kazim) 

Bloodsuckers (Dir. Rosie Brear) 

Feedback (Dir. Nico van den Brink) 

TELE XXX (Dir. Johnny Massahi) 

UM (Dir. Nieto) 

Hyena (Dir. Altay Ulan Yang)