In recent years, SXSW has overlapped with the Oscars, forcing a major film and TV festival to take a backseat to Hollywood’s biggest night. But this year, the stars aligned for cinephiles with an interest in both events, as SXSW is starting a week after the Academy Awards. The move ensures the festival will have the film world’s attention all to itself — and there’s much to see.

This year’s SXSW Film and Television Festival features everything an attendee could hope for. There are huge studio premieres that will bring A-listers to the iconic yellow step-and-repeat and a deep roster of quality indie films just waiting to be discovered.

Headliners include big-budget sequels like “Another Simple Favor” and “The Accountant 2;” highly anticipated genre films like Christopher Landon’s “Drop” and Flying Lotus’ “Ash,” and good old-fashioned star-powered originals like the Nicole Kidman-led “Holland” and the Paul Rudd/Jenna Ortega team-up “Death of a Unicorn.” TV is also represented, with Seth Rogen’s Apple TV+ series “The Studio” helping to kick off the festival and projects like Ramy Youssef’s “#1 Happy Family USA” appearing in the lineup.

If documentaries are more your speed, there is also plenty of interesting subject matter to choose from including the Ben Affleck and Matt Damon-produced “The Python Hunt” and H.E.R.’s directorial debut “The Makings of Curtis Mayfield.”

From indie dramas and documentaries to midnight movies and animated shorts, there’s something for everyone at SXSW 2025. Keep reading for our 25 must-see movies and shows playing at this year’s festival.

Ryan Lattanzio, Harrison Richlin, David Ehrlich, Ben Travers, and Proma Khosla contributed to this story. 

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