UPDATE (28 February 2024): The festival has announced several new additions to its programme, including Alice Lowe's new film Timestalker [+lire aussi :
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Following Sundance (see the news) and Slamdance (see the news), the European wave continues rolling across the Atlantic Ocean for the Texan event South by Southwest (SXSW, 8-16 March). This year, for the 38th edition, as was the case last year (see the news), British cinema is at the forefront of the European contingent, trailed by Germany, France and Spain. The UK's influence is particularly pronounced in the XR category, extending beyond its established strength in fiction, documentary and genre films.

Two films representing European cinema will premiere in the Narrative Feature Competition. Directed by Crystal Moselle and Derrick B Harden, The Black Sea [+lire aussi :
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The Narrative Spotlight section includes the German flick Cuckoo [+lire aussi :
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bande-annonce
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The documentary programme will showcase How to Build a Truth Engine [+lire aussi :
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In the genre-focused Midnighter section, French cinema is represented by the Ladj Ly-produced Hood Witch by Saïd Belktibia, featuring Denis Lavant in a story about Nour as she grapples with a surge of violence in the wake of a disastrous exorcism; Kourtney Roy offers the psycho-thriller Kryptic, exploring a woman's unsettling bond with a creature she is tracking; and Oddity will fly the flag for Irish cinema. Directed by Damian McCarthy, this supernatural drama centres on a blind medium who, with the aid of a wooden mannequin, seeks to unravel the mysterious circumstances surrounding her sister's death.

The XR sections demonstrate the amalgamation of art, technology and storytelling, with this fusion exemplified in a variety of European projects. The line-up includes a cosmic ghost story exploring the mysteries of life in the universe in Eliza McNitt’s Astra, a gripping narrative set in the world of pirates highlighting survival and moral dilemmas in Madame Pirate: Code of Conduct by Morgan Ommer and Dan-Chi Huang, and a novel take on the superhero genre in Poulomi Basu and CJ Clarke’s Maya: The Birth of a Superhero, where the powers are derived from natural biological processes. The immersive experiences range from introspective journeys exploring the human body and emotions in SoulPaint by Sarah Ticho and Niki Smit, to adventurous excursions into uncharted natural environments in Buried in the Rock, and an interactive exploration of aphasia in Marion Burger and Ilan J Cohen’s Emperor. The showcase also features a documentary on the life of a Brazilian trans woman, Her Name Was Gisberta by Sérgio Galvão Roxo, and a mixed-reality experience blending gaming with real-life stories in Impulse by Barry Gene Murphy and May Abdalla.

Here is the list of European (co-)productions in the premieres sections:

Narrative Feature Competition

Mamífera [+lire aussi :
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The Black Sea [+lire aussi :
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Documentary Feature Competition

An Army of Women [+lire aussi :
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Grand Theft Hamlet [+lire aussi :
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Narrative Spotlight

Cuckoo [+lire aussi :
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bande-annonce
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Magpie - Sam Yates (UK)
Turtles [+lire aussi :
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interview : David Lambert
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Timestalker [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] - Alice Lowe (UK)

Documentary Spotlight

How to Build a Truth Engine [+lire aussi :
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She Looks Like Me [+lire aussi :
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Whatever It Takes - Jenny Carchman (UK)

Midnighter

Hood Witch - Saïd Belktibia (France)
Kryptic - Kourtney Roy (Canada/UK)
Oddity - Damian McCarthy (Ireland)

Visions

The Trouble with Mr Doodle - Ed Perkins, Jaimie D'Cruz (UK)
7 Keys - Joy Wilkinson (UK)
Doppelgängers³ - Nelly Ben Hayoun-Stépanian (USA/Algeria/Armenia/France/UK)
Sew Torn - Freddy Macdonald (USA/Switzerland)

24 Beats per Second

Mogwai: If the Stars Had a Sound - Antony Crook (UK)
Omar and Cedric: If This Ever Gets Weird - Nicolas Jack Davies (Germany)

Global

Krzyk - Losing Control [+lire aussi :
interview : Ewa Wikieł
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Malta - Natalia Santa (Argentina/Colombia/Norway)
My Sextortion Diary [+lire aussi :
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Natatorium [+lire aussi :
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XR Experience Competition

Astra - Eliza McNitt (USA/France)
Madame Pirate: Code of Conduct - Morgan Ommer, Dan-Chi Huang (France/Taiwan)
Maya: The Birth of a Superhero - Poulomi Basu, CJ Clarke (USA/France/UK)
SoulPaint - Sarah Ticho, Niki Smit (Netherlands/UK)

XR Experience Spotlight

Buried in the Rock - Shehani Fernando, Matthew Shaw, William Trossell (UK)
Emperor - Marion Burger, Ilan J Cohen (France/Germany)
Her Name Was Gisberta - Sérgio Galvão Roxo (Brazil/Portugal)
Impulse (Preview) - Barry Gene Murphy, May Abdalla (France/UK)
Energēia - Ugo Arsac (France)
The Imaginary Friend - Steye Hallema (Netherlands)
Shadowtime - Sister Sylvester, Deniz Tortum (USA/Netherlands/Turkey)
Songs for a Passerby - Celine Daemen (Netherlands)

XR Experience Special Event

A Picture Can't Take Me - Cibelle Cavalli Bastos (Germany)
Kiss/Crash (Installation) - Adam Cole (UK)