On this episode of Why Watch That:

Featured Films and TV shows listed in SXSW premiere order

Women Is Losers
[Narrative Feature Competition] Synopsis: In 1960’s San Francisco, a once-promising catholic school girl, Celina Guerrera (Lorenza Izzo), sets out to rise above the oppression of poverty and invest in a future for herself and her son that sets new precedents for the time.
Cast: Lorenza Izzo, Bryan Craig, Chrissie Fit, Simu Liu, Steven Bauer, Liza Weil, Cranston Johnson, Alejandra Miranda, Shalim Ortiz, and Lincoln Bonilla
Director: Lissette Feliciano
Screenwriter: Lissette Feliciano
Runtime: 1 hour 24 minutes
Premiere Status: World Premiere
This film has not been rated. #womenislosersmovie

Ludi
[Narrative Spotlight] Synopsis: Ludi, a hardworking and exhausted nurse, battles coworkers, clients and one impatient bus driver to learn her self worth as she chases the American Dream in Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood.
Cast: Shein Mompremier, Alan Myles Heyman, Madelin Marchant, Success St. Fleur Jr., Kerline Alce, Plus Pierre, Patrice DeGraff Arenas, and Farah Larrieux
Director: Edson Jean
Screenwriters: Edson Jean and Joshua Jean-Baptiste
Runtime: 1 hour 19 minutes
Premiere Status: Texas Premiere
This film has not been rated. #LudiFilm

R#J
[Festival Favorites] Synopsis: A re-imagining of Romeo and Juliet, featuring a diverse cast in the classic Shakespearean roles. This modern day take is told on mobile and is a mashup of Shakespearean dialogue with current social media communication.
Cast: Camaron Engels, Francesca Noel, RJ Cyler, Diego Tinoco, Russell Hornsby, and Siddiq Saunderson
Director: Carey Williams
Screenwriters: Carey Williams and Rickie Castaneda
Runtime: 1 hour 30 minutes
Premiere Status: Texas Premiere
This film has not been rated.

Made for Love
[Episodic Premieres] Synopsis: Based on Alissa Nutting’s tragicomic novel, Made for Love is a dark, absurd and cynically poignant story of divorce and revenge following Hazel Green (Cristin Milioti), a thirty-something woman on the run after 10 years in a suffocating marriage.
Cast: Cristin Milioti, Billy Magnussen, Dan Bakkedahl, Noma Dumezweni, Augusto Aguilera, Caleb Foote, and Ray Romano
Showrunner: Christina Lee
Director: Christina Lee
Runtime: 27 minutes
Premiere Status: World Premiere
#MadeForLove

Here Before
[Narrative Feature Competition] Synopsis: After new neighbours move in next door, a bereaved mother begins to question her reality in this unsettling psychological thriller.
Cast: Andrea Riseborough, Martin McCann, Jonjo O’Neill, and Eileen O’Higgins
Director: Stacey Gregg
Screenwriter: Stacey Gregg
Runtime: 1 hour 23 minutes
Premiere Status: World Premiere
This film has not been rated. #HEREBEFORE

The Girlfriend Experience
[Episodic Premieres] Synopsis: Set in the London tech scene, Iris, a neuroscience major, begins to explore the transactional world of The Girlfriend Experience and quickly learns that client sessions provide her with a compelling edge in the tech world.
Cast: Julia Goldani Telles, Oliver Masucci, Frank Dillane, Daniel Betts, Armin Karima, Tobi Bamtefa, and Jemima Rooper
Showrunners: Anja Marquardt and Philip Fleishman
Director: Anja Marquardt
Executive Producer: Steven Soderbergh
Screenwriter: Anja Marquardt
Runtime: 1 hour
Premiere Status: World Premiere

Language Lessons
[Narrative Spotlight] Synopsis: A Spanish teacher and her student develop an unexpected friendship.
Cast: Natalie Morales, Mark Duplass, Desean Terry, and Christine Quesada
Director: Natalie Morales
Screenwriters: Mark Duplass and Natalie Morales
Runtime: 1 hour 31 minutes
Premiere Status: North American Premiere
This film has not been rated.

The Fallout
[Narrative Feature Competition] Synopsis: High schooler Vada navigates the emotional fallout she experiences in the wake of a school tragedy. Relationships with her family, friends and view of the world are forever altered.
Cast: Jenna Ortega, Maddie Ziegler, Niles Fitch, Will Ropp, Lumi Pollack, John Ortiz, Julie Bowen, and Shailene Woodley
Director: Megan Park
Screenwriter: Megan Park
Runtime: 1 hour 32 minutes
Premiere Status: World Premiere
This film has not been rated. #TheFallout

Witch Hunt
[2020 Spotlight] Synopsis: In a modern America where witches are real and witchcraft is illegal, a sheltered teenager must face her own demons and prejudices as she helps two young witches avoid law enforcement and cross the southern border to asylum in Mexico.
Cast: Gideon Adlon, Elizabeth Mitchell, Abigail Cowen, Nicholas & Cameron Crovetti, and Christian Camargo
Director: Elle Callahan
Screenwriter: Elle Callahan
Runtime: 1 hour 37 minutes
Premiere Status: World Premiere
This film has not been rated. #witchhuntmovie

Violet
[2020 Spotlight] Synopsis: A film development executive realizes that “guiding voice” inside her head has been lying to her about everything.
Cast: Olivia Munn, Luke Bracey, and Justin Theroux
Director: Justine Bateman
Screenwriter: Justine Bateman
Runtime: 1 hour 32 minutes
Premiere Status: World Premiere
This film has not been rated. #VIOLETthefilm

Them
[Episodic Premieres] Synopsis: ‘Them’ is a limited anthology series that explores terror in America.
Cast: Deborah Ayorinde, Ashley Thomas, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Melody Hurd, and Alison Pill
Showrunner: Little Marvin
Director: Nelson Cragg
Screenwriter: Little Marvin
Executive Producer: Lena Waithe
Co-produced by Sony Pictures Television and Amazon Studios
Runtime: 1 hour 42 minutes
Premiere Status: World Premiere

The Lost Sons
[Documentary Spotlight] Synopsis: 1960s Chicago, a baby is kidnapped from a hospital. Fifteen months later, a toddler is abandoned. Could he be the same baby? In a tale of breathtaking twists and turns, two mysteries begin to unravel and dark family secrets are revealed.
Cast: Paul Fronczak
Director: Ursula Macfarlane
Runtime: 1 hour 38 minutes
Premiere Status: World Premiere
This film has not been rated. #thelostsons

Twyla Moves
[Visions] Synopsis: Interwoven with her storied career and prolific works, Twyla Moves sees legendary choreographer Twyla Tharp navigate her latest creative challenge: choreographing a dance for a world plagued by the Covid-19 pandemic. An American Masters documentary.
Cast: Twyla Tharp, Mikhail Baryshnikov, David Byrne, Billy Joel, Herman Cornejo, Jesse Huot, and Misty Copeland
Director: Steven Cantor
Runtime: 1 hour 22 minutes
Premiere Status: World Premiere
This film has not been rated.