“Forbidden Fruits”
At a mall store called Free Eden, employee Apple leads a secret witch cult with coworkers Cherry and Fig until a new hire, Pumpkin, starts questioning the group’s sisterhood. That mix of retail drudgery, occult menace, and internal fracture gives Meredith Alloway’s film an immediate Austin-friendly hook, with Lili Reinhart, Lola Tung, Victoria Pedretti, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Chamberlain, and Gabrielle Union fronting the chaos (Narrative Spotlight—World Premiere)
“Love Language”
A classic rom-com complication with a clean SXSW hook: an aspiring author who writes wedding vows for others reconnects with her longtime crush—then learns he’s engaged to one of her clients. Joey Power directs and writes, with Chloë Grace Moretz, Anthony Ramos, Manny Jacinto, Isabel May, Lukas Gage, Billie Lourd, Chloe Fineman, Zach Zucker, Morgan Jay, Bobbi Althoff, Marchánt Davis, and Dan Perrault. (Narrative Spotlight—World Premiere.)
“Power Ballad”
John Carney (“Once,” “Sing Street”) stays in his lane—in the best way—tracking a past-his-prime wedding singer whose songwriting becomes rocket fuel for a young rockstar’s career revival. Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas star alongside Peter McDonald, Marcella Plunkett, Havana Rose Liu, and Jack Reynor. (Narrative Spotlight—North American Premiere.)
“Seekers of Infinite Love”
Estranged siblings—one a claustrophobe, one a compulsive gambler, one a controlling lawyer—have to reunite to rescue their sister from a doomsday cult. Victoria Strouse directs and writes, starring Hannah Einbinder and Justin Theroux with John Paul Reynolds, Griffin Gluck, Justine Lupe, and Greg Kinnear. (Narrative Spotlight—World Premiere.)
“The Fox”
A darkly comic folktale about an affable foxhunter who meets a talking Fox offering a deal: help him transform his fiancée into the “perfect woman.” Dario Russo writes and directs, with Jai Courtney, Emily Browning, Damon Herriman, Claudia Doumit, Sam Neill, Miranda Otto, and Olivia Colman. (Narrative Spotlight—International Premiere.)
