The Green Knight, a fantasy re-telling of the medieval story of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, directed and adapted by David Lowery, will World Premiere at the 2020 South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival on Monday, March 16.
Based on the timeless Arthurian legend, The Green Knight tells the story of Sir Gawain (Dev Patel), King Arthur’s reckless and headstrong nephew, who embarks on a daring quest to confront the eponymous Green Knight, a gigantic emerald-skinned stranger and tester of men. Gawain contends with ghosts, giants, thieves, and schemers in what becomes a deeper journey to define his character and prove his worth in the eyes of his family and kingdom by facing the ultimate challenger. From visionary filmmaker David Lowery comes a fresh and bold spin on a classic tale from the knights of the round table. The A24 film will open theatrically on May 29th, and stars Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton, Sarita Choudhury, Sean Harris, Kate Dickie, Barry Keoghan, and Ralph Ineson.
“We are thrilled to world premiere The Green Knight at SXSW,” said Janet Pierson, Director of Film. “David Lowery is a singular artist with a filmmaking vision that’s both epic and intimate. It’s been beyond exciting to watch his growth as an artist. His newest film is an extraordinary achievement, delivering superlative performances, suspense, and magic with cinematic grandeur which we know our SXSW audience will love.”
Lowery’s history with the SXSW Film Festival started in 2005, when he attended with the short Deadroom which he worked on as an editor. Lowery has had his hand in every aspect of filmmaking. He has served in a variety of different roles including director, producer, editor, and director of photography for 15 films. Notable SXSW premieres include It Was Great, but I Was Ready to Come Home, Bad Fever, and Sun Don’t Shine.
Lowery has had a number of shining moments at the film festival. In 2009, SXSW had the pleasure to premiere his first feature film, St. Nick. The following year, he created all of our film festival bumpers, and in 2011, his film Pioneer won Best Narrative Short. On the conference side, Lowery served as a mentor in 2013, and in 2016 Lowery participated in a conversation with fellow filmmaker Andrew Bujalski, where they delivered invaluable perspectives for the next wave of aspiring creatives.