‘Christy’ Starring Sydney Sweeney to Open 32nd Austin Film Festival Lineup

The 32nd edition of Austin Film Festival taking place October 23 to 30, 2025 will showcase 183 films from 32 countries.

The festival will open with Christy, the biopic drama based on remarkable true events of legendary world champion boxer Christy Martin, played by Sydney Sweeney.

World premieres include the dark comedy Forelock starring David Krumholtz and Caleb Alexander Smith; drama Nobody Wants To Be Here, Nobody Wants To Leave; and two music documentaries, Charley Crockett: $10 Cowboy and Gregg Allman: The Music of My Soul.

Texas premieres include A Private Life starring Jodie Foster; Dead Man’s Wire starring Bill Skarsgård, Colman Domingo, Al Pacino; Is This Thing On? directed by Bradley Cooper and starring Will Arnett; La Grazia written and directed by Paolo Sorrentino; Rental Family starring Brendan Fraser, and more

2025 Austin Film Festival full lineup below:

OPENING NIGHT FILM

CHRISTY
Writer: David Michôd, Mirrah Foulkes
Director: David Michôd
Cast: Sydney Sweeney, Merritt Weaver, Ben Foster, Katy O’Brian

Christy Martin never imagined life beyond her small-town roots in West Virginia—until she discovered a knack for knocking people out. Fueled by grit, raw determination, and an unshakable desire to win, she charges into the world of boxing under the guidance of her trainer and manager-turned-husband, Jim. But while Christy flaunts a fiery persona in the ring, her toughest battles unfold outside it—confronting family, identity, and a relationship that just might become life-or-death. Based on remarkable true events, Christy Martin’s story is one of resilience, courage, and the fight to reclaim one’s life

In Attendance: Director/Co-Writer David Michod, Co-Writer Mirrah Foulkes, & subject of film Christy Martin

CENTERPIECE FILM

ETERNITY
(USA, 114 MIN)
Writer: Patrick Cunnane, David Freyne
Director: David Freyne
Cast: Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen, Callum Turner

In an afterlife where souls have one week to decide where to spend eternity, Joan (Elizabeth Olsen) is faced with the impossible choice between the man she spent her life with (Miles Teller) and her first love (Callum Turner), who died young and has waited decades for her to arrive.

MARQUEE FILMS

THE BOY FROM ST. CROIX
(USA, 105 MIN)
Director: Scott Duncan
After keeping the world at arm’s length for decades, basketball legend Tim Duncan reveals himself in an intimate portrait directed by his brother Scott, reflecting on the game, his career, and his enduring connection to his native island of St. Croix. World Premiere

CHARLIEBIRD
(USA, 98 MIN)
Writer: Samantha Smart
Director: Libby Ewing
Cast: Samantha Smart, Gabriela Ochoa Perez, Maria Peyramaure

Al (Samantha Smart) works as a music therapist at a children’s hospital, taking things day by day and trying to make ends meet. Charlie (Gabriela Ochoa Perez) comes into her life as a patient, an ever immovable and unmotivated teenager.

DEAD MAN’S WIRE
(USA, 104 MIN)
Writer: Austin Kolodney
Director: Gus Van Sant
Cast: Bill Skarsgård, Dacre Montgomery, Colman Domingo, Cary Elwes, Myha’la, Al Pacino

The morning of February 8, 1977, Anthony G. “Tony” Kiritsis, 44, entered the office of Richard O. Hall, president of the Meridian Mortgage Company, and took him hostage with a sawed-off 12-gauge shotgun wired with a “dead man’s wire” from the trigger to the Hall’s head. This is the true story of the stand-off that took the world by storm as Tony demanded $5 million, no charges or prosecution, and a personal apology from the Halls for cheating him out of what he was “owed”.

FORELOCK
(USA, 96 MIN)
Writer/Diretor: Caleb Alexander Smith
Cast: David Krumholtz, Caleb Alexander Smith, Emily Swallow, Jason Wiles

A naive fitness enthusiast moves to LA with dreams of becoming a trainer, but collides with a crooked Hollywood Boulevard impersonator in a tragicomic romp through the shadows of the American Dream.

HAMNET
(USA, 125 MIN)
Writer: Chloé Zhao, Maggie O’Farrell
Director: Chloé Zhao
Cast: Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Zac Wishart

From Academy Award® winning writer/director Chloé Zhao, Hamnet tells the powerful story of love and loss that inspired the creation of Shakespeare’s timeless masterpiece, Hamlet.

HEDDA
(USA, 107 MIN)
Writer/Director: Nia DaCosta
Cast: Tessa Thompson, Nina Hoss, Imogen Poots

Nia DaCosta’s Hedda stars Tessa Thompson as a woman caught between past love and present despair in a charged, modern take on Ibsen’s classic.

IS THIS THING ON?
(USA, 117 MIN)
Writer: Bradley Cooper, Will Arnett, Mark Chappell
Director: Bradley Cooper
Cast: Will Arnett, Laura Dern, Andra Day, Bradley Cooper

As their marriage quietly unravels, Alex (Will Arnett) faces middle age and an impending divorce, seeking new purpose in the New York comedy scene while Tess (Laura Dern) confronts the sacrifices she made for their family—forcing them to navigate co-parenting, identity, and whether love can take a new form.

THE INQUISITOR
(USA, 98 MIN)
Director: Angela Lynn Tucker

In 1972, Barbara Jordan became the first Southern Black woman to join Congress. THE INQUISITOR chronicles Representative Jordan’s meteoric rise offering a blueprint for uniting a divided America through a turbulent political era.

JAY KELLY
(USA, UK, Italy, 132 MIN)
Writer: Noah Baumbach, Emily Mortimer
Director: Noah Baumbach
Cast: George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern

From Academy Award® nominee Noah Baumbach, Jay Kelly follows famous movie actor Jay Kelly (George Clooney) and his devoted manager Ron (Adam Sandler) as they embark on a whirlwind and unexpectedly profound journey through Europe. Along the way, both men are forced to confront the choices they’ve made, the relationships with their loved ones, and the legacies they’ll leave behind.

LA GRAZIA
(Italy, 133 MIN)
Writer/Director: Paolo Sorrentino
Cast: Toni Servillo, Anna Ferzetti, Orlando Cinque

Mariano De Santis is the President of the Italian Republic. No connection to any real-life presidents; he is entirely a product of the author’s imagination. A widower and a Catholic, he has a daughter, Dorotea, a legal scholar like himself. As his term draws to a close, amid uneventful days, two final duties arise: deciding on two delicate petitions for a presidential pardon. True moral dilemmas, which become tangled, in ways that seem impossible to unravel, with his private life. Driven by doubt, he will have to decide. And, with a deep sense of responsibility, that is exactly what this remarkable Italian President will do.

LEADS
(USA, 102 MIN)
Writer: Bryan Poyser, Heather Kafka, Justin Arnold
Director: Bryan Poyser
Cast: Heather Kafka, Justin Arnold, Macon Blair

An acting professor has her life upended when her charming but volatile baby brother joins her acting class, setting off a battle of wills between them for the hearts and minds of her eager students that could bring them all to the brink of success or debilitating ruin.

THE LONG SHOT
(USA, 95 MIN)
Writer: Drew Mackintosh
Director: Austin Nichols
Cast: Ryan Hansen, Adrianne Palicki, Dulce Sloan, Temple Baker, Justin Chatwin, Bill Wise, Chris St. Mary, Bobo Hoang, Joe Hursley

Set in Austin, Texas, The Long Shot is a shaggy, easy-going comedy that blends humor with a healthy dose of heart. The film follows Ray Mueller, a lovable slacker who lives and works at the city’s historic municipal golf course.

NO OTHER CHOICE
(South Korea, 139 MIN)
Writer: Park Chan-wook, Don McKellar, Lee Kyoung-mi, Lee Ja-hye
Director: Park Chan-wook
Cast: Lee Byung Hun, Son Yejin, Park Hee Soon, Lee Sung Min, Yeom Hye Ran, Cha Seung Won

From director Park Chan-wook and based on Donald E. Westlake’s novel The Ax, the story follows Man-su on his desperate hunt for a new job after his abrupt layoff from the paper company he served for 25 years.

NOT WITHOUT HOPE
(USA, Malta, 120 MIN)
Writer: E. Nicholas Mariani, Joe Carnahan, Nick Schuyler
Director: Joe Carnahan
Cast: Zachary Levi, Josh Duhamel, Quentin Plair

Based on The New York Times Best Seller of the same name, tells the harrowing true story of a tragic 2009 fishing trip taken by four friends — including NFL players Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith — who are stranded at sea 70 miles off the coast of Clearwater, Florida after their boat capsizes. With the storm of the century fast approaching, the four friends are left to battle hypothermia, dehydration and the unrelenting elements in a fight for survival. World Premiere

NUREMBURG
(USA, 148 MIN)
Writer/Director: James Vanderbilt
Cast: Russell Crowe, Rami Malek, Michael Shannon

The Allies, led by the unyielding chief prosecutor, Robert H. Jackson (Michael Shannon), have the task of ensuring the Nazi regime answers for the unveiled horrors of the Holocaust while a US Army psychiatrist (Rami Malek) is locked in a dramatic psychological duel with former Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring (Russell Crowe).

A PRIVATE LIFE
(France, 105 MIN)
Writer: Anne Berest, Rebecca Zlotowski, Gaëlle Macé
Director: Rebecca Zlotowski
Cast: Jodie Foster, Daniel Auteuil, Virginie Efira

A Private Life is a frisky, feminine, film noir about psychoanalysis and many other things… Renowned psychiatrist Lilian Steiner (Jodie Foster in a kinetic performance) is deeply troubled by the sudden death of one of her patients. Convinced that it was murder, she decides to investigate.

RENTAL FAMILY
(USA, Japan, 110 MIN)
Writer: Hikari, Stephen Blahut
Director: Hikari
Cast: Brendan Fraser, Takehiro Hira, Mari Yamamoto, Shannon Gorman, Akira Emoto

Set in modern-day Tokyo, Rental Family follows an American actor (Brendan Fraser) who struggles to find purpose until he lands an unusual gig: working for a Japanese “rental family” agency, playing stand-in roles for strangers. As he immerses himself in his clients’ worlds, he begins to form genuine bonds that blur the lines between performance and reality. Confronting the moral complexities of his work, he rediscovers purpose, belonging, and the quiet beauty of human connection.

SENTIMENTAL VALUE
(Norway, France, Denmark, Germany, 133 MIN)
Writer: Joachim Trier, Eskil Vogt
Director: Joachim Trier
Cast: Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Elle Fanning

Sisters Nora and Agnes reunite with their estranged father, the charismatic Gustav, a once-renowned director who offers stage actress Nora a role in what he hopes will be his comeback film. When Nora turns it down, she soon discovers he has given her part to an eager young Hollywood star. Suddenly, the two sisters must navigate their complicated relationship with their father – and deal with an American star dropped right into the middle of their complex family dynamics.

TRAIN DREAMS
(USA, 148 MIN)
Writer: Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar
Director: Clint Bentley
Cast: Joel Edgerton, Clifton Collins Jr., Felicity Jones

Based on Denis Johnson’s beloved novella, Train Dreams is the moving portrait of Robert Grainier, a logger and railroad worker who leads a life of unexpected depth and beauty in the rapidly-changing America of the early 20th Century.

WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY
(USA, 144 MIN)
Writer/Director: Rian Johnson
Cast: Daniel Craig, Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close

Benoit Blanc returns for his most dangerous case yet.

RETROSPECTIVES

A KNIGHT’S TALE (2001)
(USA, 130 MIN)
Writer/Director: Brian Helgeland
Cast: Heath Ledger, Rufus Sewell, Shannyn Sossamon, Paul Bettany

After serving a number of years as a squire, an earnest young commoner poses as a knight and establishes himself in the jousting tournaments of Europe. He and the princess fall in love, but she is unaware of his deceit and common roots. The false knight is estranged from the princess once his true roots are revealed. He struggles to amend their relationship.

SE7EN
(USA, 132 MIN)
Writer: Andrew Kevin Walker
Director: David Fincher
Cast: Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Gwyneth Paltrow

Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives.

NARRATIVE FEATURES

A MAN WALKS DOWN THE STREET
World Premiere|
(ISRAEL, 91 MIN)
Writer/Director: Yuval Hadadi
Cast: Angel Bonanni, Uri Banai, Gili Blum, Yotam Rotshtain

Raanan, a middle aged man, returns home after 30 years abroad. A chance encounter with an elderly man unlocks troubled memories, and a brief affair with a much younger man, sends him spiraling through generational rifts, and forces him to confront his internalized homophobia and emotional wounds of his past.

AMERICAN BABY
(USA, 85 MIN)
Writer: Tanya Leonova, Ellen Rodnianski
Director: Ellen Rodnianski
Cast: Abigail Pniowsky, Elisha Henig, Claire Capek, Janel Koloski

American Baby follows Oli as she navigates the repercussions of being very young and very pregnant in small town Texas. As she seeks out the suddenly absent teenage father-to-be of her child, Oli confronts the growing isolation from her community.

ETHAN BLOOM
(USA, 95 MIN)
Writer: Maylen Dominguez
Director: Herschel Faber
Cast: Joshua Malina, Rachelle Lefevre, Carlos Ponce, Hank Greenspan

Ethan Bloom paints a raw and authentic portrait of adolescence, exploring the struggles of an awkward teenager navigating the loss of his mother, his search for faith, and the pressures of his father’s expectations—all while grappling with first love and the complexities of growing up.

HELLO OUT THERE
(USA, 90 MIN)
Writer/Director: Otis Blum
Cast: Chloe Bennet, Phil Dunster, Jennifer Beals

Minnie, a journalist, and Rex, her cousin and punk rock guitarist recently out of rehab, embark on a road trip to investigate Area 51 and uncover the truth about extraterrestrials. However, their journey unveils a deeper, personal motive.

IT COMES IN WAVES
(Canada, 104 MIN)
Writer: Sammy Mohamed
Director: Fitch Jean
Cast: Adrian Walters, Nendia Lewars, Olunike Adeliyi

A young Rwandan-Canadian man struggles to raise his younger sister while their mother battles addiction, forcing him to confront generational trauma that threatens to tear apart the only family he has left.

MILES AWAY
(USA, 81 MIN)
Writer/Director: Jackie Quinones
Cast: Jackie Quinones, Luis Guzman, Andre Royo, Jessica Pacheco

Jess, a socially awkward driver with Hollywood dreams, navigates eccentric passengers and relentless family chaos, only to realize she’s become the spectator of her own unraveling life.

NOBODY WANTS TO BE HERE, NOBODY WANTS TO LEAVE
(USA, 110 MIN)
Writer: Caleb Samples
Director: Cash Robinson
Cast: Tine Joustra, Mabel Thomas, Brian Childers, Jeff Huth

At a rundown roadside lodge, a cynical caretaker and a desperate stripper collide with the wreckage of their pasts, discovering in each other the possibility of truth, mercy, and a fleeting sense of home.

RHYTHM IS A DANCER
World Premiere
(USA, 93 MIN)
Writer/Director: Lauren Caster
Cast: Lauren Caster, Tate Donovan, Amy Aquino, Marianne Muellerleile

Born to Susan (Amy Aquino), a lesbian who opted for insemination, Ro grapples with the complexities of her unconventional family dynamic and soon forms a bond at her new job with three spirited octogenarians, who help her reconnect with her family, her roots and herself.

SIGNING TONY RAYMOND
World Premiere
(USA, 111 MIN)
Writer/Director: Glen Owen
Cast: Michael Mosley, Mira Sorvino, Rob Morgan, Marshawn Lynch

A young college football coach is sent to rural Alabama to try and sign the nation’s top high school defensive end and soon finds himself trying to outflank rival recruiters, fight off grifting townsfolk and win over the player’s wildly dysfunctional family.

TUESDAY’S FLU
World Premiere
(USA, 101 MIN)
Writer: Brian Parri, Stephen Perri
Director: Daniel Roebuck

Cast: Ross Marquand, Jackie Earle Haley, Jon Gries, Daniel RoebuckDrowning in debt to a ruthless bookie and blackmailed by his ex-wife, a recovering gambler sees one last chance to break free—but pulling it off means risking everything to win back his son

YOU’RE DATING A NARCISSIST!
World Premiere
(USA, 91 MIN)
Writer: Ann Marie Allison, Jenna Milly
Director: Ann Marie Allison
Cast: Marisa Tomei, Sherry Cola, Ciara Bravo, Marco Pigossi

An outspoken psychologist rushes to Los Angeles with her best friend to stop her lovesick daughter’s wedding, fearing the groom is a narcissist.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES

BITE TO BITE
(USA, 78 MIN)
Director: Kelly Lipscomb
Cast: Dennis Cameron, Lloyd MacInnes, Robbie Schallert, Scott Marshall

The fascinating story of one giant Bluefin Tuna on an unlikely journey around the world with two fishermen from Nova Scotia to the legendary Tsukiji Seafood Market in Japan and the underbelly of a lucrative but controversial global sushi industry.

CHARLEY CROCKETT: $10 DOLLAR COWBOY
(USA, 75 MIN)
Director: Patrick Heaphy
Cast: Charley Crockett

$10 Cowboy takes viewers on-the-road and front row for Charley Crockett’s record kick off tour at home in Texas. Director Patrick Heaphy’s intimate on-the-fly interviews capture Charley’s vision of his brand of Texas, his view of the music industry, and what it means to be a Texan.

GREGG ALLMAN: THE MUSIC OF MY SOUL
(USA, 100 MIN)
Director: James Keach

This soaring music documentary traces Gregg Allman’s journey from a childhood scarred by his father’s murder to the heights of Southern rock and late-life sobriety, exploring grief, addiction, love, and the racially charged American South through his transcendent music. Tender and unsparing, featuring electrifying performances and archival recordings, the film reveals how Gregg’s unforgettable blend of rock, country and blues mirrored the music and struggles of his soul.

LOOT: A STORY OF CRIME AND REDEMPTION
(Canada, 87 MIN)
Director: Don Millar

A daring look at the underbelly of the global art market, LOOT exposes the criminal network that used child soldiers to violently raid Cambodian temples then delivered blood antiquities to the homes of billionaires and elite western museums.

SEARCHING FOR SATYRUS
(Turkiye, 102 MIN)
Writer/Director: Rena Effendi
Cast: Rena Effendi, Elmira Abbasova, Dmitrii Morgun, Pavlik Kazaryan

On a quest to find a rare butterfly named after her late father, a Soviet entomologist, a photographer journeys into the borderlands of two warring nations—where the fragile insect becomes an unexpected guide into her father’s past.

SECONDS AWAY
(USA, Belgium, 84 MIN)
Director: Benjamin Keegan
Cast: Peter Callahan, Kathy McHugh, Donn Cabral

A runner chasing Olympic dreams. A coach facing cancer. A story about mentorship, resilience, and showing up for each other.

STRONGER THAN YOU THINK
(USA, 100 MIN)
Writer: Glen Owen
Director: Melissa Forman, Janice Molinari
Cast: Ali Truwit, Mitch Truwit, Jamie Barone

22-year-old Ali Truwit loses her leg in a shark attack and in the year that follows, struggles to reclaim her identity and find purpose by setting an unthinkable goal – making the U.S. Paralympic Team.

THE SKY WAS ON FIRE: BALLET AND WAR IN UKRAINE
(USA, 106 MIN)
Writer: Joan Finn Adkison, Michael Germano, Michelle Provenzano
Director: Jonathan Maricle, Joan Finn Adkison
Cast: Oleh Tokar, Khrystyna Shyshpor, Krystyna Shyshkarova, Olha Tokar

This film tells the story of Russia’s attempt to erase Ukrainian culture — and of the ballerinas, dancers, and cultural stewards who face an impossible choice: to flee, to stay and preserve their art, or to pick up arms and fight.

VOICES: THE DANNY GANS STORY
(USA, 102 MIN)
Writer/Director: Andrew Davies Gans

Voices follows filmmaker Andrew Davies Gans as he retraces the improbable rise of his father, Danny Gans — a complete unknown who became a Las Vegas legend. What begins as a son’s search for answers becomes a haunting meditation on the voices that shape us, and the choice to carry them, or give voice to something new.

ZZASLOW K-427
(USA, 79 MIN)
Writer: Robert Ham, Adam Zaslow
Director: Robert Ham
Cast: Juan Josue Colón Estrada, Adam Zaslow, John Starks, John Feal

Zzaslow K-427 is a feature documentary that tells the extraordinary story of the longest-serving bomb-sniffing dog in U.S. Army history, a black Labrador retriever whose courage saved countless lives in combat and whose quiet presence brought healing far.

COMEDY VANGUARD FEATURES

CRYSTAL CROSS
(USA, 88 MIN)
Writer/Director: Richie James Follin
Cast: Rubyrose Hill, Richie James Follin, Lukas Haas, Luke Baines, Missi Pyle, Samantha Robinson

A quirky Christian singer and a suicidal dad drive cross-country, forging an unlikely bond through bad decisions, bizarre roadside attractions, and an all-original soundtrack. “Crystal Cross” is a hilarious, bittersweet road trip about two lost souls finding comfort (but not salvation) in each other’s messes.

(DON’T KNOW) HOW TO BE
(Mexico, 85 MIN)
Writer: Tato Alexander
Director: Salvador Espinosa
Cast: Tato Alexander, Memo Villegas, Arcelia Ramírez, Gerardo Trejoluna

When Majo and Cris join his boomer parents for a birthday dinner, a night meant for celebration unravels into a comic battleground of clashing values, family pressures, and generational identity crises, where everyone must face that nowadays no one really knows “how to be.”

DREAMING OF LIONS
(Brazil, Portugal, Spain, 88 MIN)
Writer/Director: Paolo Marinou-Blanco Cast: Denise Fraga, João Nunes Monteiro, Joana Ribeiro, Victoria Guerra

Dreaming of Lions is an absurdist tragicomedy about euthanasia and assisted suicide. Gilda and Amadeu meet at an underground organization that helps the terminally ill kill themselves painlessly. When they discover it’s a scam, they escape to Spain to finalize their plans.

LET’S CALL THE WHOLE THING OFF
(USA, 87 MIN)
Writer/Director: Elizabeth Guest
Cast: Ed Begley Jr., Nicholas Guest, Rachelle Carson-Begley, Craig Bullock

Love addict Lydia thinks she is finally ready to settle down but when her boyfriend Tim surprises her with a Christmas-in-New York proposal, she panics and goes home for the holidays where she must discover who she really is with the help of her four (yes, four!) parents.

MODERN WOMEN
(UK, 69 MIN)
Writer/Director: Hugo Santa Cruz
Cast: Shirley Both, Ian Reddington, Domino Soko, Alexandra Smith

The lives of six women suffering the consequences of the London Housing Crisis converge during the course of one day.

THEATRE PEOPLE
(USA, 80 MIN)
Writer/Director: Michael B. Breen
Cast: Hayley Huntley, Christopher Matias Aguila, James Urbaniak, Madeline Wise

Two no-name actors aren’t having the Broadway careers they dreamed of. The only thing that keeps them going are the small roles they’ve consistently booked in New York’s off-broadway theatre scene. But when they both fail to land good roles for the upcoming season, the future looks bleak. With no alternative, the actors decide they’re going to do the only thing that will get them back in the game: they’re going to become playwrights and write a new play with the biggest, longest, most dramatic scenes possible. And, most importantly, they’ll cast themselves.

YESTERDAY ISLAND
(Australia, 88 MIN)
Writer/Director: Sam Voutas
Cast: Ivan Aristeguieta, Florence Noble, Francis Greenslade, Genevieve Neve

A midnight phone call from a friend asking for a favor leads a failed writer to be trapped on a surreal subantarctic island, with darkly comedic consequences.

DARK MATTER FEATURES

A MOTHER’S LOVE
(USA, 90 MIN)
Writer/Director: Patrick Q. Roberts
Cast: Emily Hall, Nathan Owens, Abi Van Andel, Kara Hayward

Strange occurrences haunt a new mother struggling with postpartum after the discovery of a dead body hidden inside the walls of the house she and her husband are remodeling into their dream home leads down a path of dark secrets.

ANSWR
(USA, 98 MIN)
Writer/Director: Stephen Kay
Cast: Moises Arias, Rain Spencer, Lilli Kay, Siddiq Saunderson

Tech “wunderkind,” Colton Ray, escapes the pain of mourning the loss of his father by taking a gig at a remote Icelandic weather station. When he accepts a side hustle, as part of an alignment group for a next-gen chatbot, Colton develops a dangerous relationship with his “new best friend.”

KIND
(Netherlands, 83 MIN)
Writer: Johan Paul de Vrijer
Director: Jan Verdijk
Cast: Vincent van der Valk, Noortje Herlaar, Tamar van den Dop

Desperate to save their unborn daughter from fatal complications, an expectant couple turns to a mysterious midwife.

SACRIFICIOS
(Mexico, 92 MIN)
Writer: Mauricio Chernovetzky, Alexander Iosjpe
Director: Mauricio Chernovetzky
Cast: Jorge A. Jimenez, Siddhartha Tonalli, Frida Astrid, Costanza Andrade

After suffering a traumatic loss, Juan attempts to find solace in the vastness of the sea. There a miraculous event promises to reverse everything…but at what cost?

SPITE
(USA, 86 MIN)
Writer/Director: Carolynn Cecilia
Cast: Masha Cima, Eileen Weisinger, Maxwell Scott, Shannon Hamm

Johanna, a struggling social worker, returns to her late mother’s home where bruises, nightmares, and a hostile presence blur reality. As she spirals into isolation, she must confront the abuse of her childhood and reclaim agency—or remain trapped in the cycle forever.

TEXAS INDEPENDENT FEATURES

DO NO HARM
(USA, 83 MIN)
Writer/Director: Chris Hartwell
Cast: Harry Shum Jr., Rosaline Elbay, Ronny Chieng, Jimmy Gonzales

When a simple mistake turns into a fatal error, a burned out nurse becomes trapped by the system, dangerous expectations, and the corrosive lies we tell to survive.

PICKLEHEADS
(USA, 77 MIN)
Writer: Jared Bonner
Director: Josh Flanagan
Cast: Kristine Froseth, Jared Bonner, Harvey Guillen, John O’Hurley

A disgraced ping pong star is dragged back into the limelight by a documentary crew, hoping to capture his redemption tale in a plucky, new sport — pickleball.

SELL OUT
(USA, 90 MIN)
Writer/Director: Nicholas Jude Holden, Joshua Ashy Holden
Cast: Nick Holden, Stephanie Hunt, Olivia Applegate, Adrianne Palicki, Temple Baker, Gabriel Luna, Jimmy Gonzalez, Bill Wise

A neurotic novelist can’t tell if his biggest problem is the blank page, his Southern family —or his best friend’s off-the-rails political campaign.

VALENTINA
(USA, 78 MIN)
Writer: Noelle Forougi, Tatti Ribeiro
Director: Tatti Ribeiro
Cast: Keyla Monterroso Mejia

A series of bureaucratic mishaps plagues Valentina as she tries to tackle a simple to-do list at the El Paso-Juarez border.