It was another big success at The 2025 SXSW FILM & TV FESTIVAL, with so much to see and do, we just didn’t have enough time! However, our Entertainment Today TV News Reporters: Nina Ameri and Jennifer Hutchins, can now give you all the results, with The SXSW FILM & TV FESTIVAL 2025 AUDIENCE AWARD WINNERS!
From Austin, Texas,on Monday, March 17, 2025 – The South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Conference and Festivals announced the Audience Award winners for the 32nd SXSW Film & TV Festival today. The Audience Awards follow the previously announced 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival Jury and Special Awards. Audience Award Winners were certified by Maxwell Locke & Ritter LLP.
SXSW Film & TV Festival presented 114 Features including 93 World Premieres, 3 International Premieres, 3 North American Premieres, 4 U.S. Premieres, 11 Texas Premieres + 57 Short Films and 19 Music Videos. The TV Program includes 17 TV projects, with 6 TV premieres, 4 TV Spotlight and 7 Independent TV Pilots. There are 31 projects in the XR Experience Program, including 15 in XR Experience Competition and 16 in XR Experience Spotlight.
Fantasy Life and Remaining Native took the Narrative and Documentary Feature Competition Audience Awards, and the Audience favorites included: The Accountant 2, Deaf President Now!, The Baltimorons, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, Corina, Luv Ya, Bum!, Ghost Boy, Selena y Los Dinos, Spy High, Mix Tape, Bulldozer, Retirement Plan, Armed only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud, Lurk, A$AP Rocky – ‘Tailor Swif’, Ben’s Sister, Sweetbriar, Face Jumping, and A Cinephonic Rhapsody for the Soul.
Our reporter’s favorite, that we got to see at the World Premiere at the historic Paramount Theater in Austin, Texas, was “The Accountant 2.” This movie was the 2025 Film & TV Festival Audience Award Winner for Headliner Award, that was presented by Epidemic Sound. It will be shown globally on April 25th, with a sneak preview on April 15th- with a “Tax Day” discount!
This epic movie has an All-Star “A-List” Cast: Star and Producer: Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Director Gavin O’Connor, Stars: Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Daniella Pineda, Allison Robertson, Grant Harvey, Presley Anderson, Vincent Juskalian, Avery Taylor, producer Lynette Howell Taylor, Executive Producers: Dani Bernfeld, & Allison Winter. Wow! With an amazing story line: Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) who has a talent for solving complex problems. When an old acquaintance is murdered, leaving behind a cryptic message to “find the accountant,” Wolff is compelled to solve the case. Realizing more extreme measures are necessary, Wolff recruits his estranged and highly lethal brother, Brax (Jon Bernthal), to help. In partnership with U.S. Treasury Deputy Director Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), they uncover a deadly conspiracy, becoming targets of a ruthless network of killers who will stop at nothing to keep their secrets buried.
“Our deepest thanks to the filmmakers, audiences, and volunteers who made this year’s SXSW Film & TV Festival exceptional,” said Claudette Godfrey, VP Film & TV. “We assembled another stellar program that puts independently made narratives, documentaries, TV series, and XR experiences on the same stage as studio films and TV shows. The magic of shared viewing experiences and a sense of community continued to define our festival, and we’re excited for all of this year’s projects to reach even wider audiences beyond SXSW!”
SXSW draws thousands of fans, film and television creators, press, and industry leaders to discover the smartest, most innovative, and entertaining new films, TV and XR projects of the year, as well as giving access to hundreds of Conference Sessions, Creative Industry Exhibitions, Mentoring, Meetups, and Special Events that define the cross-industry event.
Select SXSW 2025 event playlists with talent interviews and talks can be found on YouTube.
2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival Audience Award Winners:
Feature Film Program
HEADLINER
Presented by Epidemic Sound
Audience Award Winner: The Accountant 2
Director: Gavin O’Connor, Producers: Ben Affleck, Lynette Howell Taylor, Mark Williams, Screenwriter: Bill Dubuque
NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION
Presented by Kickstarter
Audience Award Winner: Fantasy Life
Director/Screenwriter: Matthew Shear, Producers: Charlie Alderman, Chris Dodds, Phil Keefe, Amanda Peet, Emily McCann Lesser, David Bernon, Sam Slater
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: Remaining Native
Director: Paige Bethmann, Producers: Jessica Epstein, Paige Bethmann, Judd Ehrlich
NARRATIVE SPOTLIGHT
Audience Award Winner: The Baltimorons
Director: Jay Duplass, Producers: Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass, Mel Eslyn, Shuli Harel, David Bonnett Jr., Michael Strassner, Drew Langer, Screenwriters: Jay Duplass, Michael Strassner
DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT
Audience Award Winner: Luv Ya, Bum!
Directors: Sam Wainwright Douglas, David Hartstein, Producers: Paul Jensen, Vance Howard, Screenwriter: Andrew Miller
MIDNIGHTER
Audience Award Winner: Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie
Director: Matt Johnson, Producers: Matthew Miller, Matt Greyson, Screenwriters: Matt Johnson, Jay McCarrol
VISIONS
Audience Award Winner: Ghost Boy
Director: Rodney Ascher, Producers: Elika Portnoy, Ryan Bartecki, Gary Levinsohn, Billy Hines
GLOBAL
Presented by MUBI
Audience Award Winner: Corina
Director: Urzula Barba Hopfner, Producers: Carlos Hernández, Iván López- Barba, Urzula Barba, Screenwriters: Urzula Barba Hopfner, Samuel Sosa
24 BEATS PER SECOND
Audience Award Winner: Selena y Los Dinos
Director: Isabel Castro, Producers: Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, J. Daniel Torres, David Blackman, Simran A. Singh
FESTIVAL FAVORITE
Audience Award Winner: Deaf President Now!
Directors: Nyle DiMarco, Davis Guggenheim, Producers: Nyle DiMarco, Davis Guggenheim, Amanda Rohlke, Jonathan King, Michael Harte
Short Film Program Presented by Vimeo
NARRATIVE SHORT COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: Ben’s Sister
Director/Screenwriter: Emma Weinswig, Producers: Will Noyce, Emma Weinswig, Shane Bagwell, Chelsea Eisen
DOCUMENTARY SHORT COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: Armed only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud
Directors: Brent Renaud, Craig Renaud, Producers: Juan Arredondo, Jon Alpert, Christof Putzel, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, Tina Nguyen, Jeff Newton, Mami Kuwano Renaud, Naomi Mizoguchi, Tami Alpert
ANIMATED SHORT COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: Retirement Plan
Director: John Kelly, Screenwriters: John Kelly, Tara Lawall, Producers: Julie Murnaghan, Andrew Freedman
MIDNIGHT SHORT COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: Lurk
Directors: Mairin Hart, Josh Wallace Kerrigan, Screenwriter: Josh Wallace Kerrigan, Producers: Mairin Hart, Josh Wallace Kerrigan, Devin Das, Greg Cohen, John Nodorft
TEXAS SHORT COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: Sweetbriar
Director/Screenwriter: Danny Rivera, Producer: MK Goss
MUSIC VIDEO COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: A$AP Rocky – ‘Tailor Swif’
Directors/Screenwriters: Vania Heymann, Gal Muggia
TV Program
TV PREMIERE
Audience Award Winner: Spy High
Director: Jody McVeigh-Schultz, Producers: Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, Archie Gips, Aliza Rosen, Jody McVeigh-Schultz, David Wendell
TV SPOTLIGHT
Audience Award Winner: Mix Tape
Director: Lucy Gaffy, Producers: Aoife O’Sullivan, Tristan Orpen Lynch, Angie Fielder, Polly Staniford, Screenwriter: Jo Spain
INDEPENDENT TV PILOT COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: Bulldozer
Showrunner/Screenwriter: Joanna Leeds, Director: Andrew Leeds, Producers: Joanna Leeds, Andrew Leeds, Rhett Reese, Caleb Reese, Michael Day
XR Experience
XR EXPERIENCE COMPETITION
Audience Award Winner: Face Jumping
Directors: Danny Cannizzaro, Samantha Gorman, Producers: Yuxin Gao, J Noland, Screenwriter: Samantha Gorman
XR EXPERIENCE SPOTLIGHT
Audience Award Winner: Resolution: A Cinephonic Rhapsody for the Soul
Directors: Scott Berman, Ryan Hartsell, Producer/Screenwriter: Scott Berman
SXSW is proud to be an official qualifying festival for the Academy Awards® Short Film competition. Winners of our Best Animated, Best Narrative and Best Documentary Short Film categories become eligible for Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards (Oscars). Any British Short Film or British Short Animation that screens at SXSW is eligible for BAFTA nomination. Films are also eligible for the Independent Spirit Awards, more information on eligibility here.
Press Links:
- Film Stills can be found at: https://filmmaker.sxsw.com/media
- Publicists for projects in the 2025 program can be found here.
About SXSW Film & TV Festival
Now in its 32nd year, SXSW Film & TV Festival brings together creatives of all stripes to experience a diverse lineup and access to the music and comedy festivals plus conference sessions with visionaries from all corners of the entertainment, media, and technology industries.
About SXSW
SXSW dedicates itself to helping creative people achieve their goals. Founded in 1987 in Austin, Texas, SXSW is best known for its conference and festivals that celebrate the convergence of tech, film and television, music, education, and culture. An essential destination for global professionals, the annual March event features sessions, music, and comedy showcases, film and television screenings, exhibitions, professional development, and a variety of opportunities to meet and connect with people. SXSW proves that the most unexpected discoveries happen when diverse topics and individuals come together. SXSW 2025 will take place March 7–15 in Austin. Learn more at sxsw.com. To register for the event, please visit sxsw.com/attend.
SXSW’s expansion into the Asia Pacific region, with SXSW Sydney starting in 2023 and Europe with SXSW London in 2025, provides new possibilities at this iconic experience. These events, each with their own distinct flavor, make South By an indispensable three-stop tour for the global creative community.
SXSW 2025 Driven by Rivian. The SXSW 2025 Film & TV Festival is sponsored by Epidemic Sound, Redbreast, DIRECTV and The Austin Chronicle.
News Story by our Entertainment Today TV News Reporters: Nina Ameri and Jennifer Hutchins.
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