The Beats Per Second Picks At SxSW Film Festival

We’ve picked out a few highlights from the forthcoming South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival from the first features lineup announced for the 23rd edition, running March 11-19 2016 in Austin, Texas. The festival will include a screening of Don Cheadle’s Miles Davis biopic ‘Miles Ahead’.

The SxSW film festival draws in thousands of fans, filmmakers, press and industry insiders who hit Austin for 9 days of SXSW Film. This year 139 features will be shown, with additional titles to be announced and the full lineup will include 52 films from first-time filmmakers, and consists of 89 World Premieres, 13 North American Premieres and 8 U.S. Premieres. The complete Conference lineup and schedule with dates and times will be released on February 16.

In addition to the Festival’s 9 days of film screenings, the SXSW Film Conference will also feature 200 Keynotes, Conversations, Panels, Workshops, Roundtables and Mentor Sessions, plus an additional 400+ Convergence sessions. Music badge holders will also be able to attend the ’24 Beats Per Second’ screenings.

Feature films in the SXSW lineup screen in 12 sections: Narrative Feature Competition, Documentary Feature Competition, Headliners, Narrative Spotlight, Documentary Spotlight, Visions, Midnighters, Episodic, 24 Beats Per Second, SXGlobal, Festival Favorites and Special Events. Midnighters, Festival Favorites, and Special Events will be announced along with the Short Film Program on February 9.

24 BEATS PER SECOND

Showcasing the sounds, culture and influence of music & musicians, with an emphasis on documentary.

Miles Ahead

Director: Don Cheadle, Screenwriters: Don Cheadle, Steven Baigelman
Inspired by events in his life, Miles Ahead is a wildly entertaining, impressionistic, no-holds barred portrait of one of 20th century music’s creative geniuses, Miles Davis. Cast: Don Cheadle, Ewan McGregor, Emayatzy Corinealdi, Lakeith Lee Stanfield, Michael Stuhlbarg.

The Art of Organized Noize

Director: Quincy ‘QD3’ Jones, III, Screenwriter: Joshua A. Krause
Organized Noize shaped the landscape of Hip Hop music with a distinct sound created in the confines of a dungeon. They’re responsible for the careers of Outkast, CeeLo, Goodie Mob and the Dungeon Family. This is the story of the Art of Organized. (World Premiere)

Artist & Repertoire (UK)

Director: Matthew Jones
A pulsating documentary charting the extraordinary life and career of underground DJ icon, music producer and global trip hop mogul, James Lavelle. Starring DJ Shadow, 3D of Massive Attack, Futura, Ian Brown, Grandmaster Flash and Josh Homme. (World Premiere)

Soundbreaking – Stories from the Cutting Edge of Recorded Music

Directors: Jeff Dupre, Maro Chermayeff
An eight-part series that explores the nexus of cutting-edge technology and human artistry that has created the soundtrack of our lives. (World Premiere)

Narrative Spotlight

High profile narrative features receiving their World, North American or U.S. premieres at SXSW.

BLACK (Belgium)

Directors: Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah, Screenwriters: Nele Meirhaeghe, Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah, Hans Herbots
Mavela, 15, is a Black Bronx. She falls madly in love with Marwan, a charismatic member of a rival gang, the 1080s. The young couple is forced to make a brutal choice between gang loyalty and the love they have for one another. An impossible dilemma. Cast: Martha Canga Antonio, Aboubakr Bensaihi (U.S. Premiere)

Documentary Feature Competition

Ten world premieres: ten real world stories that demonstrate innovation, energy and bold voices. Selected from 1,013 feature documentary submissions in 2016.

Accidental Courtesy: Daryl Davis, Race & America

Director: Matt Ornstein
Daryl Davis has an unusual hobby. As a musician he has played with legends like Chuck Berry and Little Richard, but in his spare time he likes to meet and befriend members of the Ku Klux Klan. Join Daryl on his personal quest to understand racism. (World Premiere)

Goodnight Brooklyn – The Story of Death By Audio

Director: Matthew Conboy
Death By Audio, an underground art and music venue, is forced to close in 2014. The film focuses on the struggles of maintaining a community in the face of Brooklyn property development, hostile construction workers and a one billion-dollar company. (World Premiere)

Ovarian Psycos

Directors: Joanna Sokolowski, Kate Trumbull-LaValle
In East Los Angeles, three young misfit women find solace in an unapologetic, feminist bicycle crew. They call themselves the Ovarian Psycos Bicycle Brigade. (World Premiere)

SXSW is an official qualifying festival for the Academy Awards Short Film competition. The Best Narrative Short, Best Documentary Short and Best Animated Short winners become eligible for the Academy Awards.