It’s a renowned festival of creative rule-breakers and groundbreakers, but South By Southwest (SXSW) has always been synonymous with Austin, Texas.
Until recently, that is.
SXSW London is now underway, and the screen component has plenty to offer for those of us who lean to the speculative side. The SXSW London Screen team has provided an overview of the films for SFFH fans to look out for—and hopefully go see, if you’re near the Big Smoke—this week. Especially keep an eye on the Shivers strand, featuring films “living in the realm of the eerie, the uncanny and the weird,” which they say are “perfect for the darkly curious”.
Night Silence
Strand: Shivers
Country: Poland
Director: Bartosz M. Kowalski
Producer: Dariusz Pietrykowski, Mirella Zaradkiewicz
Screening 1: Rich Mix (Rich Mix Screen 3), Friday 6 June, 5.45p,
Screening 2: Curzon Hoxton (Curzon Screen 1), Saturday 7 June, 2pm
About to turn 80, retired actor Lucjan (Maciej Damiecki) is admitted by his son into what appears to be a peaceful nursing home nestled in the quiet countryside. The son is about to become a father himself and says it is only temporary, but Lucjan soon begins to be confronted with sinister signs that his stay might be more permanent than it seems. With Night Silence, Hellhole director Bartosz M. Kowalski finely walks the line between the tender and the eerie as existential conversations about love and loss happen as mysterious creatures crawl under the creaking floors.
Cadet
Strand: Shivers
Country: Kazakhstan
Director: Adilkhan Yerzhanov
Producer: Damir Yedilov
Screening 1: Rich Mix (Rich Mix Screen 2), Tuesday 3 June, 9pm
Screening 2: Curzon Hoxton (Curzon Screen 2), Friday 6 June, 9.15pm
Single mother Alina enrols her shy, quiet son Serik in an elite military academy, using his father’s high military ranking to ensure his acceptance. But the boys are brutal, and the principal is worse, isolating and demeaning Serik. Meanwhile, a bigger threat looms, something dark and unseen that comes from the basement of the old Soviet building. Kazakh director Adilkhan Yerzhanov’s first foray into horror is big on atmosphere, using the built-in creepiness of isolated, old structures to create some truly terrifying moments.
Dead by Dawn
Strand: Shivers
Country: Poland
Genres: Action/ Adventure – Mystery – Thriller
Director and screenwriter: Dawid Torrone
Producer: Katarzyna Kostecka and Kinga Tasarek
Screening 1: Rich Mix (Rich Mix Screen 1), Monday 2 June, 8.45pm
Screening 2: Curzon Hoxton (Curzon Screen 3), Saturday 7 June, 9.30pm
It’s Christmas Eve and a young troupe of actors has just arrived at an imposing baroque theater to rehearse for a new play about witchcraft penned by a mysterious, reclusive playwright. As soon as they enter the building, phone signal goes down. Then things start to feel off. Then bodies begin to drop down like flies. David Torrone drinks from the fountain of giallo to build this gory, highly entertaining game of cat and mouse with a deliciously camp villain that makes the Phantom of the Opera seem like a benevolent arts patron.
Forte
Genre: Mystery/ Thriller
Country: South Korea
Language: Korean
Director: Kimbo Kim
Screenwriter: Heuisong Son / Jihwan Kim
Producer: Dajeong Lee
Screening 1: Rich Mix (Rich Mix Screen 1), Thursday 5 June 6.30pm
Screening 2: Curzon Hoxton (Curzon Screen 3), Friday 6 June 6.15pm
Budding composer Yeonji’s (Leem Chae-young) biggest dream comes true when she lands an entry-level position at the prestigious Forte Studio working on the score for a renowned director’s new film. Soon enough, what was once a dream begins to spiral into a nightmare as the young musician realises her boss — and main reference in the field — is not only overly demanding but also more than happy to take credit for her work. Kimbo Kim’s confidently paced debut cleverly plays with workplace tensions and issues of sexism and ageism to take Forte to a gory, thrilling apex set deep in the Korean woods.
Mother’s Baby
Strand: Shiver
Genre: Drama
Country: Austria
Language: German
Director: Johanna Moder
Screenwriters: Johanna Moder and Arne Kohlweyer
Producers: Sabine Moser and Oliver Neumann
Screening 1: Curzon Hoxton (Curzon Screen 1), Tuesday 3 June 8.40pm
Screening 2: Curzon Hoxton (Curzon Screen 3), Wednesday 4 June 8.30pm
Julia and Georg really, really want a baby. After several unsuccessful fertility treatments, the solution appears in the form of an experimental treatment by Dr. Vilfort (Claes Bang). However, something happens during the birth, and their baby is taken away for additional treatment, leaving the couple helpless and in the dark about what is truly going on. When the doctor returns their child, Julia finds it impossible to connect with her son. Is the baby hers, or is there something darker at play?
The Occupant
Strand: Shiver
Genres: Sci-Fi and Thriller
Country: Netherlands
Language: English and Georgian
Director: Hugo Keijzer
Screenwriters: Philip M. Howe, Hugo Keijzer, Roelof Jan Minneboo and Xiao Tang
Producers: Raymond van der Kaaij, Isabel Freer, Jay Taylor and Kwesi Dickson
Screening 1: Rich Mix (Rich Mix Screen 1), Wednesday 4 June, 6.30pm
Screening 2: Curzon Hoxton (Curzon Screen 2), Friday 6 June, 4.30pm
Refusing to accept her sister’s terminal diagnosis, geologist Abby (Ella Balinska) takes a job in the remote Georgian taiga to help pay for a new experimental treatment that might save her beloved sibling. Stuck in the wilderness after a crash, Abby must face the harsh elements to make her way back to her sister guided by the soothing voice of John (Rob Delaney, always welcome), an American pilot whose plane was also brought down. Guiding her through the harsh conditions, John seems to be a beacon of hope. Until he isn’t.
The Old Woman with the Knife
Strand: Shiver
Genres: Action/ Adventure and Thriller
Country: South Korea
Director: Min Kyu-dong
Screening 1: Rich Mix (Rich Mix Screen 2), Monday 2 June, 8.30pm
Screening 2: Curzon Hoxton (Curzon Screen 2), Saturday 7 June, 6pm
Based on the book by Gu Byeong-mo, this sleek, action-filled thriller follows Hornclaw, a woman whose job is to clean the city of “human vermin.” A legendary assassin with over four decades on the job, the titular knife-yielding badass must face a new definition of vermin when she finds herself fighting possible proteges turned enemies, who all come looking for revenge. Despite her ageing body, Hornclaw’s killer instinct remains younger than ever; this new, dangerous mission heightens her stealth mind and gives the contract killer a new purpose in life when she least expects it.
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