Abe’s SXSW Jury of One

A shot from my front-row seat to the Q & A for THE FALL GUY.By Abe Friedtanzer

I had the pleasure of being back in Austin for the fourth time for the SXSW Film and TV Festival, which began on Friday, March 8^th and officially concluded Sunday, March 17^th. During my time there, I got to see 27 in-person films and screened 17 additional films, as well as the first two episodes of season three of Hacks, which premieres in May on Max (and is just as good as ever).

As usual, most of what I saw was really terrific. It was good to see major releases like Monkey Man and Civil War ahead of their theatrical releases with an enthusiastic crowd, though neither compared in quality to The Fall Guy, which was a lot of fun. Two streaming releases coming next month also make my top ten, and I’ll hope they’ll translate well to audiences watching at home...

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SXSW Review: ‘It’s What’s Inside’

By Abe Friedtanzer

Games like Mafia or One Night Ultimate Werewolf are fun because they give people the chance to take on roles and to use critical thinking skills to deduce who’s lying and who’s telling the truth. But they also have the potential to create very awkward moments by bringing out real emotions betrayed under the guise of playing a part, and to create divisions in friendships based on harsh truths accidentally revealed. Sundance hit It’s What’s Inside, which was acquired by Netflix ahead of its SXSW premiere, dials that up a few levels in the best possible way…

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SXSW Review: ‘We Strangers’

By Abe Friedtanzer

It’s rarely comfortable to hear the kinds of things that people say to those they hire to work in their homes. Most grin and bear it, letting a reductive comment or offensive statement go for the sake of keeping a paycheck and not starting something. The protagonist of We Strangers does something different, utilizing the gullibility of one woman whose house she cleans to make some extra money and realizing that it will only make her more valuable. It’s only a half-calculated gamble, which defines most of what this vexing main character does…

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SXSW Review: ‘7 Keys’

Abe Friedtanzer

Do you still have the keys to the places you used to live? They might be good for sentimental value, or, if you’re feeling like some casual criminal activity, worth trying to see if the landlord or new owner didn’t actually change the locks. That concept is part of the premise for 7 Keys, an intoxicating, whirlwind thriller about two people who meet and go on a “property porn tour” of London while getting to know each other in a very intimate way. It’s wild and intense and overall quite a unique experience…

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SXSW Review: "Audrey"

By Abe Friedtanzer

Siblings have surely wished for a brief frustrated moment when they were young that they were only children, and parents might have also momentarily considered whether their lives would be easier if they hadn’t had a child. But those thoughts shouldn’t linger much, and if they do, it’s probably not a good thing to say out loud. Audrey tells an entertaining story of three people who find that things are a lot breezier when one member of their family is in a coma and no longer actively complicating their lives…

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