FIELD OF STREAMS recommends movies related to the fest
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Sadly, there was no SXSW this year. We’re all locked down, and we didn’t get get to discover our new favorite films and bands at the heralded Austin festival. We know we can’t fully make it all better, but we do have some great suggestions of films associated with the festival that are streaming now on streaming services.
SUN DON’T SHINE (Prime, Kanopy)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy4Hs0ryNpo
Amy Seimetz is a SXSW veteran par excellence. From indie gems Upstream Color and Tiny Furniture to big studio pics like Pet Sematary and Alien: Covenant, she is most decidedly a March regular in Austin. While she’s made her mark as an actor, but she’s gone behind the camera, too. This year was to be her chance to show off She Dies Tomorrow, a film that might hit a little too close to home in these times.
In 2012, Seimetz directed Sun Don’t Shine, a tale from Florida that features lots of heat and humidity, as well as another indie darling in Kate Lyn Sheil. This is a road trip movie with a dark edge and tension to spare. The film was even co-edited by David Lowery, who will make an appearance later in this list.
THE BIG SICK (Prime)
This isn’t Michael Showalter’s first rodeo. The man who helped start seminal sketch comedy show The State has now taken to writing and directing. (He also teaches some high-minded academic bull mess at NYU, but that’s another story.) His newest, The Lovebirds was set to run, but will now have to wait.
For another Showalter gem, we only have to go back a few years. The Big Sick is the mostly-true story of comedian Kumail Nanjiani and his wife Emily Gordan coming to grips with being in a relationship amidst a critical illness. The couple wrote the screenplay, and Nanjiani stars alongside Zoe Kazan.
A GHOST STORY (Netflix, Kanopy)
One of the biggest coups of this year’s SXSW Film Festival was getting David Lowery’s The Green Knight. It looks like a doozy from the the director of Pete’s Dragon.
One of Lowery’s odder films is A Ghost Story, starring Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara. It’s a haunting (sorry) and beautiful film, and if nothing else, it’s worth a watch for the extending story/soliloquy by none other than Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy himself, Mr. Will Oldham. It’s really something.
And yes, the ghost wears a sheet. What can I say?
HEAVYWEIGHTS (Disney+)
The King of Staten Island is Judd Apatow’s latest, and arguably would have been the biggest movie of the fest. Unfortunately, Apatow’s work is extremely hard to find streaming, but never fear, there’s always Heavyweights.
Camp Hope is a summer retreat for overweight boys run by a kindly couple who make the campers feel comfortable with their extra pounds. But when tyrannical fitness guru Tony buys the camp, he puts the kids on a cruel regimen that goes too far. Sick of the endless weeks of “all work and no play,” the kids stage a coup and reclaim their summer of fun.
Apatow started off as a writer, including for the Grammy’s. Heavyweights was his first feature to write, and with Ben Stiller as the evil camp counselor (a role he seems to go back to occasionally) this one might be worth a visit.
FAMILY TIES (CBS All Access)
This year’s Narrative Feature Competition was to feature Violet, a film written, directed, and produced by none other than Justine Bateman. Hopefully, we’ll see it soon.
In the meantime, couldn’t we all use some Family Ties in our lives? Luckily CBS All Access has it, and between this and the Star Trek titles, just might be worth signing up. With the Cosby Show deservedly persona non grata (sorry, Elvin), Family Ties and Cheers (on Hulu) might be our best bet to relive Thursdays from the 80s, that is until we can get Night Court streaming!
Sha-la-la-la…
There are countless services to explore and great things to watch on all of them. Which ones did we miss that you would suggest to us? And, as always, if you’ve got thoughts on titles we’re missing out on or new services to check out, leave a comment below.
Till next week, stream on, stream away.