Festivals Reviews

SXSW 2021: The Hunt for Planet B

If you have plans for Halloween cancel them… or at least make sure to leave time to watch the launch of the James Webb telescope. If that sentence doesn’t excite or even interest you, it will after you watch The Hunt for Planet B.

Festivals Reviews

SXSW 2021: The Fallout

Megan Park’s coming-of-age film starts like a typical high school day that takes a dark turn that’s also increasingly tragically common. The result ing story of the aftermath of a school shooting is a nuanced and emotionally riveting piece of storytelling that won audience and jury awards at this year’s SXSW film festival.

Festivals Reviews

SXSW 2021: Kid Candidate, Oxy Kingpins, WeWork, United States vs. Reality Winner

Whenever I’m feeling indecisive at a film festival, I tend to default to documentaries. The highs may not be as high as with a surprisingly revelatory narrative feature, but the lows are rarely as low as a complete indie disaster. Reviews from four pretty-good documentary premieres from this year’s SXSW fit the bill with stories of would be public servants and scam artists.

Festivals Reviews

SXSW 2021: Select Short Films

I think I’m the only staffer at The Sunbreak that relishes the quick thrill of short films whether animated, dramatic, documentary, or horror. I had a limited time to spread that relish this time around so I chose to focus in on the animated shorts. Below are some of my favorites.

Festivals Reviews

SXSW 2021: Alien on Stage

When a group of Dorset bus drivers made the very unconventional decision to abandon their holiday season pantomime in favor of a homegrown theatrical adaptation of Alien, Ridley Scott’s revered science fiction horror film, the response from local audiences was predictably muted. Luckily, the show found a life beyond their town and has been committed to film in this delightful documentary.

Festivals Reviews

SXSW 2021: Not Going Quietly

When he received a surprise ALS diagnosis in in his early thirties, advocacy lawyer Ady Barkan pledged to spend the limited time he had left to live with his young family in Santa Barbara. A weekend in DC lobbying to save the Affordable Care Act, a chance meeting with a young activist in the airport, and a viral conversation with Arizona senator Jeff Flake aboard a cross-country flight changed all of that.