ADVENTURES IN SCI-FI
‘Fast Color’
SXSWHistorically, the whiskey-soaked streets of SXSW have proven fertile ground for studio comedies. After all, it was Bridesmaids that put the film portion of the fest on the map, followed by 21 Jump Street, Neighbors, Trainwreck and Sausage Party. It’s also become heralded for its sci-fi fare, from Moon to Cabin in the Woods to Ex Machina. This year, two science fiction films stood head and shoulders above the rest. Director Julia Hart’s Fast Color, which follows a woman (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) blessed with extraordinary abilities on the run from shadowy government agents, offers a unique twist on the superhero film, and is an exquisitely rendered celebration of Black Girl Magic. A little filmmaker by the name of Steven Spielberg, meanwhile, surprised festival attendees with a screening of his latest, Ready Player One, a gleefully geeky love letter to pop culture—and his most entertaining film in over a decade. — Marlow Stern
WESTWORLD
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The most coveted “branded experience” at SXSW 2018 belonged to HBO’s elaborately constructed Westworld park. Fans lined up around the block to be given either a black or white cowboy hat, get on a bus and drive 40 minutes outside of Austin to walk around a version of the show’s main setting, Sweetwater. You could interact with dozens of actors playing “hosts” who might try to seduce or start a fight with you if you looked at them the wrong way. Custom-made Westworld coins could be traded in for glasses of bourbon, and if you needed more, you could try to track down other visitors whose faces were plastered on wanted posters outside the sheriff’s office and turn them in for a reward. There were supposedly other cryptic surprises hidden throughout the park, but much like the show itself, they were far too complicated to decipher. But also like the show, which returns on Sunday, April 22, it didn’t really matter, because everything was so darn pretty to look at. — Matt Wilstein
TEAM HURRICANE
Team Hurricane, director Annika Berg’s debut film, somehow manages to capture all of the urgency and kawaii of being 15. An experimental collage of stock footage, talking-head confessionals, dress-up sequences and girls talking shit, Team Hurricane follows eight teenagers who come together through a Danish youth club. At the end of the summer the youth club gets defunded by nameless politicians, marking the official end of teenagedom as the girls are cast out into an uncertain future—a little more jaded and a little more self-assured. It’s a long-form Instagram video meets mood board meets collaborative diary, and this teen’s-eye view offers an unparalleled, non-exploitative look at sensitive topics like sex, eating disorders, gender dysphoria and depression. Team Hurricane will make you cry, call your girlfriends, bleach your hair, and feel the strongest sort of nostalgia for that one summer. — Amy Zimmerman
THE SINGER-SONGWRITERS
Over the years, countless musical acts have broken big at SXSW—Katy Perry, Amy Winehouse, The Strokes, Kid Cudi, LCD Soundsystem, and Janelle Monae, to name a few. At the 2014 fest, my “breakout musical acts” included future household names like Chance the Rapper, Angel Olsen, and Charli XCX. Two artists lived up to that title this year: Billie Eilish, a 16-year-old sensation whose swaggering stage presence and silvery voice belie her youth; and Lucy Dacus, an indie rocker from Richmond, Virginia, whose sophomore album Historian is a delightful mélange of whimsy and profundity. “The first time I tasted somebody else’s spit, I had a coughing fit,” she croons on her single “Night Shift.” What a line. And there’s a whole lot more where that came from. — Marlow Stern
LIZA TREYGER
I saw comedian Liza Treyger, who had a memorable role on Louis C.K.’s Horace and Pete, perform stand-up in front of 300 people at Esther’s Follies on Sunday and then for 3,000 people at Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater two nights later. In both settings, the relatively unknown comic had audiences in the palm of her hand with jokes about the differences between male and female sexuality and why she thinks way more men should buy this book. “This is why we let you go to war,” she told the men in the crowd. “You’re not getting it done at home.” — Matt Wilstein
MEOW WOLF
This year Meow Wolf, the amorphous artist collective turned multibillion-dollar company, showed up at SXSW in a big way. Meow Wolf: Origin Story premiered at the festival, telling the genuinely fascinating tale of a group of art freaks in Santa Fe who somehow managed to convince George R.R. Martin to help them set up a permanent exhibition in a bowling alley. That installation, House of Eternal Return, is now one of Santa Fe’s most popular destinations—a psychedelic fun house that promises to transport visitors to multiple new dimensions, melding the worlds of tech, sci-fi, art and fantasy. More than just an exhibit, House of Eternal Return offers an experience that can be appreciated on all sorts of levels, drug-induced or otherwise. You can hunt for clues and piece together the meta-narrative, run your hands over the interactive sculptures, or come watch a concert. Meow Wolf brought all the trippy fun to Austin this year, accompanying their docu premiere with Meow Wolf: Fractallage, an “immersive playground”/ convert venue where crowds thrashed around a glowing, deep sea-style installation that changed colors when touched. According to my pedicab driver (hi Lev!), Meow Wolf also placed disguised employees around Austin with clues. Whichever lucky player managed to solve the puzzle may or may not have earned free Meow Wolf admission for life. — Amy Zimmerman
PRINCESS NOKIA
Frankie Shaw introduced Princess Nokia at the Showtime House on Thursday night by telling the crowd that her character masturbated to one of the headliner’s songs during the first episode of SMILF. The “badass feminist” rapper—as Shaw called her—delivered the most exuberant and positively-received showcase of anything I saw at SXSW this year. It capped off an impressive lineup of female-fronted acts that also included Snail Mail, with its 18-year-old lead singer Lindsey Jordan, and the Northampton, Massachusetts rockers Speedy Ortiz. — Matt Wilstein
ELSZ
There’s nothing quite like traveling over 1,500 miles to hear an artist you could’ve seen in Brooklyn. Still, ELSZ’s SXSW performance really did feel a world away from Bushwick, as the Brooklyn-based harpist serenaded the backyard at the Australia House BBQ. ELSZ, who has historically split her time between Australia and Sri Lanka, was the only and best harpist I saw perform at SXSW. She managed to transfix a crowd of rowdy Aussies with a hypnotic mix of pulsating beats, dreamy, expansive vocals and, of course, a very chic translucent harp. While I would recommend seeing ELSZ perform in person—she freestyles on the harp—she’s working on an album that is sure to make waves from Sydney to Austin to Williamsburg and beyond. — Amy Zimmerman
