The votes are in, and SXSW has officially announced its 2025 Film & TV Festival Audience Award Winners! With an impressive lineup of 114 features, 93 world premieres, 57 short films, and 17 TV projects, this year’s festival brought together a powerhouse mix of independent gems, studio heavy-hitters, and groundbreaking XR experiences.
Some of our personal festival favorites—Fantasy Life, Remaining Native, Deaf President Now!, and Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie—emerged as crowd favorites, proving once again that SXSW is a launchpad for bold, boundary-pushing storytelling.
Feature Film Winners
• Narrative Feature Competition – Fantasy Life (Dir. Matthew Shear)
• Documentary Feature Competition – Remaining Native (Dir. Paige Bethmann)
• Headliner – The Accountant 2 (Dir. Gavin O’Connor)
• Midnighter – Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie (Dir. Matt Johnson)
• Visions – Ghost Boy (Dir. Rodney Ascher)
• Global Cinema – Corina (Dir. Urzula Barba Hopfner)
• 24 Beats Per Second – Selena y Los Dinos (Dir. Isabel Castro)
• Festival Favorite – Deaf President Now! (Dirs. Nyle DiMarco, Davis Guggenheim)
Short Film & TV Program Highlights
• Narrative Short Competition – Ben’s Sister (Dir. Emma Weinswig)
• Documentary Short – Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud
• Midnight Short – Lurk
• TV Premiere – Spy High
• Independent TV Pilot – Bulldozer
XR Experience Winners
• XR Experience Competition – Face Jumping
• XR Experience Spotlight – Resolution: A Cinephonic Rhapsody for the Soul
For a festival that prides itself on embracing independent voices and cutting-edge storytelling, this year’s winners truly reflect the magic of SXSW. Whether it’s a sports underdog story, a mind-bending horror flick, or a gripping documentary, audiences at SXSW continue to champion the most daring and innovative projects.
Stay tuned for more festival highlights, interviews, and recaps as we wrap up our SXSW 2025 coverage!
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