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SXSW Film Festival Will Open With the Socially Minded Horror of ‘Us’

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Tony Maples Photography

 

The 26th SXSW Film Festival will open on March 8 in Austin featuring Jordan Peele’s “Us,” the world premiere for the much-anticipated follow-up to the film “Get Out.” The nine-day Texas Hill Country festival will be home to those wishing to celebrate creativity and innovation in film, for which Peele has been lauded. Similar to “Get Out,” the film “Us” is anticipated as a social thriller of the horror genre.

Starring Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke, the plot of “Us” focuses on a woman returning to her childhood home at the beach. Her husband and two children are in tow for a vacation that goes awry when a past unresolved trauma of hers is unearthed. Through twists and turns, it leads to the family’s torment by eerie doppelgangers of themselves. The film will see its theatrical release in the U.S. on March 22 under Universal Pictures. Since the filmmaker believes “we are our own worst enemies,” the opening of the SXSW Film Festival with Peele’s brand of horror mythology definitely speaks to the mantra.

SXSW Film Festival Will Open With the Socially Minded Horror of ‘Us’

Photo: Vimeo

Running from March 8-17 this year, the SXSW Film Festival is a unique window into the creative world. Screening a diverse number of films ranging from genre standouts such as Peele’s awaited social-horror concept, it’s also a proving ground for new filmmakers, independent releases, documentaries, and comedies, among others. The screenings are compelling in their own right, to say the least, as witnessed in the growing economic impact the compilation of festivals (film, music, comedy, interactive, and gaming) has on the city of Austin. The statistics for the boon to the city’s economy for 2014, 2015, and 2016 has been estimated at $315 million, $317 million, and $325 million respectively. In comparison, sports events such as Houston’s hosting of Super Bowl LI was said to have brought $347 million into the area’s economy.