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With every post taking the form of a six-second loop, the now-defunct online platform Vine can only tell so much story. That made it an ideal venue for “Simply Sylvio,” Albert Birney’s chronicle of a working class ape struggling to find his place in human civilization. That would be Birney, in a furry gorilla suit, enacting a series of strange and melancholic moments that pushed just beyond the boundaries of a simple gag: Whether contemplating the changing of the seasons, wandering the beach, or partying alone at sundown, Sylvio existed for the sole purpose of small moments — and users responded, as attested by the half million followers that Birney developed over the course of 814 posts.

Needless to say, it would be hard to imagine these tidbits amounting to much beyond limitations of the format, which is why it’s particularly fascinating to see Birney try. Unlike the teen stars...

For his first feature film in two years — quite possibly a record for the prolific writer/director/producer/editor/actor — Joe Swanberg returns with “Win It All,” which is set to premiere at South by Southwest this weekend. Netflix just released a trailer for the movie, which stars co-writer Jake Johnson. Watch below.

Read More: Joe Swanberg’s Filmmaking Factory: How the Diy Filmmaker Is Supporting a Community of Directors on the Rise

Johnson — who previously worked with Swanberg on “Drinking Buddies,” “Digging for Fire” and an episode of “Love” — plays a gambler who vastly overestimates his own abilities (and luck, for that matter). “When he discovers cash in the bag, he’s unable to resist the temptation and winds up deeply in debt,” reads the Netflix synopsis. “When the prison release is shortened, Eddie suddenly has a small window of time to win all the money back.”

Read More:...

With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options — not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves — we’ve taken it upon ourselves to highlight the titles that have recently hit platforms. Every week, one will be able to see the cream of the crop (or perhaps some simply interesting picks) of streaming titles (new and old) across platforms such as Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and more (note: U.S. only). Check out our rundown for this week’s selections below.

American Honey (Andrea Arnold)

European directors have often faltered when crossing the Atlantic. Billy Wilder and Wim Wenders found things to say where Paolo Sorrentino could not. American Honey is certainly the former. Based on a 2007 article from the New York Times, it’s a backwater American road movie directed by an Englishwoman, Andrea Arnold, and shot by Irishman Robbie Ryan. We spot a few cowboys and gas stations and even the Grand Canyon,...

Every December it bears repeating: Anyone who thinks this was a bad year for movies simply hasn’t seen enough. In an age of binge-viewing, a preponderance of must-see premium cable shows and, hell, even smartphone apps that command far more attention most feature-length achievements, the true range of quality cinema is often obscured by the noise of an ever-cluttered media landscape. To really assess the state of modern movies, one look beyond the obvious. Sure, it was a weak year for movies that stand out mainly due to star power and sizable marketing budgets, but those options represent only a small fraction of the marketplace.

The film festival circuit provides an ideal alternative to conventional channels for discovering movies worth talking about all year long — and, if they’re lucky enough to land distribution, they quality for year-end celebration on lists like this one. This year, every single finalist...

Back in 2011, director Joe Swanberg made perhaps his most minimalist mumblecore film to date with Uncle Kent, a collaboration with SpongeBob and Adventure Time writer-artist Kent Osborne, in which Osborne plays a pathetic, lovelorn version of himself. The movie didn’t have much of a plot or structure, and its characters weren’t especially engaging or erudite. A short running time and an amiable tone kept Uncle Kent from ever becoming a chore, but aside from one hilariously awkward ménage à trois scene and a poignant final shot, the film was so slight that it almost dared the audience to get anything out of watching.

There’s a sharper point to Uncle Kent 2, although the sequel’s also something of an endurance test, in ways the original never was. Once again, Osborne plays “Kent Osborne,” but a slightly more realistic version this time out: respected in his field ...

In 2011, Joe Swanberg directed the film “Uncle Kent,” about 40-year-old stoner cartoonist Kent (Kent Osborne) who spends a weekend trying to sleep with visiting house guest Kate (Jennifer Prediger), a woman whom he met on Chatroulette. Despite few people actually seeing the film, Swanberg, Osborne and director Todd Rohal have created a sequel “Uncle Kent 2,” a meta-comedy about Kent trying to create a follow-up to the 2011 film by traveling to a comic-book convention and confronting the end of the world. Out of SXSW, Indiewire’s own Eric Kohn described it as “the craziest movie sequel ever” and said that it “provides the ultimate rebuke to formulaic storytelling.” Check out some exclusive posters for fictional sequels in the “Uncle Kent” universe.

Read More: ‘Uncle Kent 2’ Exclusive Book Excerpt: Read a Chapter From The Novelization Based On The Acclaimed Film

Osborne is best known for his long-time work on many...

We recently provided a guide to streaming the best films of 2016, but it’s time to hit pause because the theatrical options this month are stellar. Along with the year’s best film thus far, there’s a wide variety of must-see features, from documentaries to animations to sci-fi dramas to innovative experiments.

Matinees to See: Doctor Strange (11/4), Peter and the Farm (11/4), The Monster (11/11), Seasons (11/11), The Love Witch (11/11), Notes on Blindness (11/16), Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them (11/18), Bleed For This (11/18), I Am Not Madame Bovary (11/18), Lion (11/25), Evolution (11/25), and Old Stone (11/30)

15. Billy Lynn’s Halftime Walk (Ang Lee; Nov. 11)

Synopsis: 19-year-old Billy Lynn is brought home for a victory tour after a harrowing Iraq battle.

Trailer

Why You Should See It: After its mixed reception at Nyff, I probably shouldn’t be looking forward to Ang Lee‘s latest as much as I am. However, I’m always curious as...

Welcome back to the Weekend Warrior, your weekly look at the new movies hitting theaters this weekend, as well as other cool events and things to check out.

This Past Weekend:

In one of the busier weekends of the month, two of the movies did better than I predicted and two did worse. The real winner of the weekend was Tyler Perry’s Boo! A Madea Halloween, which did far better than anyone thought with an opening weekend of $28.5 million in just 2,260 theaters or $12,611 per theater. It ended up completely demolishing Tom Cruise’s action sequel Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, which opened in almost 1,500 more theaters, but at least that ended up around where I predicted with $22.9 million. Ouija: Origin of Evil came out slightly below my prediction to take third place with $14 million, while the Fox comedy Keeping Up with the Joneses bombed even worse than I expected with $5.5 million in 3,000 theaters.

Factory 25 announced today the BricTV premiere of the comedy series “Dad Day” created by Craig Butta and James Mennella. The six-episode series marks the first narrative series produced by Factory 25 as well as the first series directed and staring Butta, whose previous acting credits include Alex Ross Perry’s “Listen Up Philip” and Charles Poekel’s “Christmas, Again.”

Read More: Factory 25 Acquires Wfmu Doc ‘Sex and Broadcasting’

The series follows Craig (Butta) and James (Artie Brennan) as they struggles with fatherhood and friendship in a continually gentrifying New York. The guys want James’ son Henry to be raised like an authentic New Yorker and each episode explores what exactly that means nowadays, and how to best instill local values in a place that doesn’t resemble your home anymore.

“Dad Day is a pure look at modern man in modern Brooklyn,” says director Alex Ross Perry. “Vulgar, sad and at times absurd,...

You may have seen her in front of the camera in V/H/S, Wild Canaries, 24 Exposures, Uncle Kent 2, and more indies in the last few years, but now Sophia Takal has returned to the director’s chair for the psychological thriller Always Shine. Following Mackenzie Davis (Blade Runner 2), who picked up Best Actress at Tribeca this year, and Caitlin FitzGerald (Masters of Sex) as rising actresses (well, one at least) and the struggle that persists when they become isolated and things turn wicked. Ahead of a release this December, the first trailer and poster have now landed.

I said in my review, “With the excess of low-budget, retreat-in-the-woods dramas often finding characters hashing out their insecurities through a meta-narrative, a certain initial resistance can occur when presented with such a derivative scenario at virtually every film festival. While Sophia Takal‘s psychological drama Always Shine ultimately stumbles, the...

Last year, Todd Rohal’s “Uncle Kent 2” premiered at SXSW to positive reviews, with IndieWire’s own Eric Kohn calling it “the craziest movie sequel ever.” A follow-up to Joe Swanberg’s 2011 film “Uncle Kent,” a portrait of indie actor and animator Kent Osborne, “Uncle Kent 2” follows Osborne’s quest to come up with a sequel to “Uncle Kent” by traveling to a comic book convention and confronting the end of the world.

Read More: SXSW Review: ‘Uncle Kent 2’ is the Craziest Movie Sequel Ever

Now, Factory 25 has released a novelization of the book by L.P. Eaves. Check out an exclusive excerpt from the book below featuring Uncle Kent’s visit to a doctor to discuss earworms.

Todd Rohal has previously directed the “P is for Scary” segment in “ABCs of Death 2,” and the comedies “Nature Calls,” “The Catechism Cataclysm,” and “The Guatemalan Handshake.” Meanwhile,...

There has never been a show quite like “Adventure Time,” which can be silly, wise and utterly mesmerizing within the confines of a few unpredictable minutes. The news that it will end its run in 2018, after eight years and nine seasons, may come as a shock to anyone invested in its unique pleasures. “Adventure Time” wasn’t just a well-honed animated program with equal appeal to viewers of all ages; that zany attitude delivered warm tidbits of life advice and an emotional purity with the concision of great folk music, and the same lasting power. It was the kind of perfectly conceived formula that suggested immortality. Even with the end in sight, its legacy is secure.

RelatedWhy ‘Adventure Time,’ Now In Its Fifth Season, Is More Groundbreaking Than You May Realize

This may sound like hyperbole for a consumer-facing program about the exploits of a goofy adolescent named Finn and...

For his latest project, prolific indie filmmaker Joe Swanberg is moving to Netflix. “Easy,” a comedic anthology series written, directed and produced by Swanberg, is set in Chicago and revolves around a diverse cast of characters making their way through the vagaries of modern life. Watch its animated teaser below.

Read More: ’Uncle Kent 2’ Trailer: Joe Swanberg Directs the First Twelve Minutes of This Sequel

The first season will consist of eight half-hour episodes “about sexual evolution,” with a huge amount of actors appearing: Orlando Bloom, Malin Åkerman, Michael Chernus, Marc Maron, Kiersey Clemons, Elizabeth Reaser, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jake Johnson, Aya Cash, Dave Franco, Jane Adams, Hannibal Buress and Emily Ratajkowski, among others. Unlike this teaser, “Easy” itself isn’t a cartoon.

Read More: ‘Lace Crater’ Exclusive Trailer: Joe Swanberg-Produced Supernatural Comedy-Drama About Ghostly STDs

Swanberg’s first foray into television, an episode of “Love,” was also for...

Trailers are an under-appreciated art form insofar that many times they’re seen as vehicles for showing footage, explaining films away, or showing their hand about what moviegoers can expect. Foreign, domestic, independent, big budget: What better way to hone your skills as a thoughtful moviegoer than by deconstructing these little pieces of advertising? This week […]

The post This Week In Trailers: Complete Unknown, The Prequels Strike Back: A Fan’s Journey, The Transformers: The Movie [30th Anniversary Edition], Uncle Kent 2, Kampai! For the Love of Sake, Found Footage 3D appeared first on /Film.

Earlier this summer, folks pointed at “The Huntsman: Winter’s War” and “Now You See Me 2” as sequels that no one really wanted to see. But I’d argue that “Uncle Kent 2” has them both beat as the followup to a movie that no one knew existed in the first place. Yep, Joe Swanberg‘s 2011 flick […]

The post New Trailer For ‘Uncle Kent 2’ Presents The Most Unlikely Sequel Ever appeared first on The Playlist.

“The Eagle Huntress,” the extraordinary true story of Aisholpan, a 13-year-old girl who trained to become the first female in twelve generations of her Kazakh family to become an eagle hunter, is coming to theaters this fall.

Screened at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Sony Pictures Classics acquired the documentary back in February and has just released the first trailer. Set against the breath-taking expanse of the Mongolian steppe, the film is narrated by Daisy Ridley and directed by Otto Bell.

The story follows the young girl as she rises to the pinnacle of a tradition that has been handed down from father to son for centuries. While many old Kazakh eagle hunters have rejected the idea of a women taking part in the sport, Aisholpan’s father Nurgaiv believes that a girl can do anything a boy can, as long as she’s determined.

Read More: Sundance Hit...

Is “Uncle Kent 2” the craziest movie sequel ever? That’s what our own Eric Kohn wrote of the film when it debuted at SXSW back in 2015, and going off even the most basic of synopses, it sure sounds like the Todd Rohal feature might rank right up there with the big guys.

Wait, a Todd Rohal feature? But didn’t Joe Swanberg direct “Uncle Kent”? What sort of madness is this? It’s “Uncle Kent” madness. Swanberg does direct the first 12 minutes of the film, before passing it over to “Catechism Cataclysm” director Rohal, who takes things very much in his own direction. See? Wild.

Read More: Kent Osborne Explains the Crazy Logic Behind ‘Uncle Kent 2’ and the ‘Adventure Time’ Connection

Per the film’s official synopsis: “In a desperate search to create a follow-up to Joe Swanberg’s 2011 film ‘Uncle Kent,’ Kent Osborne travels to a comic...

The “Everything Wrong With” team is back with another one of their movie-sin-counting videos, and this time they’re sticking it to “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” with a 21-minute (!!) look at, well, everything wrong with Zack Snyder’s superhero mash-up. With DC’s latest entry into their Dceu, “Suicide Squad,” hitting theaters today amidst already big box office returns and increasingly poor critical reception, the timing couldn’t be better for DC’s arguably biggest disappointment yet.

The video comes out blazing, upbraiding the film’s opening minutes for its use of non-story-enhancing narration (fair), Snyder’s insistence on showing his audience the death of the Wayne parents yet again (a personal pet peeve) and the “over-goddamn-use-of-goddamn-slow-motion.” And that’s just the first minute.

Read More: ‘Batman v Superman’ Ultimate Edition Review Roundup: R-Rated Extended Cut an Improvement Over the Theatrical Cut

Things don’t get much better from there,...

After premiering earlier this year at the Slamdance Film Festival, Brian Golden Davis’ quirky documentary “The Million Dollar Duck” is getting ready for its digital and VOD release on August 9, and IndieWire has an exclusive clip that brings viewers into this deeply bizarre world of Duck lovers.

Read More: Animal Planet and Lionsgate Team Up for ‘Million Dollar Duck’ Acquisition

The documentary explores the eccentric world of the Federal Duck Stamp Contest, which is the only juried art competition run by the U.S. government. The Duck Stamp is among the most successful conservation tools ever created, and it has spawned an American subculture brimming with talent, ego, art, controversy and big money. The movie follows six wildlife artists striving to win what is also referred to as “the Olympics of wildlife art.”

In the exclusive clip below, the viewer is introduced to two of the competition’s biggest rivals.

Most Americans are probably familiar with the threats the Amazon region faces against countries and businesses looking to extract resources, but few probably understand just how greatly the region is embattled in conflict over this issue. That’s all about to change with the upcoming documentary “When Two Worlds Collide,” which plunges viewers straight into the middle of an escalating battle between those who want to use the Amazon for its resources and those who want to protect it.

Read More: Reality Checks: This Year’s Sundance Showed How the Documentary Film World is Changing

Directed by newcomers Heidi Brandenburg Sierralta & Mathew Orzel, “When Two Worlds Collide” centers around two opposing Peruvian leaders who want desperately to keep their respective goals intact. President Alan Garcia wants his country to enter the world stage, and he sees the extraction of oil, minerals, and gas from untouched Amazonian land as a major way in doing so.

It’s hard to believe another season of TBS’ procedural spoof “Angie Tribeca” has come and gone, but that’s exactly the world we’re living in as the show wraps up its hilarious run this Monday on TBS. Viewers have been treated to two seasons of “Angie Tribeca” this year (Season 1 premiered in January), so it’s going to be an extra painful wait for the recently announced third season. Fortunately, the Season 2 finale is bringing all the goofball comedy we love from the series.

Read More: How Rashida Jones Changed Everything to Make ‘Angie Tribeca’ Perfect

Timed perfectly for election season, the finale, entitled “Electoral Dysfunction,” finds Angie in jail and Jay discovering that she plans to kill Mayor Perry. IndieWire has the exclusive opening scene below, and it shows the pretty unique ways our characters start their big election day morning. Let’s just say in typical “Angie Tribeca” fashion,...

Half Life and Uncle Kent 2 Get Epic Pictures Acquisition – Trailer Now Live

Epic Pictures Group today announced that it has added two acclaimed films to its slate for the European Film Market: the award winning comedy Uncle Kent 2 and the sci-fi thriller Half Life. The announcement was made today by Epic’s CEO Patrick Ewald and Co-Founder Shaked Berenson. “Uncle Kent 2 and Half Life epitomize the ...

Hnn | Horrornews.net - Official News Site...

Read: SXSW Review: 'Uncle Kent 2' is the Craziest Movie Sequel Ever Epic Pictures Group has hit the ground running in their acquisitions ahead of the European Film Market, picking up rights for both "Uncle Kent 2" and "Half Life."  Directed by Dagen Merrill ("Beneath," "Broken Hill"), the latter stars Dominic Monaghan ("Lord of the Rings," "Lost") as a lone safety inspector as he is assigned to determine why a remote nuclear power plant has suddenly gone offline. Set in the near future, the science-fiction thriller is Merrill's fourth directorial effort and is currently in post-production.  The ambitious and creative "Uncle Kent 2" premiered at the 2015 SXSW Film Festival, receiving critical acclaim and plaudits for its refreshing take on sequels and its divergence from the mumblecore qualities that its predecessor had. Todd Rohal moves away from the naturalistic nature of the previous film and...

We have grown accustomed to so-called hybrid documentaries which play with the notion of truth by, for instance, hiring actors to recreate childhood memories ("Stories We Tell") or having subjects re-enact horrific real-life deeds ("The Act of Killing"). But more narrative filmmakers are incorporating real people who play variations of themselves in fiction films. Read More: BendFilm Festival Announces 2015 Award Winners At a recent panel at The BendFilm Festival, the directors of three such films, Todd Rohal ("Uncle Kent 2"), Diego Ongaro ("Bob and the Trees") and Liz Cardenas Franke ("Treading Water"), discussed their development processes as well as the benefits and pitfalls of working in this creative form. The advantage of fiction over documentary is that, unlike in real life, you can make things happen. In the cases of the films discussed, real people ended up as subjects of fiction films in various ways, and having a real...

Streaming service Fandor and indie distributor Factory 25 are teaming to jointly release seven films day-and-date, including this year’s SXSW Audience Award winner Uncle Kent 2 from filmmaker Todd Rohal and Charles Poekel’s Sundance pic Christmas, Again. As part of the deal, Fandor will release the films day-and-date on its Svod service with Factory 25 releasing theatrically and through transactional platforms. No dates were unveiled, but the new releases set for the…...

The independent distributor and streaming service announced at BAMcinemaFest they will partner on the slate.

The companies have partnered on numerous releases since 2012 and this marks their first deal for joint releases.

Fandor will release the films day-and-date via its subscription service with Factory 25 handling theatrically and transactional platforms.

The films are: Todd Rohal’s Uncle Kent 2 (pictured); Charles Poekel’s Christmas, Again; Nathan Silver’s Stinking Heaven; Pavan Moondi and Brian Robertson’s Diamond Tongues; Maximón Monihan’s Voice Of The Voiceless (La Voz De Los Sileciados); Lynn Shelton’s We Go Way Back; and Alexander Rockwell’s Hero.

“Fandor is one of the few like-minded companies that really care about cinema as much as I do,” said Factory 25 founder Matt Grady, who also celebrates the company’s sixth anniversary. “I’m really excited about working together to release this slate of films by some of the most influential voices in independent film right...

Read More: 'Uncle Kent 2' is the Craziest Movie Sequel Ever "Uncle Kent," Joe Swanberg's lighthearted 2011 portrait of Los Angeles-based animator Kent Osborne, wasn't exactly screaming for a sequel. But "Uncle Kent 2," which screens in New York at BAMCinemaFest on Saturday following its premiere at SXSW in May, isn't your average sequel. The bizarre project is directed by Todd Rohal, whose loopy "The Catechism Cataclysm" and "The Guatemalan Handshake" display a penchant for surreal, sometimes disorienting humor and baffling sight gags. "Uncle Kent 2," which Osborne wrote, follows suit, while also mocking the idea of sequels and playing with its lead character's creative block. The movie opens — in a segment directed by Swanberg — with Osborn himself pitching the premise for the sequel. The ensuing odyssey finds Osborn coping with a hilariously annoying song stuck in his head, an unsettling journey to Comic Con and possibly the end.

We're rounding up reviews, interviews, clips and trailers for films screening at this year's BAMcinemaFest: Alex Ross Perry's Queen of Earth, James Ponsoldt's The End of the Tour, Sean Baker's Tangerine, Stephen Winter's Jason and Shirley, Nathan Silver's Stinking Heaven, Sebastián Silva's Nasty Baby, Todd Rohal's Uncle Kent 2, Jennifer Phang's Advantageous, Kris Swanberg's Unexpected, Patrick Wang's The Grief of Others, Les Blank's A Poem Is a Naked Person, Jem Cohen's Counting, Larry Clark's Kids—and more. » - David Hudson...

We're rounding up reviews, interviews, clips and trailers for films screening at this year's BAMcinemaFest: Alex Ross Perry's Queen of Earth, James Ponsoldt's The End of the Tour, Sean Baker's Tangerine, Stephen Winter's Jason and Shirley, Nathan Silver's Stinking Heaven, Sebastián Silva's Nasty Baby, Todd Rohal's Uncle Kent 2, Jennifer Phang's Advantageous, Kris Swanberg's Unexpected, Patrick Wang's The Grief of Others, Les Blank's A Poem Is a Naked Person, Jem Cohen's Counting, Larry Clark's Kids—and more. » - David Hudson...

Read More:  SXSW: How to Make Something From Nothing, the No-Budget Way Several Austin-based filmmakers shared their insights on working with actors for the "Independent Directors on Working with Actors" panel at last week's SXSW Film Festival. The panelists included Andrew Bujalski, whose latest film "Results," starring Guy Pearce and Cobie Smulders, premiered at Sundance and also screened at SXSW; "Hellion" writer-director Kat Candler; Todd Rohal, whose film "Uncle Kent 2" premiered at SXSW this week and David Zellner, whose film "Kumiko: The Treasure Hunter," was released theatrically last week. The panel was moderated by Caroline O'Connor, Director of Communications for the Screen Actors Guild Foundation. The panelists discussed casting and working with both professional and non-professional actors, as well as how their own acting has influenced their directing and how to get the performances they want from their...

SXSW is over, and while our team is off sending their clothes to the dry cleaners to figure out how to get out stains from five different barbecue sauces, organizers in Austin have one more thing left to announce. Following the Jury awards last week, they've unveiled the Audience Awards, and there are a couple of notable crossover winners. Trey Edward Shults' drama "Krisha," (our review) and Scott Christopherson and Brad Barber's documentary "Peace Officer" (our review) repeated their victories in the Narrative Feature and Documentary Feature slots. Meanwhile, audiences gave their approval to the Sally Field starring "Hello, My Name is Doris" and Todd Rohal's oddball sequel "Uncle Kent 2.""Turbo Kid" is also continuing to pick up buzz following its Sundance premiere with a win here. Check out the full list of winners below. Narrative Feature Competition Audience Award Winner: Krisha Director: Trey Edward...

The winners of South By Southwest festival's Audience Awards have been revealed.

A total of 13 projects were announced as winners in categories such as Narrative Feature Competition, Documentary Feature Competition, Headliners and Narrative Spotlight.

The Hollywood Reporter states that Krisha by Trey Edward Shults won Narrative Feature Competition, while Scott Christopherson and Brad Barber's Peace Officer was awarded Documentary Feature Competition.

Hello, My Name is Doris (Michael Showalter) took home the Headliners title, as Josh Lawson's The Little Death won Narrative Spotlight.

Documentary Spotlight went to A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story directed by Sara Hirsh Bordo, and Uncle Kent 2 by Todd Rohal was awarded the Visions category.

Turbo Kid directed by Rkss Collective was awarded Midnighters, while Episodic went to director Niels Arden Oplev and Mr Robot.

The 24 Beats Per Second category went to Graham Townsley's Landfill Harmonic, as Kings of Nowhere took home the SXGlobal award.

This year’s festival saw over 150 features screened, including 102 world premieres and 14 North American premieres.

SXSW has unveiled the winners of this year’s Audience Awards.

Trey Edward Shults’ Krisha and Scott Christopherson & Brad Barber’s Peace Officer repeated their Jury Award wins in Narrative Feature and Documentary Feature, respectively, while Rkss Collective’s Turbo Kid (Midnighters) and Joshua Oppenheimer The Look of Silence (Festival Favourites) took the Audience Award in their categories.

Other winners included Josh Lawson’s The Little Death in Narrative Spotlight, Michael Showalter’s Hello, My Name is Doris in Headliners and Todd Rohal’s Uncle Kent 2 in Visions.

All Audience Award results were certified by the accounting firm of Maxwell Locke & Ritter.

This year’s SXSW screened over 150 features, consisting of 102 world premieres, 14 North American premieres and 11 Us premieres. 106 shorts screened as part of ten curated shorts programmes.

Full list of Audience Award winners

Narrative Feature Competition - Krisha, Director: [link=nm...

To cap off the last day of the 2015 SXSW Film Festival, the event announced its Audience Awards winners today. Both Trey Edward Shults' family drama "Krisha" and Scott Christopherson and Brad Barber's hard-hitting documentary "Peace Officer" repeated their Tuesday juried wins, taking home the respective Audience Award prizes. Also among today's winners were the Sally Field-starrer "Hello, My Name is Doris," which won in the headliners category, and Todd Rohal's comedy "Uncle Kent 2," in the visions section. Read More: SXSW: Complete List of 2015 Film Awards Winners Here’s the complete list of Audience Awards winners: Narrative Feature Competition Audience Award Winner: Krisha Director: Trey Edward Shults Documentary Feature Competition Audience Award Winner: Peace Officer Directors: Scott Christopherson, Brad Barber Headliners Audience Award Winner: Hello, My Name is Doris Director: Michael Showalter Narrative...

While Uncle Kent 2 occasionally pays homage to its Mumblecore roots with naturally sprawling conversations, it always returns back to its whacked-out refrain like an irresistible earbug. (Warning: plan to have Swing Out Sister's "Breakout" stuck in your head for a while.) One of the most outlandish sequels in the history of cinema, Uncle Kent 2 is an unbelievably bat-shit crazy mind-fuck of a film; yet somewhere beneath the boldly nightmarish visual elements is an incredibly profound and sincere existential character study.

...If it did, this write up would be for a very different film. One, perhaps, closer in resemblance to Uncle Kent 1 - a Joe Swanberg Sundance selection from 2011 that, by no means, begs for a sequel.So what is Uncle Kent 2? It's possible that someone who hasn't actually seen the film would be better equipped to answer this question. Whatever will be said of the film - and I imagine the spectrum of responses will be wide - Uncle Kent 2 is the wtf movie of the year. Though it's not likely to land with, or even screen to, a mainstream audience, Uncle Kent 2 is so thoroughly dedicated to messing with its viewers, the film deserves the very highest accolade at the...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

We live in an era of sequels and franchises, but even we have to admit that we never expectedJoe Swanberg's little 2011 indie flick, "Uncle Kent," would ever get a followup. While it has, don't expect anything straightforward from director Todd Rohal ("The Catechism Cataclysm," "The Guatamelan Handshake"), who takes the reins from Swanberg and leads the narrative into wild, unexpected places. Kent Osborne returns from the first film, playing himself, as he pitches Swanberg on an idea for a sequel for "Uncle Kent." The director turns it down and Osborne soon tumbles into a surreal journey of his own mad mind. In this exclusive clip, a doctor, played by Steve Little, tries to help with his own curious, hilarious examination. And if you like this scene, check out Eric Kohn's review at Indiewire, where he calls it "a defiantly unconventional crowdpleaser." Check the schedule — "Uncle Kent 2" has two more screenings at.

At first, "Uncle Kent 2" presents itself as a prolonged inside joke on the microbudget American film scene — the kind of referential conceit with the capacity to please the same limited crowd familiar with the movies in question. But that barely gets to the essence of this deliriously strange and hilarious stoner comedy, which delivers one innovative dose of absurdity after another with a liberating energy that never slows down. In its relentless silliness, "Uncle Kent 2" provides the ultimate rebuke to formulaic storytelling, but it's less heady than pure head trip. The title refers back to Joe Swanberg's 2011 portrait of animator and perennial indie actor Kent Osborne (whose other credits include Swanberg's "Hannah Takes the Stairs"), a genial look at the fortysomething bachelor, pot-smoker and animator as he lazily surfs the internet for companionship. "Uncle Kent 2" begins with Osborne, lonely and perpetually stoned as ever, pitching...

Amy Schumer and Bill Hader in TrainwreckPhoto: Universal Pictures With Sundance just wrapping up and Berlin starting up in a few days, we are now immersed in the year-long barrage of film festivals. One such festival in South By Southwest. A few weeks back they announced the first seven films of their program, including the opening night film Brand: A Second Coming. Today, they have revealed the rest of the features to be shown in March (except for the midnight program), and some of it has me very excited. The bigger titles announced do not do much for me. Paul Feig's Spy, starring Melissa McCarthy, and the Will Ferrell/Kevin Hart starrer Get Hard leave a lot to be desired in terms of anticipation, as does a work in progress cut of Judd Apatow's latest film Trainwreck. I'm guessing an Apatow work in progress is probably around three and a half hours.

South by Southwest, the multi-faceted film, music and technology festival held annually in Austin, TX will feature such upcoming films as Paul Feig’s Spy, David Gordon Green’s Manglehorn, Alex Gibney’s documentary Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine, and Ondi Timoner’s Russell Brand profile Brand: A Second Coming as headliners in this year’s film festival lineup.

SXSW runs from March 13 to 21 in Austin and is now in its 22nd year. Variety has details of the 145 films and 100 world premieres bowing at this year’s festival. Brand, as previously reported, will be the festival’s opening night film.

Other notable titles on the list are the Will Ferrell/Kevin Hart comedy Get Hard, a rough cut of Judd Apatow’s Trainwreck, the directorial debut of 28 Days Later screenwriter Alex Garland, Ex Machina, and a new comedy by Michael Showalter, Hello, My Name is Doris.

On the small screen,...