You came, you watched, and you voted on your favorite SXSW Film & TV Festival screenings from March 7–15. Announcing the Audience Award winners for the 32nd SXSW Film & TV Festival!
The Audience Awards follow the previously announced 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival Jury and Special Awards. Audience Award winners were certified by Maxwell Locke & Ritter LLP.
SXSW Film & TV Festival presented 114 Features including 93 World Premieres, 3 International Premieres, 3 North American Premieres, 4 U.S. Premieres, 11 Texas Premieres + 57 Short Films and 19 Music Videos. The TV Program includes 17 TV projects, with 6 TV premieres, 4 TV Spotlight and 7 Independent TV Pilots. There are 31 projects in the XR Experience Program, including 15 in XR Experience Competition and 16 in XR Experience Spotlight.
"Our deepest thanks to the filmmakers, audiences, and volunteers who made this year's SXSW Film & TV Festival exceptional," said Claudette Godfrey, VP Film & TV. “We assembled another stellar program that puts independently made narratives, documentaries, TV series, and XR experiences on the same stage as studio films and TV shows. The magic of shared viewing experiences and a sense of community continued to define our festival, and we’re excited for all of this year’s projects to reach even wider audiences beyond SXSW!"
2025 Film & TV Festival Audience Award Winners
Headliner, Presented by Epidemic Sound
Audience Award Winner: The Accountant 2
Director: Gavin O'Connor, Producers: Ben Affleck, Lynette Howell Taylor, Mark Williams, Screenwriter: Bill Dubuque
Narrative Feature Competition
Audience Award Winner: Fantasy Life
Director/Screenwriter: Matthew Shear, Producers: Charlie Alderman, Chris Dodds, Phil Keefe, Amanda Peet, Emily McCann Lesser, David Bernon, Sam Slater
Documentary Feature Competition
Audience Award Winner: Remaining Native
Director: Paige Bethmann, Producers: Jessica Epstein, Paige Bethmann, Judd Ehrlich
Narrative Spotlight
Audience Award Winner: The Baltimorons
Director: Jay Duplass, Producers: Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass, Mel Eslyn, Shuli Harel, David Bonnett Jr., Michael Strassner, Drew Langer, Screenwriters: Jay Duplass, Michael Strassner
Documentary Spotlight
Audience Award Winner: Luv Ya, Bum!
Directors: Sam Wainwright Douglas, David Hartstein, Producers: Paul Jensen, Vance Howard, Screenwriter: Andrew Miller
Midnighter
Audience Award Winner: Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie
Director: Matt Johnson, Producers: Matthew Miller, Matt Greyson, Screenwriters: Matt Johnson, Jay McCarrol
Visions
Audience Award Winner: Ghost Boy
Director: Rodney Ascher, Producers: Elika Portnoy, Ryan Bartecki, Gary Levinsohn, Billy Hines
Global presented by MUBI
Audience Award Winner: Corina
Director: Urzula Barba Hopfner, Producers: Carlos Hernández, Iván López- Barba, Urzula Barba Hopfner , Screenwriters: Urzula Barba Hopfner, Samuel Sosa
24 Beats Per Second
Audience Award Winner: Selena y Los Dinos
Director: Isabel Castro, Producers: Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, J. Daniel Torres, David Blackman, Simran A. Singh
Festival Favorite
Audience Award Winner: Deaf President Now!
Directors: Nyle DiMarco, Davis Guggenheim, Producers: Nyle DiMarco, Davis Guggenheim, Amanda Rohlke, Jonathan King, Michael Harte
SHORTS FILM PROGRAM presented by Vimeo
Narrative Short Competition
Audience Award Winner: Ben's Sister
Director/Screenwriter: Emma Weinswig, Producers: Will Noyce, Emma Weinswig, Shane Bagwell, Chelsea Eisen
Documentary Short Competition
Audience Award Winner: Armed only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud
Directors: Brent Renaud, Craig Renaud, Producers: Juan Arredondo, Jon Alpert, Christof Putzel, Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller, Tina Nguyen, Jeff Newton, Mami Kuwano Renaud, Naomi Mizoguchi, Tami Alpert
Animated Short Competition
Audience Award Winner: Retirement Plan
Director: John Kelly, Screenwriters: John Kelly, Tara Lawall, Producers: Julie Murnaghan, Andrew Freedman
Midnight Short Competition
Audience Award Winner: Lurk
Directors: Mairin Hart, Josh Wallace Kerrigan, Screenwriter: Josh Wallace Kerrigan, Producers: Mairin Hart, Josh Wallace Kerrigan, Devin Das, Greg Cohen, John Nodorft
Texas Short Competiton
Audience Award Winner: Sweet Briar
Director/Screenwriter: Danny Rivera, Producer: MK Goss
Music Video Competition
Audience Award Winner: A$AP Rocky - 'Tailor Swif'
Directors/Screenwriters: Vania Heymann, Gal Muggia
TV PROGRAM
TV Premiere
Audience Award Winner: Spy High
Director: Jody McVeigh-Schultz, Producers: Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, Archie Gips, Aliza Rosen, Jody McVeigh-Schultz, David Wendell
TV Spotlight
Audience Award Winner: Mix Tape
Director: Lucy Gaffy, Producers: Aoife O’Sullivan, Tristan Orpen Lynch, Angie Fielder, Polly Staniford, Screenwriter: Jo Spain
Independent TV Pilot Competition
Audience Award Winner: Bulldozer
Showrunner/Screenwriter: Joanna Leeds, Director: Andrew Leeds, Producers: Joanna Leeds, Andrew Leeds, Rhett Reese, Caleb Reese, Michael Day
XR EXPERIENCE
XR Experience Competition
Audience Award Winner: Face Jumping
Directors: Danny Cannizzaro, Samantha Gorman, Producers: Yuxin Gao, J Noland, Screenwriter: Samantha Gorman
XR Experience Spotlight
Audience Award Winner: Resolution: A Cinephonic Rhapsody for the Soul
Directors: Scott Berman, Ryan Hartsell, Producer/Screenwriter: Scott Berman
SXSW is proud to be an official qualifying festival for the Academy Awards® Short Film competition. Winners of our Best Animated, Best Narrative and Best Documentary Short Film categories become eligible for Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards (Oscars). Any British Short Film or British Short Animation that screens at SXSW is eligible for BAFTA nomination. Films are also eligible for the Independent Spirit Awards, more information on eligibility here.
Congrats to all of the winners!
