The 2021 SXSW Film Festival program has 75 features including 57 World Premieres, 3 International Premieres, 4 North American Premieres, 1 U.S. Premieres, 8 Texas Premieres and 53 films from first-time filmmakers + 84 Short Films including Music Videos, 5 Episodic Premieres, 6 Episodic Pilots, 20 Virtual Cinema projects, 14 Title Design entries, plus 34 Special Events.
Congratulations to the Tisch alumni who won a 2021 Film Award or 2021 Audience Award! This year, one alumna served on a SXSW Jury, four alumni won an award or received special jury recognition, and two alumni won a 2021 Audience Award.
2021 JURY MEMBERS
Narrative Shorts Program: Janicza Bravo '03 (BFA, Drama)
2021 FILM WINNERS
SHORT FILM GRAND JURY AWARDS
Narrative Shorts
Special Jury Recognition for Visionary Storytelling
Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma
Topaz Jones '15 (BFA, Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music), Director
“We are awarding Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma a Special Jury Recognition for Visionary Storytelling for its bold filmmaking and mix of music, visuals, and documentary footage.”
Texas Shorts
Winner
Summer Animals
Haley Elizabeth Anderson '19 (MFA, Kanbar Institute, Graduate Film), Director
“Summer Animals, Haley Elizabeth Anderson’s short film entry for SXSW 2021, captivated us with its naturalistic style and layered approach to storytelling. Ostensibly a story about three siblings and their quest to find a moment of relief — or a pool to cannonball into — during a particularly grueling summer, the film evolves into something else entirely, and is anchored by the cast’s stellar performances and Anderson’s clear-eyed direction.”
SXSW FILM DESIGN AWARDS PRESENTED BY ADOBE
POSTER DESIGN COMPETITION
Special Jury Recognition
The Box
Shal Ngo '08 (BFA, Kanbar Institute, Film & TV), Designer
“A mix of bold graphics, creative typography, and emotive imagery, this poster grabs attention and pulls you into the narrative of prisoners in criminal reform systems and isolation. Spending a moment with the imagery feels like a window into the film and the minds of those enduring their own boxes, both tangible and the ones built in our minds. Overall, this poster was interesting, thought provoking, and wove together narrative and design in striking ways. Brava! We’re thrilled to give a Special Jury Recognition to ‘The Box’!”
SXSW SPECIAL AWARDS
Mailchimp Support the Shorts Award Presented to:
Chuj Boys of Summer
Max Walker-Silverman '20 (MFA, Kanbar Institute, Graduate Film), Director
“With its gentle, observant eye, Chuj Boys of Summer offers a vision of unexpected compassion and tender masculinity. Director Max Walker-Silverman and writer Marcos Ordoñez Ixwalanhkej Mendoza know too much about the world to provide convenient answers to the film’s complicated questions, so they instead focus on the little gestures that define their characters’ lives. Against the grandeur of the San Juan Mountains, these small moments become unspeakably powerful.”
2021 AUDIENCE AWARD WINNERS
Documentary Spotlight
Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America
Emily Kunstler '00 (BFA, Kanbar Institute, Film & TV), Director
24 Beats Per Second
Soy Cubana
Ivaylo Getov '10 (BFA, Kanbar Institute, Film & TV), Director
*We apologize for any omissions! Please send edits or additions to tsoa.alumni@nyu.edu.