The Austin Film Festival Full Lineup is Here to Bring Screenwriting Insights and Inspiration

The 32nd Austin Film Festival

The 32nd edition of the Austin Film Festival is set to kick off with Christy, from co-writer/director David Michôd, which is based on the remarkable true events of legendary world champion boxer Christy Martin, who is played by Sydney Sweeney.

The rest of AFF’s 2025 lineup will feature a nice mix of diverse films, including the dark comedy Forelock starring David Krumholtz and Caleb Alexander Smith; drama Nobody Wants To Be Here, Nobody Wants To Leave; and two music documentaries, Charley Crockett: $10 Cowboy and Gregg Allman: The Music of My Soul.

Austin Film Festival 2025 Lineup

Here’s a list of the main Austin Film Festival Films, which have now been fully unveiled.

OPENING NIGHT FILM:

CHRISTY
Writer: David Michôd, Mirrah Foulkes

Director: David Michôd

Cast: Sydney Sweeney, Merritt Wever, Ben Foster, Katy O’Brian

Christy Martin never imagined life beyond her small-town roots in West Virginia—until she discovered a knack for knocking people out. Fueled by grit, raw determination, and an unshakable desire to win, she charges into the world of boxing under the guidance of her trainer and manager-turned-husband, Jim. But while Christy flaunts a fiery persona in the ring, her toughest battles unfold outside it—confronting family, identity, and a relationship that just might become life-or-death. Based on remarkable true events, Christy Martin’s story is one of resilience, courage, and the fight to reclaim one’s life.
In Attendance: Director/Co-Writer David Michôd, Co-Writer Mirrah Foulkes, & subject of film Christy Martin

CENTERPIECE FILM:

ETERNITY

(USA, 114 MIN)

Writer: Patrick Cunnane, David Freyne

Director: David Freyne

Cast: Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen, Callum Turner

In an afterlife where souls have one week to decide where to spend eternity, Joan (Elizabeth Olsen) is faced with the impossible choice between the man she spent her life with (Miles Teller) and her first love (Callum Turner), who died young and has waited decades for her to arrive.

In Attendance: Elizabeth Olsen

MARQUEES:

THE BOY FROM ST. CROIX
World Premiere

(USA, 105 MIN)

Director: Scott Duncan

After keeping the world at arm’s length for decades, basketball legend Tim Duncan reveals himself in an intimate portrait directed by his brother Scott, reflecting on the game, his career, and his enduring connection to his native island of St. Croix.

CHARLIEBIRD

(USA, 98 MIN)

Writer: Samantha Smart

Director: Libby Ewing

Cast: Samantha Smart, Gabriela Ochoa Perez, Maria Peyramaure

Al (Samantha Smart) works as a music therapist at a children’s hospital, taking things day by day and trying to make ends meet. Charlie (Gabriela Ochoa Perez) comes into her life as a patient, an ever immovable and unmotivated teenager.

DEAD MAN’S WIRE

(USA, 104 MIN)

Writer: Austin Kolodney

Director: Gus Van Sant

Cast: Bill Skarsgård, Dacre Montgomery, Colman Domingo, Cary Elwes, Myha’la, Al Pacino

The morning of February 8, 1977, Anthony G. “Tony” Kiritsis, 44, entered the office of Richard O. Hall, president of the Meridian Mortgage Company, and took him hostage with a sawed-off 12-gauge shotgun wired with a “dead man’s wire” from the trigger to the Hall’s head. This is the true story of the stand-off that took the world by storm as Tony demanded $5 million, no charges or prosecution, and a personal apology from the Halls for cheating him out of what he was “owed".

In Attendance: Writer Austin Kolodney

FORELOCK
World Premiere

(USA, 96 MIN)

Writer/Director: Caleb Alexander Smith

Cast: David Krumholtz, Caleb Alexander Smith, Emily Swallow, Jason Wiles

A naive fitness enthusiast moves to LA with dreams of becoming a trainer, but collides with a crooked Hollywood Boulevard impersonator in a tragicomic romp through the shadows of the American Dream.
In Attendance: David Krumholtz, Caleb Alexander Smith

HAMNET

(USA, 125 MIN)

Writer: Chloé Zhao, Maggie O’Farrell

Director: Chloé Zhao

Cast: Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Zac Wishart

From Academy Award® winning writer/director Chloé Zhao, Hamnet tells the powerful story of love and loss that inspired the creation of Shakespeare’s timeless masterpiece, Hamlet.

HEDDA

(USA, 107 MIN)

Writer/Director: Nia DaCosta

Cast: Tessa Thompson, Nina Hoss, Imogen Poots

Nia DaCosta’s Hedda stars Tessa Thompson as a woman caught between past love and present despair in a charged, modern take on Ibsen’s classic.

IS THIS THING ON?

(USA, 117 MIN)

Writer: Bradley Cooper, Will Arnett, Mark Chappell

Director: Bradley Cooper

Cast: Will Arnett, Laura Dern, Andra Day, Bradley Cooper

As their marriage quietly unravels, Alex (Will Arnett) faces middle age and an impending divorce, seeking new purpose in the New York comedy scene while Tess (Laura Dern) confronts the sacrifices she made for their family—forcing them to navigate co-parenting, identity, and whether love can take a new form.

THE INQUISITOR

(USA, 98 MIN)

Director: Angela Lynn Tucker

In 1972, Barbara Jordan became the first Southern Black woman to join Congress. THE INQUISITOR chronicles Representative Jordan’s meteoric rise offering a blueprint for uniting a divided America through a turbulent political era.

JAY KELLY
(USA, UK, Italy, 132 MIN)

Writer: Noah Baumbach, Emily Mortimer

Director: Noah Baumbach

Cast: George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern

From Academy Award® nominee Noah Baumbach, Jay Kelly follows famous movie actor Jay Kelly (George Clooney) and his devoted manager Ron (Adam Sandler) as they embark on a whirlwind and unexpectedly profound journey through Europe. Along the way, both men are forced to confront the choices they’ve made, the relationships with their loved ones, and the legacies they’ll leave behind.

LA GRAZIA

(Italy, 133 MIN)

Writer/Director: Paolo Sorrentino

Cast: Toni Servillo, Anna Ferzetti, Orlando Cinque

Mariano De Santis is the President of the Italian Republic. No connection to any real-life presidents; he is entirely a product of the author’s imagination. A widower and a Catholic, he has a daughter, Dorotea, a legal scholar like himself. As his term draws to a close, amid uneventful days, two final duties arise: deciding on two delicate petitions for a presidential pardon. True moral dilemmas, which become tangled, in ways that seem impossible to unravel, with his private life. Driven by doubt, he will have to decide. And, with a deep sense of responsibility, that is exactly what this remarkable Italian President will do.

LEADS

(USA, 102 MIN)

Writer: Bryan Poyser, Heather Kafka, Justin Arnold

Director: Bryan Poyser

Cast: Heather Kafka, Justin Arnold, Macon Blair

An acting professor has her life upended when her charming but volatile baby brother joins her acting class, setting off a battle of wills between them for the hearts and minds of her eager students that could bring them all to the brink of success or debilitating ruin.

THE LONG SHOT

(USA, 95 MIN)

Writer: Drew Mackintosh

Director: Austin Nichols

Cast: Ryan Hansen, Adrianne Palicki, Dulce Sloan, Temple Baker, Justin Chatwin, Bill Wise, Chris St. Mary, Bobo Hoang, Joe Hursley

Set in Austin, Texas, The Long Shot is a shaggy, easy-going comedy that blends humor with a healthy dose of heart. The film follows Ray Mueller, a lovable slacker who lives and works at the city’s historic municipal golf course.

NO OTHER CHOICE

(South Korea, 139 MIN)

Writer: Park Chan-wook, Don McKellar, Lee Kyoung-mi, Lee Ja-hye

Director: Park Chan-wook

Cast: Lee Byung Hun, Son Yejin, Park Hee Soon, Lee Sung Min, Yeom Hye Ran, Cha Seung Won

From director Park Chan-wook and based on Donald E. Westlake’s novel The Ax, the story follows Man-su on his desperate hunt for a new job after his abrupt layoff from the paper company he served for 25 years.

NOT WITHOUT HOPE

World Premiere

(USA, Malta, 120 MIN)

Writer: E. Nicholas Mariani, Joe Carnahan, Nick Schuyler

Director: Joe Carnahan

Cast: Zachary Levi, Josh Duhamel, Quentin Plair

Based on The New York Times Best Seller of the same name, tells the harrowing true story of a tragic 2009 fishing trip taken by four friends — including NFL players Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith — who are stranded at sea 70 miles off the coast of Clearwater, Florida after their boat capsizes. With the storm of the century fast approaching, the four friends are left to battle hypothermia, dehydration and the unrelenting elements in a fight for survival.

In Attendance: Director Joe Carnahan, Zachary Levi, Floriana Lima, Marshall Cooper, Terrence Terrell, Quentin Plair

NUREMBERG

(USA, 148 MIN)

Writer/Director: James Vanderbilt

Cast: Russell Crowe, Rami Malek, Michael Shannon

The Allies

The full conference schedule can be found on the Austin Film Festival website here.