SXSW 2025 kicked off March 7 and has showcased an impressive variety of debut feature films. My first big festival experience has been nothing short of amazing. I am zipping across the great weird city of Austin to catch the world premieres of some phenomenal directorial debuts. Here are a few I’ve seen so far.

Satisfaction
Written and directed by Alex Burunova

The first film on my slate is an emotional knockout of a debut from writer-director Alex Burunova. Satisfaction follows Lola (Emma Laird) and Philip (Fionn Whitehead) as they navigate deep tensions within their relationship while on an off-season Greek Island retreat. The film begins on the island with the couple, but it’s clear that previous events have put some invisible distance between them. Burunova fills in the couple’s story through flashbacks, and makes brilliant use of production design and color to mirror the emotions on display: deep navy and warm sienna to convey the pair’s tender beginnings, and steely blues and stark whites to convey the cold, fractious circumstances that push the two apart. Burunova also turns the Greek island itself into a character, with the barren off-season village reflecting the vacant feelings the couple lose for each other, yet also alluring as Lola gives in to the charms of Elena (Zar Amir Ebrahimi), a woman she meets among the island’s nude beaches. Laird is a revelation as Lola, expertly expressing both an edge and tenderness that creates resilience in her character and helps to deliver the film’s most vulnerable and devastating moments.

Satisfaction deals in very weighty themes of sexual identity and consent, and Burunova blends them as a fabric of the story without tokenizing her message. I believe Burunova breaks new ground with the way in which she chooses to shoot certain scenes.

It Ends
Written and directed by Alexander Ullom

Alexander Ullom’s directorial debut was one of my most anticipated features coming into SXSW, and I’m excited to report that I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. In It Ends, a wrong turn leads a group of friends down a never-ending road where weird shit happens. And that’s the movie. Truly, the film premise is that simple, but it’s that simple conceit that opens the film up to a host of philosophical conversations that turn it from a “tiny hangout movie” to a psychological puzzle box of a time loop flick with inventive world-building mechanics I’ve never seen before.

Ullom’s direction is incredibly tight, and uses his limited location (a deserted road in the woods) to create a strong sense of place around the car where the film’s characters spend the bulk of their time. Each young actor is a standout, including Phinehas Yoon as James, Akira Jackson as Day, Noah Toth as Fischer, and Mitchel Cole as Tyler. Together they create a hilarious dynamic that feels like a peek into any modern group of friends, and each actor makes the most of a slow-release script that uncovers the squad’s secrets and tensions with unexpected honesty and emotional depth. It Ends surprised me. I went in expecting a balls-to-the-wall hell ride, and left with something more introspective and profound about the futile nature of expectations, and the essential role a good group of friends contribute to making life worth living.

Slanted
Written and directed by Amy Wang

Director Amy Wang finds the perfect balance of surrealism and biting satire with Slanted, the story of Chinese teenager Joan Huang (Shirley Chen) who, after accepting a mysterious appointment from the shadowy Ethnos Inc. company, undergoes a radical transformation to take on the physical appearance of a White girl aka Jo (Mckenna Grace) in order to win prom queen at her high school. Exploring themes of race and belonging as a high school comedy makes Slanted feel both familiar and fresh, and fills a gap left wide open by similar films of the genre. There are very strong Mean Girls vibes in Wang’s script, with a pitch-perfect cast of young up-and-comers and a story that hits many of the same beats as the Millennial classic. However, Wang positions an immigrant Chinese girl as the outcast who wants to feel seen by the White popular kids, setting up a new dynamic that mirrors an adolescent experience many people of color can relate to: Whiteness as the default model for beauty, happiness, and success. There are some great surreal moments, including the sketchy suburban storefront Joan enters for her Ethnos Inc consultation, and a hilarious karaoke-style-anesthesia dream featuring an original song called “It’s Fun to be White”.

Wang leans into the inherent absurdity in her script, and provides a lot of laughs that also serve a double purpose for those who understand the cultural roots of some jokes. With Slanted, Wang doesn’t just look at the cultural oppression of White America, but also examines Joan’s internal struggle and confusion with rejecting her own culture to feel beautiful, successful, and well-liked. The movie ultimately becomes a warning about what you gain to lose by letting external forces define you.

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