Terrence Malick (The Tree of Life) shot his latest effort, Song to Song, in the heart of Austin, Texas, and it’s also where the filmmaker lives. As such, it makes sense, then, that the notoriously media-shy auteur will bring his new film back to the City of the Violent Crown later this spring to have its world premiere at the 2017 South by Southwest Film Festival, where it’ll kick off the festivities.
In addition to hosting a film festival, SXSW is also notorious for their music, which means many of the film’s musical acts, including Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, Arcade Fire and St. Vincent, will get a chance to stop by and celebrate the world premiere. It’s a win-win scenario, one that will also bring some of the film’s biggest stars, including Ryan Gosling, Michael Fassbender, Rooney Mara, Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale and Haley Bennett, back to Texas’ capital.
But that’s not the only SXSW announcement to arrive today. Organizers also announced that they’ll debut the Starz series American Gods, based on Neil Gaiman’s popular novel, as well as a collection of indies, including Small Town Crime, starring John Hawkes, Anthony Anderson and Octavia Spencer, Signature Move, The Melody of Dust (“a musical journey for the HTC Vine”), Residente and Spettacolo.
Circling back to Song to Song though, and from what we’ve heard it’s a “modern day love story set against the Austin, Texas music scene,” which follows “two entangled couples — struggling songwriters Faye (Mara) and BV (Gosling), and music mogul Cook (Fassbender) and the waitress whom he ensnares (Portman) — chase success through a rock ‘n’ roll landscape of seduction and betrayal.” It hits theaters on March 17 after making its debut at SXSW.