Most Anticipated Documentaries at SXSW
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2026 marks SXSW’s 40th year and for the first time will feature all programming running simultaneously for seven days across Innovation, Film & TV and Music. Also new this year is their reservation system. All badges now come with daily reservations that can be used to secure seats in advance for high-demand sessions, screenings, and showcases. If that sounds overwhelming, we got you covered by highlighting some of our most anticipated documentaries across the SXSW Film & TV Festival lineup.
AMAZING LIVE SEA MONKEYS
“From Secret formulas to betrayal, the Sea-Monkey saga is deeper than you thought” - The AtZ Show
From her crumbling estate on the Potomac, Yolanda Signorelli battles to wrest control of her late husband Harold’s iconic toy Amazing Live Sea-Monkeys from the corporate men who stole them from her and from the stain of her husband’s dark legacy.
DIRECTOR: MARK BECKER & AARON SCHOCK | DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT | WORLD PREMIERE
DIRECTOR: MARK BECKER & AARON SCHOCK | DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT | WORLD PREMIERE
SCREENING SHOWTIMES
🎞️ MAR 13, 2026 6:15PM - 7:55PM 📌 ALAMO 6*
🎞️ MAR 14, 2026 12:00PM - 1:40PM 📌 ALAMO LAMAR 2&7*
🎞️ MAR 15, 2026 10:30PM - 12:10AM 📌 ALAMO LAMAR 9
*Q&A on Friday, Saturday (Lamar 7 only) and Sunday screenings
STORMBOUND
Credit: Miko Lim
“Using IMAX to the fullest in order to capture decades of disasters” - The AtZ Show
An intimate look at Jeff Gammons, a chronically ill man who finds peace and beauty chasing the world’s largest hurricanes.
DIRECTOR: MIKO LIM | DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION | WORLD PREMIERE
DIRECTOR: MIKO LIM | DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION | WORLD PREMIERE
SCREENING SHOWTIMES
🎞️ MAR 14, 2026 9:30PM - 11:05PM 📌 ZACH THEATER
🎞️ MAR 16, 2026 11:15PM - 12:50PM 📌 ALAMO LAMAR 4
🎞️ MAR 18, 2026 3:00PM - 4:35PM 📌 ALAMO LAMAR 4
MY BROTHER’S KILLER
Credit: Marc Rabins
“The cold case that exposed a hidden era of violence and the community that refused to forget.” - The AtZ Show
The unsolved murder of Billy London, a gay adult film performer brutally killed in West Hollywood, was an urban legend for 33 years. A documentary intended to honor his life took an unexpected turn when members of the community joined forces to uncover overlooked clues, and seek a resolution to the mystery of who killed him.
DIRECTOR: RACHEL MASON | DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT | WORLD PREMIERE
DIRECTOR: RACHEL MASON | DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT | WORLD PREMIERE
SCREENING SHOWTIMES
🎞️ MAR 13, 2026 6:30PM - 8:05PM 📌 ALAMO LAMAR 2&7
🎞️ MAR 16, 2026 5:30PM - 7:05PM 📌 ALAMO LAMAR 8
🎞️ MAR 18, 2026 11:30AM - 1:05PM 📌 ALAMO LAMAR 9
THE ASCENT
“A brutal mystery drives one woman to the top of the world.” - The AtZ Show
The Ascent is the inspiring true story of Colorado Springs bilateral-amputee climber Mandy Horvath’s record-breaking attempt to crawl to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro and the mysterious circumstances under which she lost her legs at the age of 21.
DIRECTOR: EDWARD DRAKE & SCOTT VELTRI & FRANCIS CRONIN
DIRECTOR: EDWARD DRAKE & SCOTT VELTRI & FRANCIS CRONIN
SCREENING SHOWTIMES
🎞️ MAR 14, 2026 11:00AM - 12:42PM 📌 ZACH THEATER
🎞️ MAR 16, 2026 11:30AM - 1:12PM 📌 ALAMO LAMAR 6
🎞️ MAR 18, 2026 3:15PM - 4:57PM 📌 ALAMO LAMAR 5
THE TRUTH AND TRAGEDY OF MORIAH WILSON
Credit: Netflix
“Beyond the headlines lies the story of a life that changed everything.” - The AtZ Show
An intimate, arresting portrait of cyclist Moriah Wilson—raised by a fierce, loving family—whose singular drive becomes her superpower, carrying her to athletic brilliance and, devastatingly, toward a life cut short by murder.
DIRECTOR: MARINA ZENOVICH | DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT | WORLD PREMIERE
DIRECTOR: MARINA ZENOVICH | DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT | WORLD PREMIERE
SCREENING SHOWTIMES
🎞️ MAR 12, 2026 6:15PM - 7:50PM 📌 ROLLINS THEATRE AT THE LONG CENTER
🎞️ MAR 13, 2026 9:15PM - 10:50PM 📌 SATELLITE VENUE: AFS CINEMA
🎞️ MAR 17, 2026 3:15PM - 4:50PM 📌 ALAMO LAMAR 6
DAUGHTERS OF THE FOREST: MYCELIUM CHRONICLES
Credit: Martín Boege
“A hauntingly beautiful exploration of the invisible networks shaping our world.” - The AtZ Show
"Daughters of the Forest" is a story of entanglements: between humans and mushrooms; the visible and the invisible; generational knowledge and modern science. This sci-fi documentary invites us to reconsider the experiences of both human and non-human inhabitants of our world.
DIRECTOR: OTILIA PORTILLO PADUA | VISIONS | NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
DIRECTOR: OTILIA PORTILLO PADUA | VISIONS | NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
SCREENING SHOWTIMES
🎞️ MAR 13, 2026 6:45PM - 8:19PM 📌 VIOLET CROWN 1&3
🎞️ MAR 14, 2026 12:30PM - 2:04PM 📌 VIOLET CROWN 1&3
🎞️ MAR 15, 2026 12:30PM - 2:04PM 📌 VIOLET CROWN 1&3
SUMMER OF ‘94
Caption: The Official Unofficial Poster of the 1994 U.S. National Team
"Summer of ’94" reveals the wild rise of the U.S. Men’s National Team on the road to the 1994 World Cup—and the history they were never meant to make. With no league and no roadmap, a ragtag group of players and an unlikely coach endured a grueling two-year training camp, hoping simply not to embarrass their nation at the first-ever World Cup on American soil.
DIRECTOR: DAVE LAMATTINA & CHAD WALKER | DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT | WORLD PREMIERE
DIRECTOR: DAVE LAMATTINA & CHAD WALKER | DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT | WORLD PREMIERE
SCREENING SHOWTIMES
🎞️ MAR 14, 2026 9:15PM - 10:50PM 📌 ROLLINS THEATRE AT THE LONG CENTER
🎞️ MAR 15, 2026 2:30PM - 4:05PM 📌 ALAMO LAMAR 6
🎞️ MAR 18, 2026 9:00PM - 10:35PM 📌 SATELLITE VENUE: AFS CINEMA
BLACK ZOMBIE
Credit: Manuela Hidalgo
From the flickering screens of Hollywood horror, to the haunted cane fields of colonial Haiti, "Black Zombie" unearths the buried origins of the zombie, reclaiming it as a symbol of survival and spiritual resistance.
DIRECTOR: MAYA ANNIK BEDWARD | DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT | WORLD PREMIERE
DIRECTOR: MAYA ANNIK BEDWARD | DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT | WORLD PREMIERE
SCREENING SHOWTIMES
🎞️ MAR 13, 2026 2:45PM - 4:15PM 📌 ALAMO LAMAR 6
🎞️ MAR 14, 2026 10:45AM - 12:15PM 📌 ALAMO LAMAR 1&3
🎞️ MAR 17, 2026 3:30PM - 5:00PM 📌 VIOLET CROWN 1&3
SERLING
Caption: Rod Serling on Set Credit: from SERLING
"Serling" is an immersive first-person journey exploring the life and legacy of one of television’s most visionary storytellers, Rod Serling. Told almost entirely in Serling’s own words, drawn from never-before-heard recordings and personal dictations, the film captures the man behind "The Twilight Zone" in all his complexity.
DIRECTOR: JONAH TULIS | DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT | WORLD PREMIERE
DIRECTOR: JONAH TULIS | DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT | WORLD PREMIERE
SCREENING SHOWTIMES
🎞️ MAR 16, 2026 3:30PM - 5:08PM 📌 STATE THEATRE
🎞️ MAR 17, 2026 5:30PM - 7:08PM 📌 ALAMO LAMAR 3
🎞️ MAR 18, 2026 5:30PM - 7:08PM 📌 SATELLITE VENUE: AFS CINEMA
