SXSW London announces first wave of Screen Festival keynotes and premieres

SXSW London is dropping gold on us left and right for its second-ever edition in 2026, and today, they have announced the first wave of keynote speakers and premieres for its Screen Festival programme - the festival’s film and TV strand.

The announcement is spearheaded by a trio of top names confirmed for the strands' Keynotes series. They include Multi-BAFTA-winning creative Sharon Horgan, acclaimed Doctor Who and It's a Sin screenwriter Russell T Davies, and NEON founder Tom Quinn, all of whom will be offering insight into their work and the future of screen storytelling.

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Not only that, but the cinefiles among you will be reeling as they have also unveiled their first selection of premieres within the Screen programme, including three world debuts.

Among them is Feast or Famine, a documentary set Londons Angelina’s restaurant as they vie for a Michelin star, narrated by Marco Pierre White, as well as feature films The Remedy, where a desperate attempt to save a terminally ill mother unleashes the supernatural, and All Night Wrong where a blind date unravels into a stolen car, a dead body, and $40,000 gone very wrong.

International discovery remains central to the programme, with films already confirmed from 22 countries, as the Screen Festival continues to position itself as a platform connecting global talent with the UK industry.

Speaking on the vision behind the programme, Anna Bogutskaya, Head of Screen at SXSW London, said: “SXSW London Screen Festival is not designed to be just another film festival. What we’re building here is a bridge between international talent and the UK, between film and the wider creative industries, and points of connection between film, music, art and technology.

"The programme we have curated is celebrating those filmmakers and artists who are exploring and exploding the possibilities of filmmaking. London is a global city, and cinema is an international language. What we’re looking for - and what we are excited to bring to London audiences this summer - is that electricity of discovering something truly groundbreaking from places they weren’t looking in.”

Beyond the headline premieres, Amoeba follows four teenage girls forming a rebellious gang, while Becoming centres on a young swimmer fighting to hold onto stability in Kazakhstan. On The Road tracks a growing connection between two men travelling across northern Mexico, as Father explores guilt and the search for forgiveness after a life-altering mistake. In Hijra, a young girl and her grandmother embark on a tense journey across Saudi Arabia in search of a missing family member, while It Would Be Night in Caracas sees a woman navigating survival in a collapsing city.

Elsewhere, Maddie’s Secret examines the pressures of online life, Remake tackles generational trauma, and Sicko follows a couple whose fake illness spirals out of control. Whistle dives into competitive musical whistling, while The Whisper brings a darker edge with siblings uncovering a criminal network. La Carn explores identity through performance, Barrio Triste presents a poetic look at youth and violence, and Intelligence Rising rounds things out by examining how artificial intelligence could reshape the future.

With more to come across its wider programme, SXSW London’s Screen Festival is shaping up to be a key part of the event’s first year in the British capital.

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Header image credit: SXSW London // Facebook