2023 SXSW Film & TV Festival Announces Audience Award Winners

You watched the films, you ate all the popcorn (judgement-free zone here), you watched some more, and then you voted on your favorites from March 10-18. Now presenting the Audience Awards winners for the 2023 SXSW Film & TV Festival!

Over the course of nine days the 2023 Film & TV program includes 110 features including 75 World Premieres, 3 International Premieres, 9 North American Premieres, 6 U.S. Premieres, 16 Texas Premieres + 63 Short films, 20 Music Videos, 12 TV Premieres, 3 TV Spotlight, 7 Independent TV Pilots, and 35 XR Experience projects.

Films in the SXSW 2023 lineup screened in the following categories: Headliners; Narrative Feature Competition presented by Panavision; Documentary Feature Competition presented by ACE91; Narrative Spotlight; Documentary Spotlight; Visions; Midnighters; Global presented by MUBI; 24 Beats Per Second; and Festival Favorites. The Episodic program consisted of TV Premieres, TV Spotlight and the Independent TV Pilot Competition. The SXSW 2023 Shorts Film Program presented by IMDbPro featured six competitive sections: Narrative Shorts; Documentary Shorts; Animated Shorts; Midnight Shorts; Texas Shorts; and Music Videos. Our XR Experience Competition, Spotlight and Special Events programming were held in-person with a selection of works held virtually. All categories were eligible for section-specific Audience Awards.

The Audience Awards follow the previously-announced 2023 Jury and Special Awards. Audience Award Winners were certified by Maxwell Locke & Ritter LLP.

Cheers to all the incredible Film & TV projects that screened at SXSW 2023. Many thanks to our amazing SX audience for watching and voting – see y'all next year!

2023 Audience Award Winners

HEADLINERS

Audience Award Winner: Flamin’ Hot
Director: Eva Longoria, Producer: DeVon Franklin, Screenwriters: Linda Yvette Chávez, Lewis Colick

NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION presented by Panavision

Audience Award Winner: Mustache
Director/Screenwriter: Imran J. Khan, Producers: Christina Won, Jessica Sittig, Christopher Storer, Tyson Bidner

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION presented by ACE91

Audience Award Winner: Geoff McFetridge: Drawing a Life
Director/Producer: Dan Covert, Screenwriters: Erik Auli, Dan Covert, Amy Dempsey, Tara Rose Stromberg

NARRATIVE SPOTLIGHT

Audience Award Winner: The Long Game
Director: Julio Quintana, Producers: Javier Chapa, Ben Howard, Marla Quintana, Dennis Quaid, Laura Quaid, Screenwriters: Julio Quintana, Jennifer C. Stetson, Paco Farias

DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT

Audience Award Winner: The Herricanes
Director: Olivia Kuan, Producers: James Lee Hernandez, Brian Lazarte, Lisa France, James Short, Olivia Kuan, Justin Baldoni, Andrew Calof

VISIONS

Audience Award Winner: Tobacco Barns
Director/Screenwriter: Rocío Mesa, Producers: Olmo Figueredo González-Quevedo, Jana Díaz-Juhl, Pau Brunet, Belén Sánchez

MIDNIGHTERS

Audience Award Winner: It Lives Inside
Director: Bishal Dutta, Producers: Raymond Mansfield, Sean McKittrick, Screenwriters: Bishal Dutta, Ashish Mehta

GLOBAL presented by MUBI

Audience Award Winner: Ek Jagah Apni
Directors: Ektara Collective, Producers: Ektara Collective, Lotus Visual Productions, Screenwriters: Rinchin, Maheen Mirza

24 BEATS PER SECOND

Audience Award Winner: Louder Than You Think
Director: Jed I. Rosenberg, Producers: Jeffrey Lewis Clark, Brian Thalken, Kelly Thomas, Screenwriters: Jed I. Rosenberg, Greg King

FESTIVAL FAVORITES

Audience Award Winner: No Ordinary Campaign
Director: Christopher Burke, Producer: Tim Rummel, Christopher Burke

Shorts Film Program presented by IMDbPro

NARRATIVE SHORTS COMPETITION

Audience Award Winner: Closing Dynasty
Director/Screenwriter: Lloyd Lee Choi, Producers: Jon Hsu, Lloyd Lee Choi

DOCUMENTARY SHORTS COMPETITION

Audience Award Winner: Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó (Grandma & Grandma)
Director: Sean Wang, Producers: Sean Wang, Sam Davis

ANIMATED SHORTS COMPETITION

Audience Award Winner: Sandwich Cat
Director/Screenwriter: David Fidalgo, Producers: Daniel Rodriguez, Laura Doval, Gonzalo E. Veloso

MIDNIGHT SHORTS COMPETITION

Audience Award Winner: Dead Enders
Directors: Fidel Ruiz-Healy, Tyler Walker, Screenwriters: Fidel Ruiz-Healy, Tyler Walker, Jordan Michael Blake, Conor Murphy, Producers: Raven Jensen, Amanda Crown, Gregory Barnes, Conor Murphy, Nico Alvo, Jordan Michael Blake, Eduardo Ruiz-Healy

TEXAS SHORTS COMPETITION

Audience Award Winner: Breaking Silence
Directors: Amy Bench, Annie Silverstein, Producers: Monique Walton, Amy Bench

MUSIC VIDEO COMPETITION

Audience Award Winner: Drew Ashby - 'HER'
Directors: Chris Scholar, Bevin Brown, Producer: Bevin Brown

TV Program

TV PREMIERES

Audience Award Winner: The Luckiest Guy in the World
Director: Steve James, Producers: Zak Piper, Steve James

TV SPOTLIGHT

Audience Award Winner: Blindspotting Season 2 Premiere
Showrunner: Rafael Casal, Directors: Rafael Casel, Jess Wu Calder, Producers: Rafael Casal, Daveed Diggs, Jess Wu Calder, Keith Calder, Emily Gerson Saines, Ken Lee, Tim Palen

INDEPENDENT TV PILOT COMPETITION

Audience Award Winner: Notarize Me
Director: Erika Rankin, Screenwriters/Producers: Erika Rankin, Brigitte Valdez

XR Experience

XR EXPERIENCE COMPETITION

Audience Award Winner: JFK Memento
Director: Chloé Rochereuil, Producer: Victor Agulhon

XR EXPERIENCE SPOTLIGHT

Audience Award Winner: MLK: Now is the Time
Director: Limbert Fabian, Producers: Matthew O’Rourke, Sulivan Parker, Screenwriter: Andrina Wekontash Smith

XR EXPERIENCE SPECIAL EVENTS

Audience Award Winners (three-way tie):

Neo-Wulin: The Era of Black Ark
Director/Screenwriter: Guanyu, Producers: Chenchenchen, Bingbing Wang

Ristband
Directors: Anne McKinnon, Roman Rappak

Soundwaves: A Metaverse Music Concert
Directors: YOOM, Active Theory

View All 2023 Film & TV Awards Winners

Watch SXSW On Demand

Watch Conference Keynotes and select Featured Sessions on our official YouTube. Go beyond sessions, showcases, and screenings during exclusive interviews at the SXSW Studio with Host Wajahat Ali.

Select SXSW 2023 event content is available to registrants on the SXSW Online Schedule and SXSW TV app. Learn more about SXSW Online access. Explore the full list of available on demand content and stay tuned for more event recaps.

See You Next Year

Calling all SX early birds – buy next year’s badge at this year’s lowest rate and get early access to hotels this summer! Now through Friday, March 31, purchase a 2024 SXSW Badge at the lowest 2023 rate.

Teaser Photos:"Flamin' Hot" World Premiere by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for SXSW; "Flamin' Hot" World Premiere Red Carpet by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images