The 2025 SXSW Film and TV Festival announced its annual award winners on Wednesday night, with Slanted from Amy Wang (From Scratch, the upcoming Crazy Rich Asians sequel) chosen as this year’s narrative feature winner.
“This unflinching satirical thriller examines racial identity in a bold and skin-tingling new way. Featuring simmering performances by the cast, this film is both specific to the fractured identity of Asian Americans and universally relatable in its theme of desperately needing to belong,” said narrative feature jury members Clayton Davis (Variety), Rebecca Ford (Vanity Fair), and Ryan Lattanzio (Indiewire) in a joint statement. “The director’s vulnerability in mining her personal experience combined with her delicate and daring filmmaking create a haunting piece that lingers long after the credits roll.”
The narrative feature jury also awarded special honors to Annapurna Sriram for her film F–ktoys and actress Amanda Peet (Fantasy Life).
“Annapurna Sriram is a visionary force, a rare artist whose work is as daring as it is singular. In this dynamic and revelatory comedic fantasy, she delivers an audacious cinematic experience that defies convention,” the narrative jury said. “As the film’s director, writer, executive producer, and star, she masterfully wields the power of storytelling, immersing audiences in a world that feels both wildly original and deeply resonant.”
“Ever an actor of unsparing comic canniness, Amanda Peet brilliantly portrays a flailing actress with a stalled-out career who gets a renewed joie de vivre thanks to a manny, played by writer/director Matthew Shear,” the trio added of Peet, the winner of a special jury award for performance. “Her frankness about the perils and pitfalls of the entertainment industry are on full display in a performance that boldly takes on a meta quality while reminding us of why Peet has been so great all along.”
Check out the complete list of 2025 SXSW award winners below.
NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION
Winner: Slanted directed by Amy Wang
Special Jury Award for a Multi-Hyphenate: Annapurna Sriram, Fucktoys
Special Jury Award for Performance: Amanda Peet, Fantasy Life
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION
Winner: Shuffle directed by Benjamin Flaherty
Special Jury Award: The Python Hunt directed by Xander Robin
Special Jury Award: Remaining Native directed by Paige Bethmann
NARRATIVE SHORT COMPETITION
Winner: “One Day This Kid” directed by Alexander Farah
Special Jury Award: “I’m The Most Racist Person I Know” directed by Leela Varghese
DOCUMENTARY SHORT COMPETITION
Winner: “Looking for a Donkey” directed by Juan Vicente Manrique
Special Jury Award: “Welcome Home Freckles” directed by Huiju Park
ANIMATED SHORTS COMPETITION
Winner: “Retirement Plan” directed by John Kelly
Special Jury Award: “My Wonderful Life” directed by Calleen Koh
MIDNIGHT SHORTS COMPETITION
Winner: “Stomach Bug” directed by Matty Crawford
Special Jury Award: “Whitch” directed by Hoku Uchiyama
TEXAS SHORTS COMPETITION
Winner: “Harvester” directed by Charlie Schwan
Special Jury Award: “Newbies” directed by Kimiko Matsuda-Lawrence and Megan Trufant Tillman
MUSIC VIDEO COMPETITION
Winner: BIJI – ‘ZIGIDI’ directed by Maceo Frost
Special Jury Award: Sarah Klang – ‘Other Girls’ directed by Rose Bush and Kirsten Bode
INDEPENDENT TV PILOT COMPETITION
Winner: F*ckups Anonymous from Showrunner Joe Tierney and director Kat Whalen
Special Jury Award: Denim from showrunner and director Tedra Wilson
POSTER DESIGN COMPETITION
Winner: Resolution: A Cinephonic Rhapsody for the Soul
Designers: the film’s director Scott Berman, Anthony Francisco Schepperd, and Micah Buzan
Special Jury Award: Glorious Summer
Designer: Patryk Hardziej
XR EXPERIENCE COMPETITION
Agog Immersive Impact Award
Winner: In the Current of Being created by Cameron Kostopoulos
Jury Award Winner: Reflections of Little Red Dot created by Chloé Lee
Special Jury Award: Proof As If Proof Were Needed created by Ting Tong Chang, Matt Adams
SXSW Special Awards
Redbreast Unhidden Award
Winner: Brief Somebodies directed by Andy Reid, produced by Alessandra Sconza
Vimeo Staff Pick Award
Winner: Familiar directed by Marco Novoa
SXSW Best of Texas Award
Winner: Butthole Surfers: The Hole Truth and Nothing Butt directed by Tom Stern
Janet Pierson Champion Award
Winner: Lindsey Dryden
NEON Auteur Award for Uncompromising Visionary in the Visions Section
Winner: Grace Glowicki, director, writer, and Star, Dead Lover
Howl of Fame Award
Winner: Indy from Good Boy, directed by Ben Leonberg and produced by Kari Fischer, his humans