SXSW Film Festival announces "Kick-Ass" opener

(All Rights Reserved)

Among the 125 films to be screened at the SXSW Film Conference and Festival (March 12-20) in Austin, Texas, the opening night film has been announced as Kick-Ass. The festival also includes music and interactive sections.

The film follows the story of a comic book fan who decides to be a superhero named Kick-Ass who encounters Hit Girl. Based on a comic by Mark Millar and John S. Romita, Jr., the film stars Nicolas Cage and Aaron Johnson, directed by Matthew Vaughn (Stardust, Layer Cake). Kick-Ass will be released in US cinemas April 16.

Other titles being screened include:

- The first public screening of the IMAX space film Hubble 3D. 

- Actor James Franco's Saturday Night, a documentary he is directing about the inside production of an episode of Saturday Night Live, the 35-year-old television comedy sketch show.

- Lemmy, a documentary about Motorhead's indestructible frontman, Lemmy Kilmister.

Also in the schedule are Sebastian Gutierrez's Electra Luxx, Steve James' No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson, and Cold Weather, the latest from director Aaron Katz, who is part of the mumblecore movement of American low-budget, relationship-focused filmmaking.

The remainder of the features will be announced in early February.

http://sxsw.com/

RC