Headliners strand includes first screenings of the upcoming Universal comedy Neighbors (pictured) starring Seth Rogen and Zac Efron and Australian time-travel thriller Predestination with Ethan Hawke.

The 21st edition of the festival in Austin, Texas, runs from March 7-15. The new Episodics programme will include new upcoming television work including Robert Rodriguez’s From Dusk Till Dawn for his El Rey Network, HBO’s upcoming Silicon Valley and FOX’s COSMOS: A SpaceTime Odyssey.

The first ever SXsports section will include as previously announced an on-stage conversation with Jurgen Klinsmann, the former German international striker and current US national team coach in the run-up to the World Cup in Brazil this summer.

Among the Special Events is a screening of Berlinale opener The Grand Budapest Hotel followed by an extended Q&A with Wes Anderson.

The eight world premiere selections in the Narrative Feature Competition are:

  • 10,000km (Spain) by Carlos Marques Marcet;
  • Animals by Collin Schiffli;
  • Before I Disappear by Shawn Christensen;
  • Fort Tilden by Sarah-Violet Bliss and Charles Rogers;
  • The Heart Machine by Zachary Wigon;
  • I Believe In Unicorns by Leah Meyerhoff;
  • The Mend by John Magary;
  • Wild Canaries by Lawrence Michael Levine.

The eight world premiere Documentary Feature Competition entries are:

  • Beginning With The End by David Marshall;
  • Born To Fly by Catherine Gund;
  • The Great Invisible by Margaret Brown;
  • The Immortalists by Jason Sussberg and David Alvarado;
  • Impossible Light by Jeremy Ambers;
  • Mateo by Aaron I Naar;
  • Print The Legend by Luis Lopez and Clay Tweel;
  • Vessel by Diana Whitten.

Headliners selections are the previously announced festival opener Chef by Jon Favreau; David Gordon Green’s Joe; Nicholas Stoller’s Neighbors; Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig’s Predestination (Australia); and Veronica Mars by Rob Thomas.

Narrative Spotlight entries include world premieres for Emilio Aragón’s A Night In Old Mexico (US-Spain), Terry McMahon’s Patrick’s Day (Ireland), Jen McGowan’s Kelly & Cal, Angus Sampson and Tony Mahony’s The Mule (Australia) and the North American premiere of Diego Luna’s Cesar Chavez.

World premiere Documentary Spotlight selections include Cary Bell’s Butterfly Girl, Alexandre O Philippe’s Doc Of The Dead, Angus MacQueen and Guillermo Galdos’ The Legend Of Shorty (UK) and Elijah Drenner’s That Guy Dick Miller.

All in all 115 features were announced from a record 6,482 submissions, up 14% over 2013 and contributing to a 45% rise since 2009. There are 76 world premieres and 68 from first-time filmmakers.

The Midnighters section will be announced along with the short films on February 5 and the complete conference programmes is unveiled on February 12.

“We are psyched to present this year’s slate – truly diverse in size, shape, and emotional tone and reflective of our ever-eclectic tastes,” said head of SXSW Film Janet Pierson.

“As always, we strive for the delicate balance of launching new voices, while providing equally combustible entertainment from red carpet moments and highly anticipated titles to soon-to-be-new-addictions from the small screen.

“Getting to share this work with our adventurous, intelligent, film-loving audience is where the magic happens and the films truly come alive. Is it March yet?”

For the full line-up including Visions, a Sundance-heavy Festival Favorites strand, 24 Beats Per Second, SXGlobal and Special Events visit http://sxsw.com/film.

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