Demi Lovato is set to open night headliner for her new docuseries at the 2021 South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival.
South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Festivals announced the Youtube Originals docuseries “Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil”. The series is directed by Michael D. Ratner and will be premiering and starting off the online event.
This will be on air by March 16-20 and that is not all. Reportedly, the singer will open up about her nearly fatal drug overdose for the first time ever. She will be opening up and scrutinizing every aspect that led to the incident.
The singer will also talk about how it affected her afterward. She has reportedly granted Michael access to her personal and musical journey during the most trying time of her life. The I Love Me singer “unearthed her prior traumas and discovered the importance of her physical, emotional and mental health”.
The docuseries’ description says it is far deeper than an inside look beyond the celebrity facade. It is also said to be an “intimate portrait of addiction and the process of healing and empowerment.”
SXSW’s Director of Film, Janet Pierson said that it is impressive and rare to witness a pop superstar tell their story. She shared how privileged they feel to present this intimate journey which is shared with such vulnerability. Janet added, “Demi Lovato’s profound interest in mental health awareness is helping change the landscape of a crucial issue in this year of national and international trauma and loss.”
The new docuseries will be the follow-up of its 2017 documentary, ‘Simply Complicated’. This will also consist of few footages from her 2018’s Tell Me You Love Me World Tour. The tour was captured in its initial stages of production.
The Line Up Of Films
Janet and the team have also included nine additional titles and teased the wide breadth of offerings at this year’s festival. The event will be held virtually because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The fest is intended to satisfy thousands of fans, filmmakers, press, and industry leaders by the means of conference sessions, music showcases, online exhibitions, mentoring, and virtual meet-up opportunities, and other events.
“We are excited to share a handful of films from various sections of the festival (Headliners, Episodic Premieres, Doc and Narrative Spotlight, Midnighters, Global, 24 Beats Per Second, 2020 Spotlight) to give you a taste of the talent, risk-taking, passion, and achievements that we will be announcing in early February and share together online in March,” Pierson added.
The film festival line up will be announced on February 10. Meanwhile, the platform with the schedule launches on February 15. Highlights from the 2021 SXSW Film Festival include: (listed alphabetically):
Confronting A Serial Killer
Director: Joe Berlinger, Showrunner: Po Kutchins
Joe Berlinger’s latest docuseries Confronting a Serial Killer trails reporter Jillian Lauren who attracts the most prolific serial killer in American history — Sam Little. The series will follow their unsettling and extraordinary relationship. (World Premiere) (Episodic Premiere)
Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil
Director/Screenwriter: Michael D. Ratner
Demi Lovato: Dancing with the Devil is a strong YouTube Originals documentary event, investigating every aspect that led to Lovato’s nearly fatal overdose in 2018, and her awakenings in the aftermath. (World Premiere) (Headliners)
The Hunt for Planet B
Director: Nathaniel Kahn
The Hunt for Planet B follows a distinct group of scientists; on a quest to discover another Earth among the stars. From the hi-bays of NASA to the end of the universe and the bottom of the sea. The film gives a way to see our own planet with new eyes. (World Premiere) (Documentary Spotlight)
Hysterical
Director: Andrea Nevins
Hysterical is an exact and hilarious backstage pass into the lives of some of stand-up comedy’s most boundary-breaking women, searching the hard-fought journey to become the voices of their generation and their gender. (World Premiere) (Documentary Spotlight)
Jakob’s Wife
Director: Travis Stevens, Screenwriters: Travis Stevens, Kathy Charles, Mark Steenland
The disappearance of a young woman threatens to alter the beige and dull lives of Anne Fedder (Barbara Crampton) and her pastor husband Jakob Fedder (Larry Fessenden) forever. Cast List: Barbara Crampton, Larry Fessenden, Bonnie Aarons, Mark Kelly, Sarah Lind, Robert Rusler, Nyisha Bell, Phil Brooks (World Premiere) (Midnighters)
Luchadoras (Germany)
Directors: Paola Calvo, Patrick Jasim, Screenwriters: Patrick Jasim, Paola Calvo, Phillip Kaminiak
Luchadoras describes the courageous female wrestlers of Ciudad Juárez, a city known for its high murder rate against women — who fight in the ring and in their daily lives to redefine the image of what it means to be a woman in Mexico. (World Premiere) (Global)
Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché
Director: Paul Sng, Celeste Bell, Screenwriters: Celeste Bell, Zoë Howe
The death of punk icon and X-Ray Spex frontwoman Poly Styrene sends her daughter on a journey across the world and through her mother’s archives to reunite their fraught relationship. (North American Premiere) (24 Beats)
Recovery
Director: Mallory Everton, Stephen Meek, Screenwriters: Whitney Call, Mallory Everton
Two directionless sisters brave a cross-country road trip to save their grandmother from a COVID outbreak at her nursing home. Cast: Whitney Call, Mallory Everton, Anne Sward Hansen, Julia Jolley, Baylee Thornock, Jessica Drolet, Stephen Meek, Tyler Andrew Jones, Tori Pence, Dora McDonald (World Premiere) (Narrative Spotlight)
Violet
Director/Screenwriter: Justine Bateman
A film community executive realizes that the “guiding voice” inside her head has been lying to her about everything. Cast List: Olivia Munn, Luke Bracey, Justin Theroux (World Premiere) (2020 Spotlight)
