Russell Brand is always larger than life, but this year at South By Southwest it will be literally true rather than just the result of his voice, hair, and general demeanor. Variety reports that Ondi Timoner’s new documentary about the British multi-hyphenate has been selected to open the festival’s film section on March 13.
Brand: A Second Coming promises to be a revealing portrait, as Brand supposedly granted Timoner “complete access” to his life. Hopefully, it will reveal how a comedian who sort of starred in movies for a while now seems to be reinventing himself as an angry political rabble-rouser. Sometimes that rabble-rousing message about free thinking and economic justice can get a little lost amidst the limo rides and megalomania, but hopefully the documentary will clear some of that up.
SXSW also announced a few other films screening at the festival, including Michael Showalter’s Sally Field-starring comedy Hi, My Name Is Doris; Karyn Kusama’s thriller The Invitation; the Mavis Staples documentary Mavis!; Sara Hirsh Bordo’s documentary A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story; Son Of The Congo, the first feature from Grantland Features, about NBA star Serge Ibaka returning to his homeland; and screenwriter Alex Garland’s directorial debut, the sci-fi thriller Ex Machina.
The complete festival listings will be announced on February 3, with the exception of the Midnighter Features and Short Film Program. The complete listing of Russell Brand’s thoughts will continued to be released in a steady flow from his mouth as soon as he thinks them.