Saturday SXSW Film highlights
“Veronica Mars”: If there’s one movie to see on Saturday, this is the one. There aren’t any other screenings of “Veronica.” Kristen Bell stars as the title character, a young sleuth who returns to her hometown to investigate a mystery involving her old flame, Logan ( Jason Dohring). Austin’s Rob Thomas, creator of the popular TV series, directs. 3 p.m., Paramount.
“Wild Canaries”: This world premiere focuses on a Brooklyn couple who fear that one of their neighbors has been murdered. It’s being billed as a comic noir. 4:15 p.m., Alamo Ritz. Also: 9:30 p.m. Sunday, Rollins; 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, Alamo Ritz.
“Only Lovers Left Alive”: Jim Jarmusch delivers the ultimate hipster look at two vampires who have loved one another for centuries. One lives in an abandoned Detroit neighborhood and the other in northern Africa. When one of them becomes suicidal, the other runs to the rescue. Expect a lot of musical references, beautiful cinematography, witty dialogue and black humor. The glorious Tilda Swinton stars with Tom Hiddleston. 6:15 p.m., Stateside. Also: 9:45 p.m. Wednesday, Violet Crown. A conversation with Swinton will be held at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the Austin Convention Center, Room 16AB.
“Neighbors”: A frat boy played by Zac Efron squares off against his new neighbor (Seth Rogen) in this high-profile comedy. 7 p.m., Paramount.
“The Heart Machine”: John Gallagher Jr. of HBO’s “Newsroom” and Kate Lyn Sheil star as two people who have an online relationship but have never met. Then one of them begins to wonder whether the other is real and starts snooping. Zachary Wigon directs. 7 p.m., Alamo Ritz. Also: 7 p.m. Sunday, Rollins; 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Rollins.
“Break Point”: Jeremy Sisto plays a doubles tennis player who’s on the verge of losing his pro career and tries to turn things around by getting his estranged brother to be his partner. 7:45 p.m., Topfer. Also: 7 p.m. Sunday, Alamo Slaughter; 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Alamo Village; 11 a.m. Thursday, Stateside.
“Creep”: Former Austinite and UT grad Mark Duplass stars as a creepy guy who lures a filmmaker (Patrick Brice) to a remote cabin. And as the day progresses, things get very strange. Duplass wrote the script with Brice, who also directs. 9:30 p.m., Stateside. Also: 11 a.m. Monday, Alamo Slaughter; 7 p.m. Wednesday, Rollins; 10 p.m. Friday, Topfer.
“Predestination”: Austin native Ethan Hawke stars as an agent who specializes in time travel and is pursuing the one criminal who has eluded him for a long time. This is the only festival screening, and it’s a world premiere. 10 p.m., Paramount.