SXSW 2023: Preview the premieres and activations of the film and TV festival

SXSW 2023 Film & TV Festival kicks off

SXSW 2023's Film and TV Festival started Friday with the premiere of "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves".

AUSTIN, Texas - After four years in the making, Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is out, premiering at the SXSW Film Festival on Friday, March 10. 

"We're so proud of this film. We put everything that we had into it," writer and director John Francis Daley said. "We tried to kind of elevate what we do with every movie that we work on. And this was by far the hardest and most gratifying thing we've we've done in our entire careers."

"When you make a movie, you disappear for three years," said producer Jeremy Latcham. "You live in a dark editing room, you deliver the visual effects review, you live on a stage, you're not with the crowd. And so watching the movie tonight, feeling the crowd, feeling the reactions. That's the thing I'm most excited about."

Actor Chris Pine, who plays Edgin, said his nephew was the most excited when he found out his uncle was playing a role in Dungeons and Dragons.

"He said, we should all play together, you know, the family, so we all played and had a great time," Pine said. "And, you know, for a bunch of adults, forgetting that they're adults and acting like children."

Actor Justice Smith, who plays Simon, says he really enjoyed his role as it brought back childhood memories.

"The most exciting part was doing all the magic," Smith said. "That was really fun. I don't know if you ever as a kid were on like the playground pretending to have magic powers."

The red carpet was rolled out for the movie premiere at the Paramount Theater downtown. 

There's still plenty to do during SXSW; actress Daisy Head, who plays Sofina the Red Wizard, is excited to see what's happening around the festival.

"I hope I get to explore a little bit tonight and tomorrow before I head back out," she said. "But it's a wonderfully energetic place."

Don't worry if you can't make it to the movies: there is still plenty to do. 

Throughout the weekend, the Lodge will be taking over The Clive Bar on Rainey Street. Film and TV fanatics can take photo ops in the iconic jackets from the new show Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, check out the surveillance videos from the show Rabbit Hole, try out some record art, and travel back in time to 1923 in the photo booth.

Prime Video is putting down roots with the newly incorporated Prime, TX. The activation, located at Hotel San Jose in Austin's South Congress neighborhood, transports you to different shows featured on Amazon Prime.