One year ago today here in Austin, TX, Janet Pierson, Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert at the world premiere of āEverything Everywhere All At Onceā at SXSW. I love walking into a movie with no context, not having seen trailers or footage. I wasnāt really tracking āEverything Everywhere All At Onceā (and kept screwing up the title) but knew I wanted to see whatever the Daniels were up to. SXSW only described EEAAO as, āa hilarious and big-hearted sci-fi action adventure about an exhausted Chinese American woman (Michelle Yeoh) who can't seem to finish her taxes.ā The response that night in the Paramount Theater was at first totally silent and then purely explosive. When Michelle Yeoh walked on stage after the screening, WOW. The film was so much. I was sitting with Indiewireās Eric Kohn at the screening and when the movie ended, mind blown, I turned to him with puzzled excitement and started rambling with joy about seeing such bold American filmmaking grappling with real topics and big issues. As Daniel Kwan noted in an Instagram post today, the Q&A was a stunner, audience lined up in the aisles to ask questions about, as Kwan recalled, intergenerational trauma, mental health and depression, and Asian hate crimes. āEverything Everywhere All At Onceā was unstoppable at the box office last spring and seems to be the same in this seasonās awards race (but weāll know for sure tomorrow). Itās so great to be back here in Austin this weekend to watch new movies and see friends, salute Janet Pierson on 15 years at the helm of SXSW, cheer on incoming fest head Claudette Godfrey, and gear up for Mondayās convo with Tilda Swinton (Julio Torresās first feature, āProblemistaā - starring Tilda & Torres - premieres Monday and is a must-see)! So whatever may happen tomorrow night at the Oscars, congratulations Daniels, A24, and the entire EEAAO team! (at Paramount Theatre) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpqImaEpW_6/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=











