Settle in with your favorite snacks; the SXSW EDU 2026 festival program is here!
Explore the expanded Film Program, now featuring 8 short films alongside 11 feature-length films, which highlight stories from the journey of Sonia Manzano, known for her character “Maria” from Sesame Street, in STREET SMART: Lessons from a TV Icon to determined mothers as they establish the first public school in New York City for children with dyslexia in Left Behind.
Now, for the first time, Texas high school filmmakers will be showcasing their comedy, drama, animation, and documentary short films at SXSW EDU in the Texas High School Student Shorts Program. From more than 80 applications, 13 short films have been selected to be screened on Crossover Day on Thursday, March 12.
Plus, explore the full Performance Series lineup! From a live, improvised, and likely chaotic game of Dungeons & Dragons to a stage musical, magic show, and more, the 6 performances taking the stage are sure to entertain and inspire educational exploration.
Explore this year’s festival lineup:
Feature Length Films
American Creed “Citizen Power” Preview
Director: Sam Ball
Young adults across the U.S. take on what they see as the greatest challenges facing their communities and our democracy. This preview of five shorts from a PBS series offers ground-level views of turbulence and evocative glimpses of hopeful futures.
Class of 2025: Growing up in Oregon schools
Director:
This documentary follows seven students on their 13-year journey through Oregon’s public education system as the state attempts to improve its dismal on-time graduation rate.
First Voice Generation
Director: Cynthia Martinez
Three Latinx teenagers struggle with identity and belonging because they are children of Mexican immigrants in a Dutch American town. They dream of being the first in their family to go to college, but COVID-19 shuts the world down, creating challenges with virtual learning, and the cost of affording college seems impossible.
In Our Nature
Director: James Parker
In a time of rising loneliness, disconnection, and division, this is the story of how nature—and those who teach with it—are helping us find our way back to each other.
Left Behind
Director: Anna Toomey
This gripping feature documentary tells the story of five tenacious mothers determined to establish the first public school in New York City for children with dyslexia. Addressing a learning disability that impacts an estimated 200,000 students in NYC, and roughly 20% of the public at large, the mothers struggle to upend the nation’s largest public school system and garner support to open the South Bronx Literacy Academy in September 2023.
Multiple Choice
Director: Charles Haine
In an economically-challenged Virginia community, one superintendent demonstrates the immense power of career-based learning—not as a last-chance resort for some, but as foundational for all.
Our Blues Make Us Gold
Directors: Brandon Gerard & Ashley Shantè
Our Blues Make Us Gold uncovers the soul of North Carolina A&T—where defiance sparked change, students became icons, and a community’s resilience forged a legacy that continues to light the way.
Second Nature
Director: Drew Denny
Elliot Page narrates this hilarious and heartening romp through the animal world, led by brave scientists fighting censorship as they reveal the truth about our nature.
STREET SMART: Lessons from a TV Icon
Director: Ernie Bustamante
A vibrant portrait of Sonia Manzano (“Maria” from Sesame Street)—the trailblazing actress who transformed television and inspired generations.
The Inside Scholars
Director: JoeBill Muñoz
Empowered by their pursuit of higher education while in prison, three formerly incarcerated individuals start to imagine new futures on the outside—and discover a community of people who’ve found purpose, opportunity, and success after incarceration.
The Reading Reboot
Director: Scott Barnett
Best-selling Author James Patterson takes us to the front lines of the reading crisis to examine how the vast, interdisciplinary body of evidence-based, explicit research known as the Science of Reading is rebooting the entire way we teach kids how to read.
Short Films
Boys of Summer
Directors: Mito Habe-Evans & Annabel Edwards
At a remote summer camp in the Vermont woods, a group of teenage boys embarks on a journey of emotional growth. Free from screens and societal expectations, they learn to open up, support one another, and redefine what it means to be a boy. The Boys of Summer is a tender vérité portrait of vulnerability, friendship, and the quiet rebellion of feeling deeply in a world that often tells boys not to.
CB: Power to the Player
Director: Javier Wallace
CB: Power to the Player chronicles how C.B. Claiborne broke barriers as Duke’s first Black basketball player, became a student activist and leader, and inspired change on and off the court.
Death by Numbers
Director: Kim A. Snyder
A school shooting survivor confronts her assailant in a poetic journey to empowerment.
OCD and Me
Director: Sydne Horton
High school sisters June and Mel race to escape school as June's overwhelming OCD intrusive thoughts spiral out of control, threatening to unravel everything they know.
Reflections Behind Bars
Director: Jacob Kornbluth
Inside San Quentin, America’s most notorious prison, a group of incarcerated men share stories of childhood trauma in front of a packed audience of peers, community members, and lawmakers. By going back to the start, they begin to change the future.
Second Nature
Director: Marie Cusick
To protect a world they will inherit, young people are taking the fight against climate change into their own hands.
The Worst That Can Happen
Director: Laylan Saadaldin
An unlikely crew of Irish university students—including a sheep-farming engineer and an architect-turned-physicist—take on the seemingly impossible task of building Ireland’s first satellite.
When I Talk, I Stutter
Director: Kelly Riot
Grounded in 30 years of research, this globally resonant animated series flips the script on stuttering, shifting the narrative from a deficit to be fixed to a natural voice to be celebrated.
Texas High School Student Shorts
Bear Bones
Director: Ansh Gandhi
A teddy bear is being abused by its owner. Luckily for the stuffed animal, it gets lost from its owner in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, it is taken again by an unusual masked person who ruthlessly experiments on the teddy bear. The bear is miraculously brought back to life but is subsequently murdered in order to be disposed of. Following its spiritual death, the teddy bear experiences the afterlife as it joins the other stuffed animals that were murdered by the same person.
DASH'D
Director: David Hamilton
After losing in his video game, the character's stomach starts growling. He opens a food delivery app and begins to scroll through restaurants. He considers many options: tacos, a salad, and wings. However, after he pictures himself ordering each of these, he decides he doesn't want any of them. He begins to scroll more and more, unable to find something he likes, until finally, he comes across a pizza place. He decides it's the right option and orders a pizza. Just when he thought it was all over, he is faced with another decision: how much to tip.
Eclipse
Director: Lucas Wang
Deciding it to be too much of a hassle, an unfortunate fellow observes the incoming eclipse without protective glasses and begines to hallucinate. The sun and moon take up human characteristics and clash in a fight to determine which celestial body will prevail.
Gambini Fights Lucheesy (TONY???) and the Lucheeses: The Movie
Director: Emanuel Rodriguez-Fernandez
Two rival gangs battle for control of the streets. The Gambigos have created the perfect croissant and the Lucheeses want the recipe. The Lucheeses launch a plan to steal it with deadly consequences.
Hot Off the Reel - with Ken Burns
Director: Maja King
As Jack Yates High School approaches its 100-year anniversary, four JY Cinema Dual Credit students step into the world of professional documentary filmmaking when they meet legendary filmmaker Ken Burns at Houston PBS. In an intimate and unforgettable exchange, the students seek guidance on the very questions shaping their own centennial documentary: how to approach controversial history with care, how to collaborate as storytellers, how to ask questions that uncover truth, and how to bring the past to life for a new generation. Their conversation spans timely parallels to The Central Park Five, the responsibility of documenting community history, and a bold idea—using reenactments to visually reconnect modern Yates with its founder, Jack Yates. What begins as a once-in-a-lifetime meeting becomes a defining moment in their journey as young documentarians, affirming that their voices, questions, and stories matter.
just ask.
Director: Davis Knocke
After recently getting rejected, a young boy somberly fixates on the flowers and card in his hand as he stands at a subway stop. After noticing a cute girl on the arriving subway, he struggles to decide whether to go talk to her out of the fear of rejection, or is he reliving a memory of the girl who just rejected him, choosing to do it all over again?
Lyle in Love
Director: Charlie Waldman
After Lyle sees a pretty girl, he wonders whether to ask her out or not. What then follows is many different characters, like the devil on the shoulder, popping up, instructing him on what he should do.
New Heights - with JD Wallace
Director: Joshua (JD) Wallace
New Heights follows Joshua “JD” Wallace, a 6’5” Jack Yates High School senior whose rise as a student-athlete challenges every assumption about him—revealing that true elevation isn’t just about height, but speed, precision, discipline, and purpose.
Operation Goliath
Director: Colin Tobola
Pat and Hank search for a way back to base after being ambushed by enemy soldiers. At night, a monster attacks them, and they need to fight their way out of their deadly situation.
She Follows Me
Director: Courtney King
Harper is suffering with depression encounters the younger version of herself who leads her through a series of thought provoking and life affirming moments. As she encounters these trials and tribulations; a picture of the beauty and joy of life in the face of struggle emerges. The story ends with her finding a new way forward and asking for help.
The Cookie Quest
Director: Noor Zaman
A young baker slowly begins to contract an illness as symptoms show themselves over time. Eventually, she begins to feel so sickly that she cannot bake successfully anymore and needs to focus on her medication and taking care of her health. This takes a significant toll on her mental health as baking brought purpose and value into her life, and she falls into a deep depression with the loss of her greatest passion. Over time, she gains enough strength and courage to attempt to bake again, and she successfully makes a single cookie. This cookie demonstrates to her that she can do difficult things and sparks hope that she will be able to return to her normal life and bake successfully again.
Uno
Director: Derian Herrmann
After Derian boastfully proclaims himself the victor of an Uno game by writing it on a card, Collin discovers that anything written on the cards comes true. He uses this to sabotage Derian's date, transforming into his lover just before they kiss.
Wendigo
Director: Colette Hlavenka
Wendigo is a shapeshifter looking for connection. Her shapeshifting secret prevents her from ever being known by others, until one day when it all falls apart. Wendigo learns that vulnerability and self expression are actually the way to make real friends.
Add Texas High School Student Shorts Your Schedule
Performances
In the Muddle: A Live Look at Learning Thru Mistake-Making
In a results-focused world, students often learn to avoid mistakes, even though genuine understanding and fluent skills depend on learners having opportunities to muddle through strategic challenges. We present a live rehearsal and analytical discussion with members of the renowned Miró String Quartet, who demonstrate how iteration, experimentation, and reflection are necessary components of learning that leads to the successful accomplishment of goals. By making the muddling visible, we help others reimagine what meaningful learning can look like.
Rediscover Your Musical Voice: A Live Piano Experience
What if music were taught as a language that connects us all? This session introduces a new model of music education rooted in improvisation, composition, and intuitive understanding—not sheet music, boring drills, or rote memorization. With live piano demonstrations and interactive audience participation, we’ll explore how the ArtPlay method can transform classrooms, private lessons, and home learning into spaces that foster musical fluency, creative confidence, self-expression, and joyful exploration for learners of all ages.
Schooled: The Musical
Get an early look at a show in development that started with a teacher performance at a school meeting. In this Hamilton-meets-The Sound of Music-meets-Good Night and Good Luck story, discover the lives of three high school students, and how they and their teachers learn about who they are, who they dream to be, and what they can and cannot learn in school. It’s a joy-filled, coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of today’s culture wars. Blending contemporary and traditional styles—and even good pedagogy—the show will follow with a talk back with the show’s creator and a moderator.
Show U How To Do This - Hip Hop Educators Rock The Mic
Experience the immense onstage talent of some of the most accomplished Hip Hop Educators and Youth Mentors in the music industry. Performers (including standout Alumni) will be diverse in terms of practice and industry role and will demonstrate a clear level of mastery with organizational messaging that encourages interaction and deeper understanding.
The Kids Table Live-Play: SEL, D&D, & Kids!
What if kids could level up their social-emotional learning skills while playing a tabletop roleplaying game? Our cast of kids & grownups will perform for you a live, improvised, likely chaotic game of Dungeons & Dragons. Afterwards, our adult speakers will break down how the game you just saw fosters outcomes like empathy, communication, and confidence, and why this type of support is so critical now. There will be a chance for Q&A with the adult speakers, and you'll come away with ideas for how to integrate D&D and other TTRPGs into classroom, library, after school, or home environments.
This Is a Magic Show (About the Power of Curiosity)
This session flips that script with a live magic show that doubles as a leadership clinic. As illusions unfold, a voiceover pulls back the curtain, revealing the hidden leadership moves behind the magic: managing attention, designing suspense, reading the room, and leading with purpose.
Award-winning educator and magician Michael Six Muldoon joins author and leadership coach Mike Kleba to guide you through an unforgettable experience. You’ll not only watch curiosity in action, you’ll learn how to use it as a tool to teach, lead, and connect more powerfully.
Don’t Miss Out On SXSW EDU 2026
Register and book your hotel today to break new ground in education through compelling sessions, in-depth workshops, mentorship, film screenings, trailblazing competitions, a dynamic expo, networking opportunities, and so much more at SXSW EDU from March 9-12, 2026.
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Film stills and performance photos are provided by the participants.
