Urban Heat performs at The Creek and the Cave at South by Southwest on Friday March 17, 2023.
Jay Janner / American-Statesman
“Shut The (Expletive) Up When We Speak” is a documentary premiering at this year’s South by Southwest Film Festival that highlights Black musicians in Austin’s punk music scene. The film features local artists Black Mercy, Chief and TheDoomsDayDevice, (Expletive) Money and Urban Heat.
Director Ryan Darbonne, a graduate film production student at UT Austin, has long explored stories focused on Black youth subcultures and what he describes as “Black punk.” Typically a narrative filmmaker, this marks Darbonne’s first documentary feature.
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Local filmmaker Ryan Darbonne’s documentary on Austin’s Black punk music scene, “Shut The (Expletive) Up When We Speak,” is premiering at SXSW 2026.
Provided by Ryan Darbonne
“I wanted it to feel grungy — kind of messy and ugly — so we (mostly) shot it on a camera from 2001,” Darbonne said. “The very nature of being Black, or a person of color, in America is punk in itself. By the very nature of me pointing a camera at five Black men, I’m making a statement.”
Darbonne made the film for $80 and had no expectation that it would be selected to premiere at one of the world’s most prestigious film festivals. He said filmmakers should focus on creating projects that feel true to themselves rather than making work solely with festivals in mind.
“You make what you have to make and hope that it resonates with people,” Darbonne said. “It just felt like hanging out with friends, and I think that resonated on screen.”
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The film premieres as part of the festival’s Texas Short Program at the Long Center at 3:15 p.m. on March 12.
Additional SXSW screenings: schedule.sxsw.com
People wait in line at the Paramount Theatre for “The Makings of Curtis Mayfield World Premiere” during the SXSW Conference & Festivals at the Paramount Theatre on Monday, March 10, 2025 in Austin, Texas.
Ricardo B. Brazziell/American-Statesman
8 more documentaries premiering at SXSW 2026
1. “Los Lobos Native Sons”
Los Lobos, the trailblazing Mexican American rock band from Los Angeles, trace their musical journey in this documentary, which features interviews with Linda Ronstadt, Tom Waits, Dolores Huerta, Cheech Marin, George Lopez, Peter Frampton and more. According to the filmmakers, the film celebrates the band’s “legacy as cultural trailblazers blending rock, roots and Mexican traditions into a sound uniquely their own.”
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SXSW screenings: schedule.sxsw.com
2. “The Last Critic”
“The Last Critic” follows Robert Christgau, a pioneer of music criticism who helped shape the form while covering the Monterey Pop Festival for Esquire in 1967. Christgau made his biggest impact as a writer and editor at The Village Voice, and also contributed to Rolling Stone, Creem and other publications. The documentary explores whether the art form remains relevant in the modern media landscape — and whether music criticism is nearing an end.
SXSW screenings: schedule.sxsw.com
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3. “We Are The Shaggs”
The Shaggs formed in late-’60s rural New Hampshire after the father of Betty, Dorothy and Helen Wiggin claimed to have a prophetic vision that his daughters would become rock stars — despite having no musical experience. The documentary follows the band’s origins and the making of their only album, “Philosophy of the World,” which has become one of the most polarizing records of all time, embraced as a precursor to “outsider music” for its unintentional brilliance.
SXSW screenings: schedule.sxsw.com
4. “Stalin Boys”
Four Mexican American middle school boys living in a Texas border town develop an unusual obsession with Joseph Stalin. After their teacher tells them about the Texas State History Fair, they write a play about the late Soviet dictator using homemade props and, according to the filmmakers, “are forced to confront their own relationship with power and control.”
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SXSW screenings: schedule.sxsw.com
5. “Black Zombie”
“Black Zombie” explores the historical and cultural origins of zombies and examines how the horror staple is being reclaimed as a symbol of survival and spiritual resistance. With roots in Haitian folklore, the documentary traces the zombie’s evolution from spiritual tradition to the cinema spotlight in films like “Night of the Living Dead.”
SXSW screenings: schedule.sxsw.com
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6. “Capturing Bigfoot”
The 1967 Patterson-Gimlin tape remains the most analyzed and debated footage allegedly capturing the cryptic Bigfoot walking through the Northern California woods. Featuring interviews with Roger Patterson’s son, the documentary reexamines the legend after a 16mm film reel is discovered in a safe. According to the filmmakers, the story is about “family legacy, broken friendships and belief itself.”
SXSW screenings: schedule.sxsw.com
7. “Amazing Live Sea Monkeys”
Yolanda Signorelli von Braunhut has made it her mission to regain control of her late husband Harold’s invention, “Amazing Live Sea Monkeys!”, from a large corporate toy company. Now living alone without electricity or running water on an estate along the Potomac River, she remains the only person in possession of the Sea-Monkeys’ secret formula and is determined to reintroduce the iconic ’70s novelty to the world.
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SXSW screenings: schedule.sxsw.com
8. “YIYÍISTSʼĄ́Ą́ʼ (Listen)”
“YIYÍISTSʼĄ́Ą́ʼ (Listen)” is the senior thesis film of director Malakye Zaayin Tsosie, focusing on a Navajo-language radio station in Gallup, New Mexico. With few fluent speakers of Díne Bizaad (the Navajo language) remaining, the documentary explores efforts within the Navajo Nation to preserve and revitalize the language for future generations.
SXSW screenings: schedule.sxsw.com
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How do I attend SXSW Film & TV events?
SXSW Platinum badges ($1,995) and Film & TV badges ($1,170) grant primary access to screenings. For the 2026 festival, SXSW has eliminated Film wristbands, but there will be a limited number of individual screening tickets available, particularly at satellite locations including the Rollins Theatre at the Long Center and Zach Theater. Visit schedule.sxsw.com/films for a searchable schedule.