Boots Riley’s ‘I Love Boosters’ to Kick Off SXSW 2026
Eight years after his directorial debut, Boots Riley is set to premiere his second feature, I Love Boosters, at the 40th annual SXSW festival.
The announcement came on Thursday, detailing that the film will serve as the opening-night feature in the 2026 SXSW lineup, which is scheduled to take place from March 12 to March 18 in Austin, Texas.
This sci-fi comedy centers around a group of boosters—professional shoplifters—and their attempts to take down a ruthless fashion mogul, framing their exploits as a form of community service.
The film boasts an impressive cast led by Keke Palmer, along with stars such as Demi Moore, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Poppy Liu, Eiza Gonzalez, LaKeith Stanfield, and Don Cheadle.
“The Velvet Gang has officially cased Austin and decided opening night at SXSW 2026 will be the start of their global takeover!” said Claudette Godfrey, Vice President of Film & TV at SXSW, in a recent statement. “We are beyond thrilled to kick off the festival with the world premiere of Boots Riley‘s I Love Boosters.”
Godfrey commended Riley for his avant-garde storytelling, stating, “Boots has created another wildly original and boundary-pushing vision that’s deliciously unpredictable. We can’t wait for our audience to be sucked into his singular, subversive world where razor-sharp social commentary meets fearless, surreal storytelling and eye-popping imagery—all powered by a ridiculously stacked cast of some of the most talented actors on the planet. I Love Boosters is audacious, entertaining, and guaranteed to get our festival off to an unforgettable start. Trust us, you’ll want to be there when The Velvet Gang bursts onto the scene!”
Riley’s new work follows his debut film, Sorry to Bother You, released in 2018, and his 2023 series I’m a Virgo, which also premiered at SXSW.
The full lineup for SXSW 2026 will be revealed in January.
