Washington DC [US], December 4 : Boots Riley's second film, a science fiction comedy called 'I Love Boosters,' will have its world premiere on the opening night of South by Southwest's 2026 Film & TV Festival, reported Variety.
The official logline for the film, which is distributed by Neon, reads, "A crew of professional shoplifters take aim at a cutthroat fashion maven. It's like community service," as quoted by Variety.
The cast includes Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Poppy Liu, Eiza Gonzalez, LaKeith Stanfield, Don Cheadle and Demi Moore.
The SXSW opening isn't a surprising move for Riley, whose film career kicked off in 2018 when his debut feature 'Sorry to Bother You' premiered at the Austin festival.
He returned in 2023 with the premiere of his Amazon Prime Video series 'I'm a Virgo.'
Before his work on screen, Riley was best known for his music rapping with the groups The Coup and Street Sweeper Social Club, as well as his leftist activism.
The full slate of the SXSW Film & TV Festival will be announced in January, according to Variety.
In a statement, SXSW Film & TV vice president Claudette Godfrey said, "The Velvet Gang has officially cased Austin and decided opening night at SXSW 2026 will be the start of their global takeover! We are beyond thrilled to kick off the festival with the World Premiere of Boots Riley's "I Love Boosters."
He continued, "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!"
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