Star Wars fans are going to want to be at South by Southwest this year. The annual music, film, TV, and interactive media festival event in Austin will include the world premiere of a new documentary focused on the making of Episode VIII, reports Variety. Titled Secrets of ‘The Force Awakens’: A Cinematic Journey, the film promises intriguing information about the record-breaking box office hit.
Set to premiere on March 14, the feature-length documentary includes behind-the-scenes interviews with the cast and filmmakers, plus exclusive footage. The South by Southwest premiere will also feature a Q&A session with key players in bringing the film to life: visual effect supervisor Roger Guyett, supervising sound editor Matthew Wood, and co-producer Michelle Rejwan.
The premiere won’t be the only Star Wars-related event during the festival, which runs from March 11 to March 20; The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams will be a keynote speaker. There will be more loosely connected sessions as well. Ryan Britt, author of the essay collection Luke Skywalker Can’t Read and Other Geeky Truths, will present on March 12, for example.
Star Wars aficionados who aren’t able to attend South by Southwest will indeed be missing out, but there is a silver lining: Secrets of ‘The Force Awakens’ will be available in home viewing formats, packaged with Episode VIII. The Force Awakens, and the documentary will be available on digital HD and Disney Movies Anywhere on April 1, and then the Blu-ray combo pack and DVD will be released on April 5. Viewers can expect tons of bonus features, from a look at how BB-8 was created to exclusive footage from table reads.
In addition to Secrets of ‘The Force Awakens,’ South by Southwest will host the premieres of Netflix original Pee-wee’s Big Holiday, Keanu, a movie starring comedy duo Key and Peele; and Seth Rogen’s new AMC series Preacher.