Eight years after his directorial debut, Boots Riley is unleashing his sophomore feature I Love Boosters on SXSW ‘s milestone 40th festival.

On Thursday, the Austin film festival said that the title will make its world premiere as the opening-night film of the 2026 lineup, which is scheduled to run March 12-18 in the Texas capital.

The sci-fi comedy follows a crew of boosters (aka professional shoplifters) and equal opportunists, who take aim at a cutthroat fashion maven. It’s like community service.

Led by Demi Moore, the movie’s ensemble cast includes Keke Palmer, 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 takeov

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