Boots Riley is back, and he’s bringing a heist—but make it fashion-forward. His sophomore feature, I Love Boosters, will kick off the 40th South by Southwest Film and Television Festival in Austin, Texas, with a world premiere on March 12, 2026.
The ensemble-led sci-fi comedy stars Nope’s Keke Palmer alongside Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Poppy Liu, Eiza Gonzalez, LaKeith Stanfield, Don Cheadle, and Demi Moore. The story follows a group of professional shoplifters, known as the Velvet Gang, who target a ruthless fashion CEO—after she swipes one of their ideas. What starts as a heist quickly turns into a stylish, chaotic revolution.
“Boots has created another wildly original and boundary-pushing vision that’s deliciously unpredictable,” said Claudette Godfrey, SXSW’s VP of Film & TV. “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.”
Riley first turned heads at SXSW in 2018 with his debut feature Sorry to Bother You, starring LaKeith Stanfield and Tessa Thompson. He returned to the festival in 2023 with the Prime Video series I Am Virgo, a similarly surreal satire of capitalism. Now, eight years after his directorial debut, Riley is ready to make another splash with I Love Boosters, produced by Neon in collaboration with Ryder Picture Company and Savage Rose Films.
The film is set for a theatrical release on May 22, 2026, but festival-goers will get the first glimpse at the Velvet Gang in action. As Godfrey put it, “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!”
SXSW 2026 runs from March 12-18 and will feature films, TV, music, comedy, and panel sessions with talent from across the entertainment, media, and tech worlds. Additional lineup announcements will roll out in the months leading up to the festival.