Austin’s SXSW festival turns 40 years old next year. And like most who hit that milestone age, SXSW wants to kick off the decade with a bang. It’s hard to think of a better choice than the movie that opens the 2026 festival, I Love Boosters from provocateur Boots Riley .

To follow his mind-bending debut Sorry to Bother You , and his cult hit miniseries I Am a Virgo , Riley’s gathered an incredible cast for I Love Boosters , including Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, as well as established stars LaKeith Stanfield , Don Cheadle and Demi Moore .

I Love Boosters follows a group of shoplifters who band together as the Velvet Gang to fight against a fashion icon. If that description brings to mind a light-hearted comedy, then you clearly don’t know about Boots Riley.

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