In the week leading up to the premiere of “Brian” at the SXSW Film & TV Festival, I had the opportunity to talk with the six cast members who make up the vibrant group of high schoolers in the witty and grounded coming-of-age film. 

“It felt very young, very youthful, very [much] like we all had a voice in what was being made. And I think that takes a very good director to make everyone feel that way and still keep everything under control,” Joshua Colley, who plays Brian’s friend Justin, said. The film marks Will Ropp’s directorial debut.

Sara Robin and Jack LeMay do not want people to stop using social media. They both have their own Instagram accounts, and the documentary they recently premiered at SXSW Film & TV Festival even has its own promotional Instagram account. What they do want, however, is for social media to be safer for everyone, especially for young people who are growing up with an addictive repository of short-form videos and never-ending photos at their fingertips.

As college students, we receive constant feedback – from art and architecture critiques, to essays that are scrutinized line by line, to even math and chemistry exams that come back covered in red ink. Written and directed by Emily Robinson, “Ugly Cry” is a cautionary tale about what happens when you take feedback too personally — even if that “feedback” is a Hollywood producer telling you you’re not right for the part because you look too ugly when crying.

Of the many films set in Miami, only a few take place in Coral Gables (I’m looking at you, 2022 reboot of “Father of the Bride”), the backdrop for my middle and high school years. So you could understand my excitement when I learned that “Edie Arnold is a Loser” wasn’t just set in Miami, but in Coral Gables. Finally, a coming-of-age story set where I actually came of age.

In a society constantly navigating how to best use artificial intelligence and other forms of technology, “DreamQuil” is a film that asks audiences to reconsider their own connection to what makes them human in this relatively new technological world. The film, written and directed by Alex Prager, premiered at the SXSW Film & TV Festival earlier this week and was produced by Alison Small, a WashU alumna.

“You are in a generation that has been screwed over by the older generation. … You guys have lost the right to be young, and that’s the thesis of this book,” author Soman Chainani said. The St. Louis-based author, widely known for his series “The School for Good and Evil,” is leaving the world of middle-grade fantasy behind for the first time. Under a new publisher, target audience, and genre, his upcoming book “Young World” is an exciting leap in a new direction.

An abundance of sports betting ads has flooded streaming platforms, YouTube, and social media since sports betting became legal in Missouri just two months ago. 

“It was weird seeing LeBron [James] on my For You page telling me to bet instead of seeing him dunk on somebody,” junior Julián Villamil said. Villamil placed his first bet just a few hours before our conversation. 

Blondshell just kicked off the first leg of her tour promoting her sophomore album, “If You Asked For a Picture,” and will be playing at Delmar Hall on Nov. 18. Thematically, Teitelbaum picks up near where she left off in her 2022 debut, singing about relationship strife, addiction, body image, and other personal and societal issues.

The Factory buzzed with energy as a crowd of millennials in their skinny jeans and Old Skool Vans eagerly anticipated All Time Low’s performance last week. For almost two hours, the 2000s pop-punk boy band made me forget that I was in the end unit of a Chesterfield, Missouri, strip mall on a random Tuesday.

Everclear, a leading alternative rock band from the ‘90s, is currently on tour for the 30th anniversary of their sophomore album, “Sparkle and Fade.”