The 2026 edition of the SXSW Film & Television Festival kicked off with a bang on Thursday. Boots Riley’s epic sci-fi comedy “I Love Boosters” was the opening night production, with a star-studded ensemble led by KeKi Palmer convening at Austin’s Paramount Theater.
It was certainly a fitting note to start the week on. Audiences roared with laughter through all of the film’s witty dialogue and visual gags, and cheered as the characters realized their goals on screen. “I Love Boosters” follows a trio of boosters (Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylor Page), aka professional shoplifters, who steal from the clothing stores owned by an evil genius billionaire (Demi Moore) as a means of combating her exploitative business dealings. Page’s character jokingly calls their work “Fashion Forward Philanthropy,” but this is an intentional misspelling. “People want to engage with the world and the arts and feel like they’re part of the conversation,” Riley said on stage, explaining Booster’s special brand of political creativity.
Riley and the cast then celebrated the premiere at a variety cover party hosted by Neon, where Palmer took the stage to sing two songs from the I Love Boosters soundtrack.
“I Love Boosters” uses the fashion industry as a backdrop for a story of working-class women coming together, so the cast and crew attended parties decked out in unique costumes. Eiza González, who plays a supporting role, spoke to Variety on the red carpet alongside Eric Andre, who has a cameo in the film, and talked about their looks.
Boots Riley wears his signature tall hat as part of a black and white ensemble. (Palmer wore a stylish hat in honor of her director while posing for the Variety cover.) Supporting stars Naomi Ackie and Poppy Liu arrived at the party in bright red and lime green textured dresses, respectively.
Rachel Walters, Taylor Page, Eiza Gonzalez, Boots Riley, Poppy Liu, Eric Andre, Kasmir Trice, LaKeith Stanfield, and Naomi Ackie attend the Variety SXSW Cover Party hosted by NEON on March 12, 2026 in Austin, Texas.
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Palmer wore turquoise, a reference to her character Corvette’s favorite color. She told Variety that she loves the fact that she’s constantly being memed on the internet, and spoke at length about “I Love Boosters” in the cover interview.
Back at the premiere, Reilly reiterated the political message behind I Love Boosters and impassioned the audience to encourage others to see it when it hits theaters soon.
“There’s some silliness in this movie, but it’s also a very important movie to release now, because I think we all need to find a way that we can change what’s going on. We need to find a way to fight fascism and change the structure of the world around us. So please tell people about this movie. I need to spread this movie far and wide,” he said.
Regarding the film’s distributor, he added: “And you might think we’re picking it up because they’re shitty because of the neon lights, but we’re not. For these kinds of films to be successful, we need all of you to tell people to go to the theaters on May 22nd.”
