The Criterion Mobile Closet Sets SXSW as the Next Stop

In celebration of their 40th anniversary, Criterion will continue traveling the Criterion Closet Picks to SXSW® next, stopping in front of the Paramount Theatre in Austin, TX on Friday, March 7 from 3pm-7pm, Saturday, March 8 to Sunday, March 9 from 11am-7pm, and Monday, March 10 from 11am-5pm. Criterion has built a replica of their famous film closet inside a delivery van, stocked with more than 1,000 definitive editions of the most important classic and contemporary films from around the world. The Criterion Mobile Closet may offer more cinematic inspiration per square foot than any place on the planet. Other locations to be announced later. 

The Criterion Mobile Closet made its debut in New York City at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall during the Opening Night and Centerpiece weekends of the 62nd New York Film Festival on September 28 – 29th and October 5 – 6th. Attendance and demand was overwhelming and included over 900 attendees, some traveling from outside New York, arriving as early as 6am and waiting up to 8 hours to visit the mobile closet and included film fans who braved the line alone and others who brought friends and family. Guests also included such notables as Isabella Rossellini, David Cronenberg, Ari Aster, Guy Maddin, Dev Hynes, Misty Copeland and more. Some of the most popular picks across the days included Gregg Araki’s Teen Apocalypse Trilogy, The Before Trilogy from director Richard Linklater, and Frances Ha from director Noah Baumbach. 

As a second stop, The Criterion Mobile Closet made its way to Brooklyn Bridge Park on October 26 - 27th in partnership with St. Ann’s Warehouse. Attendance and demand continued to be high, welcoming nearly 400 guests into the mobile closet, with attendees arriving as early as 6am. Guests also included such notables as Ethan Hawke, The Craft of Acting host Isaac Butler, Kemio and more. Richard Linklater’s The Before Trilogy proved popular again while other top picks included foodie classic Tampopo, Paris, Texas from Wim Wenders, Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing and the World of Wong Kar Wai box set.   

Since 2010, when Guillermo Del Toro first allowed Criterion to film him choosing a few movies from the closet, over 200 filmmakers, stars, and movie-loving luminaries of all kinds often come to Criterion and champion the films they love in Criterion’s popular Criterion Closet Picks video series—which has welcomed Pamela Anderson, Gregg Araki, Sean Baker, Juliette Binoche, Cate Blanchett, Kim Cattrall, Francis Ford Coppola, Willem Dafoe, Harris Dickinson, Ayo Edebiri, Ralph Fiennes, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Gina Gershon, Bill Hader, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Jeremy O. Harris, Ethan Hawke, Maya Hawke, Hideo Kojima, Zoë Kravitz, Jude Law, Dan Levy, Mikey Madison, Viggo Mortensen, Hari Nef, RaMell Ross, Molly Ringwald, Winona Ryder, Josh and Benny Safdie, Jason Schwartzman, St. Vincent, Channing Tatum, John David and Malcom Washington, John Waters, and others.

Now film fans will be able to have their own Criterion Closet experiences and record their own Closet Picks videos. In celebration of Criterion’s 40th Anniversary, guests can make their own very personal “Closet Picks”, shop the closet, and receive a free signature “Polaroid” shot and a Criterion tote bag. The offer coincides with the recent release of CC40 –– the forty-film box set that celebrates forty years of the Criterion Collection curated by the closet picks, with an eclectic mix of classic and contemporary films presented with all their special features and essays in a deluxe clothbound, slipcased edition. 

The Criterion Mobile Closet will be parked in front of the Paramount Theatre during SXSW. Open Friday, March 7 from 3pm-7pm, Saturday, March 8 to Sunday, March 9 from 11am-7pm, and Monday, March 10 from 11am-5pm. The Paramount Theatre has been the location of many iconic SXSW Film & TV premieres; many have gone on to join the Criterion Collection and will be available in the Criterion Mobile Closet during this year's festival. For more information, visit here.