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.

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. 

SXSW in Austin, Texas
West 8th Street and Congress Avenue, in front of the Paramount Theatre
March 7 at 3–7 p.m.
March 8 and 9 at 11 a.m.–7 p.m.
March 10 at 11 a.m.–5 p.m.

How It Works

• The Criterion Closet is stocked with every in-print edition from the Criterion Collection, including box sets, as well as all in-print releases from our Eclipse and Janus Contemporaries lines. 
• You don’t need a reservation to visit the Criterion Mobile Closet—there are no advance tickets or time slots; just show up at the site and find your place in line. Up to five people can share a Closet visit, so bring your friends or make friends in line! (We encourage group visits.)
• As long as supplies last, you’ll receive a Criterion tote bag and a printed pocket guide to the Criterion Collection.
• Use the pocket guide to find films you love from the Collection. The numbered order of the films in the guide matches the order of the films in the Closet so that you can easily find what you’re looking for once inside.
• If you don’t know what to choose, don’t worry! Just tell us about a film or filmmaker you love, and we’ll help you find something that fits you.
• Although we’ll have our camera rolling throughout the Closet visit, there’s absolutely no pressure to perform or talk about your selections. Your experience in the Closet is yours to create!
• If you would like to film or photograph your visit on your own camera or phone, you’re welcome to use our wall mount.
• Each Closet visit will last three minutes. Once the clock starts (spoiler: it’s when you enter!), you’ll have that time to explore the collection or talk about your selections. Don’t worry—the Criterion Closet team is there to help you find what you’re looking for, and if all you want to do is look around, that’s okay too!
• No purchase is required, but you are able to buy up to three items with our special Mobile Closet discount of 40 percent off, in honor of our fortieth anniversary. A limited amount of Criterion merch may also be available for purchase at the time of your visit.
• At the end of every Closet visit, we take a Polaroid of our visitors with their selections, which will be yours to keep as a souvenir along with the tote bag and guide to the Collection, while supplies last.
• You might be featured on our social feeds, so keep an eye out and be sure to follow us on social media: Instagram, X, and Facebook. 
• If you post your Criterion Mobile Closet experience on social, don’t forget to tag and use the hashtag #criterionmobilecloset
  
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