The Biggest Breakthroughs from the SXSW Film Festival

Serious question: Where would Lena Dunham be without the SXSW Film Festival?

If not for the 2010 SXSW premiere of her debut indie feature, Tiny Furniture, Dunham could very well be living Hannah Horvath's Girls life right about now, only without millions of people watching every week, and, you know, as Lena Dunham, not Hannah Horvath. But like everyone else in Hollywood and the independent film community who've benefited from the festival's impact, Dunham is a telltale example of the annual Austin gathering's career-making powers.

The Complex Pop Culture team spent eight cinema-crammed days in that liberal Texas city for this year's SXSW Film Fest, and what were the biggest takeaways? While it's too soon to predict who'll be the next Lena Dunham from 2014's crop of SXSW standouts, there was no shortage of high-caliber talent both in front of and behind the camera.

For the best of the lost, let us introduce you to The Biggest Breakthroughs From the SXSW Film Festival.

For more of Complex Pop Culture's SXSW coverage, click here. 

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