Coming-of-age films are often centered around something big like death or sex, but most people grow up with hurdles built on somewhat lesser obstacles. Tony Phillips (Tony Vespe) is one such person. His high school years are winding down, his friends are moving on and his mother is reminding him that college life is right around the corner, but the challenge facing him right this minute is his absolute love for all things Halloween. Writer/director/wunderkind Emily Hagins is a twenty-year-old filmmaker who made her first feature at the age of 12 and scored a nationwide distribution deal with her last film, My Sucky Teen Romance. Her new movie, Grow Up, Tony Phillips, once again presents a casual, charming and youth-centric world, but she makes some important steps forward in her professional growth too. Unfortunately though it’s a bit of a “one step forward, one step back” situation.

In Grow Up, Tony Phillips, a young man (Tony Vespe) has to face a senior year of high school where everyone has moved on from the hobbies of the past while he’s still hopelessly in love with Halloween and all its trapping. His hip older cousin (A.J. Bowen) swings into town and takes Tony under his wing but the costume-making teen has to face his own changing world. This is the fourth film from Emily Hagins, the director who’s been making films since she was 12 years old. The production (who, full disclosure, I’m friends with) has now put together a trailer with the movie heading up to SXSW for its premiere on Tuesday. Check it out for yourself:

SXSW 2013 begins in a couple days, and we couldn’t be more excited. By “we,” I mean FSR founder, publisher and beard-model Neil Miller, professional interviewer and lanky ladies man Jack Giroux, and myself. We’ll be descending on Austin this Friday to take in as much festival film-going, socializing and Alamo Drafthouse food as we possibly can. Of course we’re excited to see movies too. A lot of movies. And to give you an idea of what we’re most looking forward to film-wise the three of us have each listed our five most anticipated films of SXSW 2013 below.

Long-time readers of our site will note that we’ve been following the career of director Emily Hagins (Pathogen, My Sucky Teen Romance) for years. She’s a local kid, based right here in Austin, who has made news for being one of the youngest faces on the independent film scene. But there’s more to it than that. Being a kid who made a movie is one thing. Being a kid with some serious talent and nothing but promise is another. Fitting snuggly into the latter category is Ms. Hagins, whose next film is currently in need of your crowd-funding assistance. It’s called Grow Up, Tony Phillips, and it’s about something to which I’m sure we can all relate.

It’s not often that you get to see an exciting filmmaking talent growing and developing before your eyes, but one such example can be found in Emily Hagins. It’s impressive enough that she’s directing a film at the age of nineteen, but when you realize her latest will be her fourth feature? It’s enough to make a person wish for a time machine so they could go back in time to light a fire under their own ass. Hagins’ last movie, My Sucky Teen Romance, was a popular feature on the festival circuit and saw a DVD release last month from Dark Sky Films. Again, impressive for a film featuring no name talent to speak of. (Apologies to the two hundred and forty eight Austin bloggers who appeared throughout the film in various capacities.) She’s stepping up her game for her new film with both a more mature story and some recognizable talent in front of the camera. Genre and indie favorites Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator) and AJ Bowen (The House of the Devil) have signed on to star in Grow Up, Tony Phillips which is scheduled to begin production in the next month or so. Even better, you can have a hand in the film’s production too. Check out the full press announcement below or go straight to the film’s Kickstarter page to help make Grow Up, Tony Phillips a reality (and score some pretty cool swag in the process).