In 2005, Swanberg wrote, directed, edited, shot, produced, and starred in
Kissing on the Mouth, his first feature film, for a
modest budget. He followed it with
LOL (2006), which marked Swanberg's first time working with actress
Greta Gerwig. Gerwig and Swanberg collaborated on the director's next two features:
Hannah Takes the Stairs (2007), which also starred filmmakers
Andrew Bujalski,
Ry Russo-Young, and
Mark Duplass and marked Swanberg's first collaboration with animator and actor
Kent Osborne; and
Nights and Weekends (2008), on which Gerwig shared a directing credit. Swanberg's next feature,
Alexander the Last, was produced by
Noah Baumbach, who later cast Gerwig in his 2010 film
Greenberg. After spending all of 2009 working on
Silver Bullets, Swanberg finished seven features in 2010:
Uncle Kent,
Caitlin Plays Herself,
The Zone,
Art History,
Silver Bullets,
Privacy Setting and
Autoerotic (co-directed with horror filmmaker
Adam Wingard).
Uncle Kent premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival in January 2011 and
Silver Bullets and
Art History premiered at the
Berlinale in February. The rest of the 2010 films premiered theatrically in 2011 after screenings at film festivals. Four of these were later included in
Joe Swanberg: Collected Films 2011, a DVD boxed set from the music and video label Factory 25. In 2012, Swanberg wrote and directed the film
Drinking Buddies, starring
Olivia Wilde,
Jake Johnson,
Anna Kendrick and
Ron Livingston. The film was acquired by
Magnolia Pictures shortly after its SXSW premiere. The following year. Swanberg shot
Happy Christmas, starring himself,
Melanie Lynskey,
Lena Dunham, and Anna Kendrick. This was the first of his films to be shot on 16mm film, rather than digital. The film premiered at the
2014 Sundance Film Festival. His next film as director was
Digging for Fire, The film was released on August 21, 2015, by
The Orchard. Swanberg wrote, directed, and produced
Easy, an anthology series for Netflix. The series premiered in 2016 and ran for three seasons ending in 2019.
Easy featured many of Swanberg's frequent collaborators from his films, including Jake Johnson, Joe Lo Truglio, and Nicky Excitement. In 2017, Swanberg and Jake Johnson co-wrote
Win It All. Johnson stars with
Aislinn Derbez,
Joe Lo Truglio and
Keegan-Michael Key. The film had its world premiere at
South by Southwest on March 11, 2017. It was released on April 7, 2017, by
Netflix. Swanberg is a noted proponent of Internet-based distribution for independent films and has made his 2011 feature
Marriage Material available for free on his Vimeo page. He also released his 2020 feature,
Build the Wall, starring
Kent Osborne and
Jane Adams, on his Vimeo page. In 2021, Swanberg opened Analog Pizza and Video Store, a
VHS video rental shop in the back room of Borelli's Pizzeria in Chicago. In 2024, it was announced that he is working on a slate of five horror-themed feature films for Yale Entertainment. Swanberg confirmed at SXSW that all five features will be released by
Cineverse through their Screambox streaming service in 2026. In August 2025, it was reported that Swanberg would direct his first feature in a decade
The Sun Never Sets starring Jake Johnson and Dakota Fanning. The movie had a world premiere at South by Southwest on March 13, 2026. == Influences ==