February 2008

Note: A 2010 guide to SXSW Film Fest venues is now available.

You might remember Slackerwood's handy SXSW film-fest venue guide from 2007. We've compiled an even handier guide for 2008. The theaters have changed slightly, primarily due to the downtown Alamo Drafthouse location moving to Alamo Ritz. (The old Drafthouse venue is now a trendy nightclub ... where the Facebook Film Garage is being held during SXSW. Very strange.)

These guidelines to Austin theaters playing SXSW movies are intended to help visitors who want to maximize the number of films they see in a day, or who want to make sure they're able to find decent meals between or even during the movies. The most important thing to remember is that you can't walk between all the SXSW venues and you shouldn't try. To get to Alamo on South Lamar or even the Dobie, consider finding a cab, bus, friendly Austinite with a car, or even renting a bicycle to use during your time at the fest.

If you're interested in taking the bus (which costs a whopping 50 cents per trip, or $1/day), Capital Metro's Route 3 can take you from downtown to Alamo South Lamar, and you can take Route 1/101 or the Red Dillo (which is free) from Congress Ave. to the Dobie. I recommend using the Trip Planner to figure out your schedule, and allow plenty of time especially during rush hour.

Here are the six SXSW 2008 theaters, with info on location, nearby food, and nearby wireless access. If I've missed some tips and tricks (or good nearby places with wireless), please add a comment or email me and I'll be happy to update this guide.

America Unchained was one of the few docs I got to see in a theater at the Austin Film Festival this past year, but I'm really glad I did. It's one of those movies that might not be so impressive sitting down by yourself with your DVD player, but really takes off when you see it with an audience. So much so that it won the Audience Award at AFF for Best Documentary.

Comedian Dave Gorman’s quest is a simple one: to drive cross country from Los Angeles to the Atlantic Ocean never spending a cent at a chain restaurant, chain hotel or chain gas station – independent businesses only. But in a country where the mom and pop shop is nearing extinction, does the independent spirit of America still thrive enough to go coast to coast? And how do you do it all while being a vegetarian, anyway? Gorman and Devonshire’s insightful film opens up the back roads of the country to find the heart of America.

On some levels the movie is very much a process film -- you spend some time wondering if Gorman isn't manipulating events to make a better picture -- but there are a number of genuine moments that more than make up for those few moments of incredulity. (Seriously, he couldn't have brought along an extra can or two of gas?) Highly recommended, especially for Austin's citizenry who have a mad on for Wal-Mart.

America Unchained shows at the Alamo Lake Creek on Thursday night at 7:30 pm. Admission is $4 or free for AFF members.

[Editor's Note: Jette Kernion would like to shamelessly plug her review of America Unchained written for Cinematical last year as part of Austin Film Festival coverage.]

Everyone's been running around this week predicting Oscars and planning Oscar parties and wondering if Jon Stewart is going to be very funny as this year's host. But that's not the only award show taking place this weekend.

Film Independent's Spirit Awards (which I always call the Indie Spirit awards because I'm lazy) will be held Saturday afternoon, the day before the Oscar broadcast. You can watch the ceremony on IFC starting at 4 pm our time, or tune in early for a red-carpet event beforehand that's televised beginning at 1:30. If you're a Matt Dentler groupie, you're in luck because the SXSW film-fest head is one of this year's red-carpet hosts.

If you don't have cable (like me) or enjoy watching awards with a big group, head over to the Austin Studios screening room on Saturday afternoon for Austin Film Society's viewing party, starting at 4 pm. AFS will have snacks, drinks, and a lot of love for the local filmmakers who are up for awards. A list of Austinites whose films are in the running is on the AFS page. Best of luck!

I didn't go to the Semi-Pro preview screening at Alamo South Lamar last weekend, and boy did I miss out. Attendees were required to wear outfits resembling the team uniforms from the movie: a singlet for the Flint Tropics, gold shorts and sweatband, and those long athletic knee socks I remember my dad wearing to exercise in the 1970s. I had to wonder how many people would go to the trouble to buy or make such a costume, just for a free movie. Okay, so Will Ferrell would be there too -- that might make a difference.

Photos from the event show a packed theater full of wildly enthusiastic Austinites, with every single one dressed in the requisite gear. Some had groovy Seventies wigs, too. Even Alamo founders Tim and Karrie League were wearing the outfits, although I've seen Tim wear much weirder things in the name of film, so that was no surprise. I suppose it's also no surprise that Alamo South had a basketball goal set up in the lobby and people were playing impromptu games before and after the film.

More than 150 photos (including the one above) were taken by David Hill photography, which has a complete set of 168 images from the event. In addition, Sarah of Posh Deluxe has written a terrific entry about the Semi-Pro screening that includes photos. And Austinist interviewed Will Ferrell this weekend, and has photos of the actor from that session.

Next time, I'll go get -- and wear -- the damn outfit. (Especially if I have a better camera by then, since my current camera would never be able to capture the glorious golds of the uniform as well as these photos do.)

[Photo credit: David Hill Photography on Flickr. Original photo here. Used under terms of Creative Commons license.]

Yesterday, the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a Texas law that banned the sale of certain kinds of sex toys. Forbidden Fruit will no longer have to mark some items as "educational models" and others as "novelty items."

And today it is Valentine's Day. (You have to wonder if the date of the federal court ruling was coincidence.) To celebrate hearts and flowers and educational models and novelty toys as well as local filmmaking, here's a clip from the 2002 Austin-made documentary Dildo Diaries, which gave the full low-down on the state law. This clip features an explanation from the late great Molly Ivins, whose columns about this law first introduced me to the bizarre concept of being arrested as a "dildo pusher." Eat your heart out, Warren Chisum.

The first year I went to SXSW Film Festival, I did it on a film pass, not a badge. The badge is great -- it gets you into the conference and also puts you in the top-priority line for all screenings. Plus you get a nifty canvas bag. But the badge can be a little pricey for some people, especially if you live in Austin and plan to go only to night-and-weekend movies.

I recommend the film pass. It costs $70 this year and gives you second priority for all films. This means you're probably not going to get into any midnight movies with great buzz over at Alamo Ritz. And if you are able to get into a big splashy Paramount premiere, you may be walking a few flights of stairs to your seat. But when I did SXSW on a film pass, I got into every movie I wanted to see -- I just tended not to go to the big premieres. I spent a lot of time at Arbor (no longer a venue) and Dobie. Some of the big movies screen again later in the festival after the conference, and it's a lot easier to see them then. Or you could stick to the smaller, less hyped films, which I like to do anyway. I can see the big-name movie in a few months (or weeks), but who knows if I'll ever get another chance to see that low-budget documentary about cheesemaking?

Waterloo Video is the place to go for SXSW film passes (as in previous years), which are on sale right now. Look at it this way: individual tickets for SXSW movies cost $10, assuming there's even room in the theater for people who want to buy tickets. If you see more than 7 movies (and the festival is 9 days long -- so if you saw one per day), you're coming out ahead. If you see 14 movies, you're paying less per film than you would at a theater. The film passes do sell out so if you're buying one, go sooner rather than later.