Austin Convention Center (ACC)
The Austin Convention Center (ACC) "theater" is a temporary setup on the ground floor of the convention center during the SXSW Film Festival. The theater is also known as the "Hitachi G-Tech theater" this year, but it's in the same location as in previous years (ACC Exhibit Hall 5). It seats a surprisingly large amount of people and I've rarely seen a full house. During the film conference, this is the most convenient theater of the festival. During the music festival, I sometimes feel weirdly out of place here, but it's even easier to find a seat at most screenings.
Pros: ACC may be the best place for passholders or individual ticket buyers to see SXSW films. The location is unbeatable during the film conference -- you feel like you're right in the heart of the festival. The seats are on a good incline and short people should have no problem viewing the screen.
Cons: The seats are cramped, with hardly any legroom (or room for your backpack). You don't get the movie-theater vibe that you would with the Paramount ... this feels more like a big classroom. Also, once the music festival starts, the area outside the theater gets even more crowded than usual, although the theater itself almost always has seats.
Parking: Pay to park in the garage next to the convention center, or the big surface/dirt lot closest to Cesar Chavez. This is a good place to park for the day (and night) during SXSW, especially before Music starts.
Distance: You can walk to the Paramount and Alamo Ritz, and you're smack in the middle of the film conference. If you've got a room at the Hilton, you barely have to walk at all, you lucky dog.
Food and Beverages: Skip the convention center itself unless you're seriously dying of hunger or in need of coffee. Outside, you'll find some good, affordable spots like Iron Works, PF Chang's, and Mongolian BBQ. These places will be super-swamped at lunchtime, so you might want to walk a few blocks more and explore Austin's many downtown lunch options.
Wireless: When the conference is going on, the wireless lounge is usually right next to the theater. Can't beat that.