SXSW 2010 Days 5 and 6: Between Floors and Red White and Blue Language

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I feel like a wimp. I used to be able to do 4-5 films every day. But then I didn't have interviews to do and transcribe and reviews to write. And I didn't get to bed until 5 am. Yep, I'm a wimp. And Day 6 for me was for rest and recuperation from an impromptu after-after party.  

Didn't make it to Cold Weather, but it's playing again on Thursday. [Jette interrupts: I saw it and liked it, go see it.] I did make it to Between Floors, a non-SXSW screening for a local production that didn't make it into the festival, but should have. Jen White (pictured above) filmed in Austin and San Marcos elevators, with five separate narratives. Often funny and sometimes poignant, the tales include a lone business man, a man with a video camera, a family on their way to a party, a bloodied man and someone in a bad gorilla-in-drag suit ... and one over-capacity elevator. It's a great "watch with a crowd" film, so check it out again on Monday when it plays a special engagement at the Alamo Ritz.

I finally watched Simon Rumley's Red White & Blue. I picked the night to watch it, too, apparently, complete with an outburst from an audience member that resulted in the usually laid-back Alamo Drafthouse founder Tim League shutting her down with a heated expletive. 

Simon Rumley's threefold revenge tale latest is an Austin (and Big Bend) location with so many recognizable locations I can't list them all here now. Red White & Blue is a challenging film, true, but the outburst at the start of the Q&A is a reminder to bring up Q&A etiquette.

The upset woman interrupted League, stating that she didn't want to stay for the entire Q&A. And instead of asking a question specific to the film, she asks about the background of Erica, then rambles on emotionally about the character's background, seemingly considering it exploitive. The nervous laughter by the filmmakers who weren't sure how to respond set off an outburst, and even actress Amanda Fuller's attempt to explain the character's background was ill-received, eventually resulting in League's expletive filled demand that the questioner leave.  Things calmed down afterwards and League apologized for his own outburst.

An unsubstantiated rumor has it that the woman or her companion made a comment to the effect of "who do I have to f*ck to get seated" prior to seating, and she may have been inebriated. Regardless of her sobriety or comments prior to the screening, she owes Rumley and Fuller in particular an apology of her own.

Q&As are an opportunity to hear from filmmakers, not a forum for your opinions, commentaries or outbursts. Film is art and while you do not have to appreciate the art, you should respect the filmmakers and the audience by reserving your outbursts for another time. Or preferably, shutting the hell up in the theater. 

You can see Red White & Blue for yourself on Friday as well as later in the week as part of the Taste of SXSW encore screenings.  You can catch Monsters (Sunday), Rejoice & Shout (Sunday), Outcast (Monday), and Red White & Blue at the Alamo Ritz.  These screenings are open to the public so even if you didn't have a badge, you can check them out. 

So today I missed out on a lot. Maybe Jette will chime in and tell you about her day at SXSW.  

Tomorrow I'm finally catching Mars, Geoff Marslett's feature debut.  Which makes it a great time to mention that tomorrow is a great day for films with local connections.  Richard Garriott: Man on a Mission is playing at the Paramount, and you'll have to pick from Mars at Lamar, Dallas-based Clay Liford's Earthling at the G-Tech theater, or The Happy Poet at the Ritz, and Lovers of Hate at Lamar later on. That's going to be a hard choice, and I'm glad I've seen two of those films already.

Jette interrupting again. Well, I do that. I had a pretty good SXSW day although I wussed out and ended it early. I started with Google Baby, a documentary with a name that is cuter than its subject matter. It's about surrogate mothers in India and the entire surrogacy process, from fertilization to birth. The movie is only a little more than an hour long. I noticed HBO was one of the producers, so perhaps we'll see it airing there soon. I'm reviewing the movie for Cinematical and don't want to say more yet.

After such a downbeat film I was happy to duck into the theater next door -- I want to interrupt myself here. I was at Alamo Drafthouse at South Lamar, and it was a great day for SXSW compared to rainy Tuesday at an overcrowded Alamo Ritz. The sun was shining, the lines were short and ticketholders seemed to have no problem getting into early screenings, the seats were comfy, and the outdoor line area was dry and didn't smell like Sixth Street. You have no idea how tempted I am to try to schedule my whole SXSW at Alamo South next year (no, not seriously).

Anyway, I was able to duck into the Animated Shorts screening with no problem. The shorts were all very different and very unusual. I realize this is the obvious thing to say, but I loved Bill Plympton's The Cow Who Wanted to Be a Hamburger. I do believe the title says it all. I'm not sure if I saw all the shorts in the collection because the house lights never came up again after the last film and I couldn't tell whether we were done, or if the projectionist was having trouble. But I enjoyed everything I saw.

Paramount

I had sort of sworn solemnly that I would not drive downtown for SXSW on Wednesday because it was St. Patrick's Day and therefore a madhouse. But my husband actually wanted to see a SXSW movie, which was at the Paramount, so I compromised and he picked me up in his car for our downtown adventure. We had to park at the State Capitol.

For the Sake of the Song: The Story of Anderson Fair was about a singer/songwriter venue in Houston that's been going strong for more than 40 years. Look for Chip's review to appear later today. I have to say that we saw the documentary with the perfect audience of people who knew all the musicians and many of the people involved with Anderson Fair -- they applauded a lot and obviously loved the film, as you can see from the photo above of their standing ovation. It was a very different crowd from the ones I'd seen at films like Tiny Furniture and Cold Weather -- probably a lot of Kerrville Folk Festival veterans, and you should have heard their reaction when someone mentioned the Cactus Cafe.

After that, it was time to zip back down to Alamo South to catch Winter's Bone ... but I decided to have dinner with my husband instead. I guess I'm being wimpy this year too. Looking forward to a full day today.

Upset Woman? She Called it Like It Is, and was Actually There.

Were you at the screening of this movie?

Do you usually recommend films that you haven't seem. If so this is a great one for that. I'd be a lot happier had I given 'Red White and Blue' a miss.

As for your 'upset women' though you might like to believe she was intoxicated, or something else that you can comprehend that wasn't the case. Had you actually been there, you might know.

She made some very interesting points about this thoroughly horrible movie. That the writers directors actors and producers shouldn't use stereotypes when dealing with topics that they have no concept of.

"I Spit on Your Grave" is known to be one of the worst movies ever made, I don't see why someone would then steal the ideas of that movie and claim them as their own.

I was there

I was there, and I stand by what I said.

More importantly, I cannot condone her failure to respect the filmmakers by cutting them off and using the Q&A for her tirade. It is the height of rudeness, no matter one's opinion of nor the quality of the work in question. If you don't like it, simply leave.

Since when is it rude to participate in a Q and A?

When he woman asked the filmakers "what was your purpose in making this film" (since the plot only served to get the audience excited about the endless and excessive eventually boring (to anyone that isn't sucked in by fake blood) his only response was "PASSION".

Well, ok so the audience member was passionate. and ok, maybe the dislike could have expressed with less PASSION. But isn't that a huge compliment to a film that is suppose to provoke um, passion?

I agree with david kroth. Using stero-types, especially the ex veteran who comes back from the gulf, of course "psyco" and just CAN'T stop killing, was irresponsible, especially when you just throw them in without thinking.

This was a torture porn film, in the sense that the dumb plot only served as a plank to get the audience excited in the violent revenge.. complete with the expected over-lengthy squealing and begging and crying from the endlessly tortured girl (anyone turn on their tv at 8pm can see that bullshit).

This movie could have saved by throwing in a zombie or two and going with some humor but it was careless.

And by the way later calling it a "slacker" slasher (which it was not billed as) doesn't make it edgy (as the comment that has been deleted stated). If people didn't like this film why cant they be allowed to express that, here (why were previous comments deleted? and at a Q and A, at a festival WHERE A FILM IS BEING JUDGED.
She certainly didn't deserve being kicked out, especially when the female actress at least started to TRY TO TALK TO HER. I didnt think she dismissed her comments, its hard to talk when you're being thrown out of a theatre. I went outside to congratulate her, I wanted to speak out as well. and she did not seem drunk to me and so what if she had been? you think the filmakers were sober????? Didnt they come on stage w beers?