SXSW Film 2010

Alamo Drafthouse at South Lamar, also known as Alamo South or Alamo Lamar, is one of the three Alamo Drafthouses directly owned by Tim and Karrie League. Located in a strip mall, you might never know this is a full-service restaurant that can handle as many as 800 covers per hour, as well as a first-run theater and special event mini-cineplex. Alamo South Lamar is a popular location for many local film festivals and is the home theater for Fantastic Fest.

Pros: Pre-show clips, food, and beer. Little lights under the tables in front of your seat not only make menu reading easier, but are also helpful if you're taking notes on the film (or want to look at your bill). The theater has a serious "no talking/texting" policy during screenings, so don't be surprised if a manager gives you a warning if you text or get chatty after the house lights go down. If they get multiple complaints after that warning, they reserve the right to "take your ass out."  They mean it, so respect the film and the rest of the audience unless it's a special event like "Hecklevision."

Cons: Avoid the first two rows in the theaters unless you like craning your neck. When it gets crowded here, the lobby gets super crowded and verges on the chaotic, although Alamo staff (and volunteers, during fests) have managed to instill very good line control. Popular first-run movies often sell out quickly, especially on summer weekends.

Screens and Capacity: Six theaters with stadium varying in size from 82 seats to 218, all with Sony 4K digital but still capable of showing 35mm films.  (196 seats in #1, 218 in #2, 118 in #3 & #6, 82 in #4 & #5).  Lines for the movies may be inside the lobby or outside depending on the size of the crowds and the weather. During festivals you may be able to order at the bar by the ticket counter, and enjoy a bite or a brew out at the picnic tables under the awning.

Mobility Impaired Access: Every theater has three floor-level rows, with spaces in the third row specifically for those needing chair access, and the view in that third row is fine. All other amenities are on the ground-floor level so the only problem chair users might have is dealing with crowds (and on weekend nights and during fests, it can get crowded). 

Parking: Parking has become a major issue at this location both in front and back, as it's a small strip mall with several other businesses, and The Highball is also a big draw. Be aware of reserved parking and if you must park on the street near the theater, be respectful of the neighborhood.

Bus routes: #3, #338 go to and from the venue. The #484 Night Owl will take you from downtown to the theater but it's only late night and only goes southbound on Lamar. An alternate route is the #30, which requires walking to/from Barton Springs Rd. The #3 can drop you off near the Ritz (the route is on long-term detour and on Congress), and in front of the Paramount. The #338 (which requires a walk from Congress) will take you directly to Westgate theater. For more information, visit the Capital Metro website (hint: click the Service Nearby link then selecting Submit). 

Distance: You can't walk to downtown movie theaters (or bars) from here unless you're into serious hiking, but you can take a bus or find a friendly Austinite with a car. A cab from the theater to downtown isn't expensive, but taxis are unlikely to hang around, so be prepared to phone. Make sure the cab service has your name so they won't drive off with some other film geek.

On-site dining options: All Alamo Drafthouses in Austin have a full menu including wine and beer (Ritz is the only one at this time serving hard liquor). You can view the regular menu and current specials on the South Lamar menu, which also includes helpful hints on the ordering process, and information on gluten-free and vegetarian items. If you need more information than what's included on the menu, ask the waitstaff to check for you. 

Nearby dining options: The Highball, Suzi's Chinese Kitchen and Casa Garcia are in the same strip mall, and the super-trendy (and pricey) Japanese restaurant Uchi is across the street and down about a block. Almost directly across Lamar, you will find a lot with several food trailers: Odd Duck has bistro-style small plates but is only open after 5 pm Thu-Sat, and Gourdough's offers huge decadent donuts (open late for your sugar and fat convenience). Other outstanding options are along South Lamar, many of which have opened in recent months, as well as "restaurant row" on Barton Springs Rd. For all-night options, Jette likes Kerbey Lane's gingerbread pancakes, and Jenn is partial to the Eggs Francisco.

Wireless: Free wireless is available in the lobby and theaters, and out by the picnic tables you'll find outlets to plug in your electronic devices. The Highball also has wireless and a couple of the boots have outlets. About two blocks further south down Lamar (away from downtown), you'll find a Starbucks in a strip mall across the street from Saxon Pub. Further than a walk, drive north to Barton Springs Road, then turn right to Flipnotics or Austin Java (Jette's "remote office" during film fests), which both offer coffee and wireless access.

Welcome to the fourth annual Slackerwood guide to SXSW film festival venues. SXSW now has a handy video that shows you a map of the venues, but we've got the details: the best seats, the least crowded theaters, and decent meals and wireless access between or even during the movies. A few changes have occurred since our 2009 guide, and with help from my Slackerwood colleagues and the SXSW staff, I've included all the new info I could find.

While I've included a few nearby options for coffee or meals, you'll want to check our Restaurant Guide next week. We'll have more details on places to get a variety of things to eat and drink near all the SXSW film-festival venues. We're also working on a general SXSW Survival Guide as well as a guide for locals with film passes or who want to buy individual tickets for films.

While downtown, you can walk to/from any of these venues in this guide except Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar. Even if you are from NYC and walk everywhere, it's too far. (I tell y'all this every year and yet someone always staggers up to me beet-faced and in danger of collapse, panting to me that they wish they'd believed me.)

The Austin Convention Center (ACC) "theater" is a temporary setup on the ground floor of the convention center during the SXSW Film Festival. In 2011, the theater is also known as the Vimeo Theater, but it's in the same location as in previous years (ACC Exhibit Hall 5). Also in 2011, 200 more seats have been added to this theater, bringing the total count to a whopping 600. 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 downtown venue for passholders or individual ticket buyers to see SXSW films. The location is unbeatable during the film conference -- 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.

Screens and Capacity: The Vimeo Theater holds 600, making it the second-largest SXSW film venue (after the Paramount). Lines are always indoors, which is nice on a wet day.

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.

Public Transportation:  While three bus routes come close to ACC (#17, #21/22), you'll save time by walking to/from this venue unless you have non-film departure/destination points. Still if you have a multi-day bus pass and see one, it might be worth hopping on when you see one. Just make sure you know you're going the proper direction, so ask the driver.  And if you're relying on the MetroRail to get into and out of town, that's your venue because it all starts right outside ACC, but the catch with the extended hours are Fridays and Saturdays of SXSW is the last train leaves at 11:30pm.

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 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. Local food trailers will be stopping by ACC throughout the fest: we recommend checking Austin Food Carts if you're interested in specifics.

Wireless: Wireless access is available around ACC during the entire film festival. Can't beat that.

The Hideout is a combination coffeehouse and performance venue. The downstairs theater, located in the back of the coffeehouse, seats up to 90. Even if you aren't seeing a movie here, it's a good place for coffee-and-wireless, although the coffeehouse can get extremely busy at night and during film festivals or other events. The theater is rarely used to show movies except during film festivals.

Pros: Good coffee and other caffeinated beverages, and comfy couches in the coffeehouse area. You can sometimes get a bagel or other snack here for emergency sustenance when other nearby restaurants are closed. The theater has a cozy, intimate feeling.

Cons: The Hideout is not primarily a movie theater and they sometimes have difficulty getting their digital projection up to speed. The seats are not very comfortable and often a few are broken.

Parking: No Hideout-specific parking. Park on the street or in a nearby lot/garage.

Bus routes: All downtown routes, including 1L, 1M, 5, 6, 7, 9, 20, 30, 101 stop on the same block.

Distance: It's a block away from the Paramount, and also convenient to Alamo Ritz and many downtown hotels and restaurants.

On-side food and beverages: Lots of coffee drinks, frappes, tea, etc. They also have baked goods and snacks, depending on the time of day (the earlier you go, the better the selection).

Nearby dining options: Same as the Paramount.

Wireless: Free wireless right there, yay. And you can relax on a sofa with a tasty beverage while you use your laptop, if it's not too crowded.

Alamo Drafthouse at the Ritz, aka Alamo Ritz, is a renovation of the old Ritz Theater in downtown Austin, built in 1929. The theater has two screens and shows a combination of first-run movies, arthouse films, and the interestingly obscure.

Pros: The location is ideal for downtown-based film festivals -- maybe too ideal, since it's often hard to get in. The seats are comfy except in the balcony, but the view up there can be pretty cool and makes up for whatever temporary seating they've arranged. There really are no "bad seats" in the larger theater. If you're in the smaller theater, see if you can score a spot on the couches in the back row.

Cons: The front row of the smaller theater offers a challenging angle for watching movies, although honestly not as bad as it looks. And frankly, we wish both theaters were larger, especially during film fests. When you sit down at an Alamo theater, don't try to put an empty seat between yourself and the people next to you -- the waitstaff will ask you to move so seats can be consolidated if (when) the theater fills up.

Screens and Capacity: The smaller theater seats 90 people; the larger one, usually 186 (depending on how the balcony is used).

Parking: No Alamo Ritz-specific parking; park on the street or find a downtown lot/garage. The Southwest Tower lot at 7th and San Jacinto (a block or so away) offers a $2 refund if you show your Alamo ticket stub on the way out, Sundays through Thursdays. St. David's parking garage is also a good bet. If you're seeing a midnight movie and parking in a garage, make sure it will still be open after the movie ends.

Bus routes: All downtown routes.

Distance: Only three blocks from Congress Ave. You can walk to the Paramount and The Hideout, and to many downtown hotels and restaurants. A cab stand is located on the southbound side of Congress and Sixth, a couple of blocks from the Paramount.

On-site food and beverages: Alamo Ritz offers a full menu for lunch and dinner, including an extensive beer menu and full bar. In addition, you can get standard movie-theater fare like popcorn and candy. (Please don't forget to tip if you order anything.)

Nearby dining options: Sixth Street has lots of food and most of it's not so hot. However, Iron Cactus next door has Tex-Mex. The Driskill Hotel's 1886 Cafe is good for lunch, but not speedy. If you have time on your hands and want one of the best burgers in Austin, walk a few blocks down Sixth towards I-35 to Casino El Camino. If price is not a primary consideration, splurge on some small plates or even a full meal at Parkside, about a block away.

Wireless: The Ritz has wireless in the lobby but the theater walls are so thick that it doesn't penetrate there very well. Sixth Street tends to have bars rather than coffeehouses -- walk to The Hideout on Congress, or try Halcyon on Fourth Street.

The Paramount is located downtown. It's primarily a venue for live performances, but shows movies during film festivals, red-carpet premieres, and the theater's annual Summer Classic Movie Series.

During film festivals and gala screenings, lines for the films form outside the theater and wrap in both directions down Congress. The lines often look deceptively long -- just because a line is stretched around the block and halfway down the next street doesn't mean you won't get in. The balcony may not be open during movies that aren't expected to draw a big audience.

If you're carrying your own water bottle, stow it in your car/hotel or conceal it in a backpack or purse before you get to the theater entrance. The ushers take pains to ensure that no outside food or drinks enter the theater, although they won't check inside bags and purses.

Pros: The theater is so large that it's not difficult to gain admission to most film-festival movies here, even if you're not a badgeholder. This is the best venue for celebrity spotting and perhaps a red carpet or two. And let's face it, it's a beautiful theater.

Cons: The seats are narrow and close together, and you may feel a little too friendly with your neighbors. You are not supposed to shoot video in the Paramount at any time -- the ushers keep an eye out for this -- and depending on the event, you may not be allowed to take still photos either.

Best/worst seating: Avoid the box seats. The boxes also may partially block your view if you're sitting far left or right on the lower level. Some short people claim the best view is from the middle of the very last row of the orchestra/mezzanine level. Balcony seats have cramped legroom but offer good visibility if you're short. However, avoid the front row of the balcony; your view will be impeded by a big iron bar.

Screens and Capacity: The Paramount is a single-screen theater that seats nearly 1200 people (okay, 1199 to be precise). For screenings that draw a smaller crowd, the ushers may try to fit everyone in the lower level and not open the balcony area.

Parking: No Paramount-specific parking. You can park in nearby garages or, on weekends and after 5:30 on weekdays, on the street in metered spots. Parking at St. David's garage (E. 7th) is reasonably priced if you want to avoid the hassle of finding a spot on the street, although their rates often increase during special events (like the music portion of SXSW, or some weekend nights).

Bus routes: All downtown routes. You can take the #3 to easily get to/from the theater (or nearby at 7th and Colorado) to Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar.

Distance: You can walk to Alamo Ritz or the Hideout, to Austin Convention Center, and many downtown hotels, bars and restaurants. Alamo on South Lamar is too far for a walk; grab a cab or find a ride. A cab stand is located on the southbound side of Congress and Sixth, a couple of blocks from the Paramount.

On-site food and beverages: You can buy bottled water, soft drinks, and beer and wine. Food is limited to popcorn and candy.

Nearby dining options: Jette likes Roaring Fork in the Stephen F. Austin hotel next door, which offers weekday happy-hour food specials at the bar, and the Driskill's 1886 Cafe and Bakery, which has some reasonably priced items before 5 pm like soup and salad, and very filling breakfasts. Silhouette, across the street, has happy hour sushi. Sadly, most nearby fast-food places are closed at night (except Pita Pit and Jimmy John's) and even on Sundays.

If you're looking for a pre-movie cocktail, try the second floor of the Stephen F. Austin and sit out on the balcony, which is perfect for people-watching.

And our favorite place for grabbing a bite on the run before downtown movies is the excellent Royal Blue Grocery, less than a block down Congress (toward 6th) from the Paramount. I would never admit to or encourage anyone to pick up some quiet, non-smelly salad from the deli section and sneak it into a Paramount movie for a meal between movies (and if you do it, don't sneak it back out of your bag until the theater is dark and the ushers are not nearby).

Wireless: Walk a block toward Sixth Street to The Hideout.