SXSW

SXSW Review: Where Soldiers Come From

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Where Soldiers Come From

The most moving documentary I saw at SXSW this year is from Austinite Heather Courtney, although it's primarily shot in her hometown, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula: Where Soldiers Come From. I had more or less decided after The Messenger that I'd had enough of war-related features and documentaries, but I don't regret seeing this movie, not for a minute. The film had its world premiere at SXSW 2011.

Where Soldiers Come From follows three young men from their decision to enroll in the National Guard after high school, through their deployment overseas, and what happens post-deployment. Dom is an artist, and we see a lot of his graffiti-like art on the walls of an abandoned building in his hometown, before he leaves. He hangs out with his friends Cole and Bodi, and they all end up in the same National Guard unit, sent to Afghanistan to find IEDs (improvised explosive devices; aka bombs).

SXSW 2011: 'Apart' Director Aaron Rottinghaus

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Romantic thriller Apart had its world premiere at SXSW earlier this month, and will be playing in competition at the Dallas International Film Festival on April 3 and 5. I interviewed star Josh Danziger and writer/director Aaron Rottinghaus while they were in Austin to promote the movie (read my review for more details).

But before I get into my conversation with Rottinghaus, allow me to take a moment to share what actress Joey Lauren Adams had to say, when I spent a few minutes chatting with her. Adams (Chasing Amy) hired Rottinghaus as an editor on her writing/directorial debut Come Early Morning, which Austin Film Festival in 2006 after a Sundance premiere earlier that year.

"In the process of editing [Come Early Morning], we became friends and he went above in beyond in helping me with my project," Adams told me. So she returned the favor to take a small but significant role in Apart.

"Once he gave me that first bit of direction, he was really good. And all at once he was my director and I was his actor, and I trust him. Aaron had a vision, whether you liked the film or not, and it was very thought out and very detailed. He did a great job on it, and he stuck with it." Would Adams work with Rottinghaus again? "In a heartbeat. As a director, or an editor."

SXSW 2011: 'Apart' Actor Josh Danziger

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Arguably the best thing about SXSW is discovering "new" talent, both onscreen and off. One of the world premiere films at SXSW 2011 was Apart, the feature directorial debut of Aaron Rottinghaus. The movie starred Texas native Josh Danziger, who worked on the original story with Rottinghaus (read the Slackerwood review). Both took time out of their whirlwind week to talk with Slackerwood about their romantic thriller, the story of a young man haunted by the past and the girl he cannot remember.

Below are excerpts from my conversation with Danziger, who was in town to support the movie and to celebrate making it in his home state of Texas. We're confirming he's also going to be in Dallas for the screenings of Apart at the Dallas International Film Festival in less than a week.

SXSW Review: Foo Fighters: Back and Forth

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Foo Fighters: Back and Forth

I have a confession to make: I really enjoyed Foo Fighters: Back and Forth, a new documentary by director James Moll that played SXSW this year.

Foo Fighters: Back and Forth traces the story of the band Foo Fighters from their start in 1995 to the recording of their current album. For those of you who don't know the Foo Fighters, it's the band David Grohl founded after the tragic death of his Nirvana band mate and friend Kurt Cobain.

One of the things I really liked about this documentary was how the story was told. Where a lot of documentaries are told using narration, this documentary was told using interviews of current and former band members. I really liked hearing the stories of the band from the people that actually lived it. I can imagine that Moll's background doing interviews for the Shoah Project has something to do with this.

SXSW Review: Narrative Shorts

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Fatakra

This year at SXSW Film, I decided to spend less time in line and more at the satellite and smaller venues, and catching the Narrative and Midnight Shorts programs. Kudos to SXSW Film programmers Claudette Godfrey and Stephanie Noone who set up the short film lineup. Anyone who's read my AFF Selected Shorts or Fantastic Fest coverage knows I love the short film format, partly due to the small time investments for great rewards. I found myself on the edge of my theater seat in under 15 minutes for one film and brought to tears of joy by another in the next 15. Find out which films that I found were most engaging after the jump.

SXSW Review: Building Hope

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Building Hope's Mahiga Rainwater Court

Typically I'm a staunch believer in the cinéma vérité style of documentary filmmaking, with little if any involvement on the filmmaker's part so I can feel immersed in the story. On the other hand, there's Austin filmmaker Turk Pipkin, who narrates and is seen in his documentary films including Nobelity, One Peace at a Time and now Building Hope. His latest film often focuses on The Nobelity Project, an Austin-based nonprofit led by the filmmaker and his wife Christy Pipkin. The Nobelity Project partnered with a remote low-income African community with great results for the local primary school, and so Pipkin promised to help build Mahiga Hope High, the first high school for the community, while connecting Kenyans with American supporters.

In Building Hope, viewers learn that in Kenya, primary school is free and mandatory but families have to pay their teenagers to attend high school. Making matters worse are the gaps in qualified teachers, high school tuition and poor conditions of the few existing high schools, including lack of clean water and sports facilities. Without a high school education, the children of Mahiga are left with few options in life. The Pipkins were determined to change this fact, by introducing the "1000 Voices for Hope" program with the goal of getting 1,000 donors to donate $100. Donors included Austin musicians Lyle Lovett, Emily & Martie of The Dixie Chicks and Willie Nelson, who stated, "That's a choir I want to sing in."

SXSW Review: A Matter of Taste: Serving Up Paul Liebrandt

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A Matter of Taste: Serving Up Paul Liebrandt may seem like it's riding on the coattails of foodie phenomenon of recent years. Nine years in the making, the documentary about a rising-star New York chef pre-dates Top Chef by some years.

Liebrandt made a splash on the New York City food scene as the epitome of enfant terrible chef, arrogant with the skill to back it up. But as A Matter of Taste reveals, all the skill in the world does not equate to success, especially when your art depends on location, reputation and finances. At 24, Liebrandt was the youngest chef to receive a three-star review from The New York Times, but outside of New York you may not have heard of him. Until now. 

Sally Rowe's feature directorial debut focuses as much on the business side of restaurants as the man as Liebrandt matures as a chef and a person. When Rowe started filming him, Liebrandt was on the verge of culinary stardom only to have it elude him in arguably the most competitive restaurant arena in the world. Filled with interviews of food critics and celebrity chefs such as Thomas Keller and Eric Ripert, A Matter of Taste is insightfully engaging as Liebrandt's journey is documented, with Liebrandt is the viewer's guide to into the kitchens of New York. Most people know about "location, location, location" but the economic realities are much more involved, as is the personal toll of working the hours necessary to bring those gorgeous dishes to your table.

SXSW Review: Otis Under Sky

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Otis Under Sky

As I sat in the Paramount Theatre watching the beautiful Otis Under Sky, as its story slowly unspooled, I thought of ... Roger Ebert. When Mr. Ebert reviewed the Austin-shot Harmony and Me in 2009, he said that "Austin has never looked more unlovely" and that the title character "never visits a part of town that doesn't look like an anonymous suburb." He would love the Austin portrayed in Otis Under Sky, though: lush parks, glittering downtown lights and lots of lakes and streams, contrasted with city bus rides and shabby housing that reveal parts of Austin tourists and many locals rarely see, but that still catch the eye.

Otis Under Sky is very much an Austin-y movie, without the desperate "everyone wear a Longhorn t-shirt and drink Shiner Bock" measures laughably adopted in Whip It. No one goes to Alamo Drafthouse; you wonder if the characters could afford such an outing. Instead, they head to Mayfield Park to stare at the peacocks ... but not for too long if they don't want to miss the bus back. Only one character in this movie drives a car.

SXSW 2011 Wrap-Up: Great Films, Greater Parking Profits

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State Theatre

Although my 19-year technical writing career (which I squeeze in between Slackerwood reviews) has been great, I decided during this year's SXSW film festival that I'm in the wrong line of work. Instead of sitting in a cubicle all day documenting hardware and software, I should own a parking lot or two in downtown Austin.

I decided this after paying $30 -- yes, you read that right -- to park in a lot at 2nd and Brazos for a mere six hours during the perfect storm of film screenings, live music, great weather and weekend madness that was the final Friday of SXSW. I know there are far cheaper parking alternatives; the best deal in town may be the Palmer Events Center Parking Garage, which charges a reasonable $7 to park all day and evening. But this wasn't an option on a day when I was running late for two back-to-back afternoon screenings at the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz and State Theatre.

SXSW Review: Incendiary: The Willingham Case

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No matter what side of the death penalty issue you're on, the aptly-titled documentary Incendiary: The Willingham Case is a must-see for anyone who believes in government transparency and protecting civil rights.

In 1991, an incomprehensible tragedy happened in Corsicana, Texas; three small girls died in a house fire. In 2004, their father was executed for their murder. And in 2011, the provocative documentary Incendiary brings focus to the controversial investigation that not only led to a man's death but illuminated the intractability of the Texas state government. The Willingham case has been making headlines because the state of Texas -- and particularly Governor Rick Perry -- has vehemently refused to reconsider the case, even when they could have stayed the execution when reports of a flawed investigation came to light.

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