SXSW 2008: Have You Seen the Lineup?

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The SXSW 2008 film festival lineup is out there now, except for the shorts, which I think get announced next week. I'm already making some lists and the schedule hasn't been posted yet ... hoping that the films I want to see aren't all scheduled opposite one another. I also haven't heard anything definite on venues but my guess is that they're the same as last year, with Alamo Ritz taking over for the old Alamo Downtown.

The lineup is chock-full of movies with some connection to Austin, some of which I've listed after the jump. These are just the Austin connections I'm making on the fly, I'm sure there are more. (Let me know what I missed.)

I'm still figuring out how much/what kind of SXSW coverage I'm doing for Cinematical (I know I'm reviewing some movies, but that's about all I know at the moment), but I am planning to beef up Slackerwood's coverage of SXSW regardless. In addition, we're planning to update last year's guide to SXSW venues, include some more guides about surviving the nine-day film festival, and ... well, I won't spoil it all in advance. Keep an eye out for some cool SXSW stuff, is what I'm saying.

If you're reading this and you're a filmmaker with a movie at SXSW that has some ties to Austin (you or your cast/crew live in Austin, or it was shot in Austin, etc.), please drop me a line ASAP because I'd like to talk to you. And possibly write about you.

  • Baghead, which premiered at Sundance last month (and was sold to Sony Picture Classics -- woohoo!), was filmed in Austin by the Duplass brothers.
  • Goliath, which also premiered at Sundance, was shot here by local filmmakers Nathan and David Zellner. If you're a local filmgoer, some of the cast will definitely look/sound familiar to you: AFS programmer Chale Nafus, local filmmaker John E. Bryant (Momma's Boy ... he's also a producer on Baghead), Bob Sabiston, and Wiley Wiggins among others.
  • Crawford, a doc about the Texas town, had an Austin Film Society Doc-in-Progress screening.
  • Joe Swanberg's Nights and Weekends doesn't seem to have any direct Austin ties (except that Jay Duplass lived here for awhile) but feels like it ought to.
  • The Order of Myths, a doc about Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama, was directed by local filmmaker Margaret Brown (Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt) and photographed in part by Lee Daniel. Another local film that premiered at Sundance this year.
  • Stop-Loss, the Kimberly Peirce-directed feature starring Channing Tatum, was shot in Austin.
  • The doc Body of War was directed by local filmmaker Ellen Spiro (Troop 1500) and non-Texan Phil Donahue.
  • I'll Come Running was directed by UT film instructor Spencer Parsons, with music from Austin composer Graham Reynolds (A Scanner Darkly).

A NECESSARY DEATH

Hey Jette,
I have a film playing at SXSW. It is called A NECESSARY DEATH and I would love for you to see it and write about it.
I know you want an Austin connection. So I'll have you know that my roommate is from Austin. She is my ex-roommate, really, because she just moved out and on to Alberquerque. Still.
And our composer lives in Austin. Though he then couldn't score our movie so we got someone else who is from Alaska. I don't know if that counts.
Let me know if it does and I'll send you a screener.
Daniel

See you in Austin

Hi Jette -

We have no Austin connection, but I'm pretty excited about coming down. Warm weather, BBQ's, great films and bands - sounds like an awesome time.

I just wanted to give you a heads up on our film. We were fortunate enough to get the grand jury prize for best narrative at Slamdance and are now eager to bring the film to SXSW!!

you can catch the trailer, reviews, press kit at: www.thenewyearparade.com.

Take care,
Tom