SXSW 2011: Day Three
It's only the end of day three, but I'm already having to remind myself SXSW is a marathon. I got up and out the door in time to make a brief appearance at the AFF Hair of the Dog Brunch over at Star Bar, but my stay had to be short, since I had interviews with Apart director Aaron Rottinghaus along with actors Josh Danziger (pictured above) and Joey Lauren Adams. I hope to have those interviews up soon.
I hoofed it over to the ACC film shuttle stop, and just in time to catch the shuttle over to Alamo on South Lamar. Sleep deprivation has really kicked in because as I was walking to the stop and dodging Interactive folks who'd stop in their tracks to read something on their phones, I'd decided to see 96 Minutes and then completely forgot when the guy in front of me said he was one of the films producers. Regardless, I recommend 96 Minutes as an intriguing character study, with very strong leads in Brittany Snow (Harry's Law) and Evan Ross (90210), as well as a strong feature film debut for Aimee Lagos.
Next up because it fit in my schedule was the special screening of Kevin, a documentary about Austin musician Kevin Gant, made by Jay Duplass. As Jette noted in her tweets, the screening was a veritable who's who of Austin filmmakers, and it had an additional treat of a live performance.
Next up was the romantic comedy Fuck My Life, where social media is as much a character as the hapless lead with his romantic misadventures. After that, Joseph Gordon-Levitt fans may have been disappointed that the star of Hesher, who has attended SXSW in the past, was unable to attend this year due to scheduling conflicts. But as a treat, director Spencer Susser played a short recording of JGL introducing the film.
Despite the long day, and a delayed start, I finally made it to my first midnight screening for Attack the Block, arguably the most talked-about film of the festival, with very strong endorsements on the Twittersphere. Thankfully, the high expectations were easily met with Joe Cornish's film about "Inner City vs. Outer Space." Using local first-time actors, Attack the Block doesn't so much challenge stereotypes of inner-city youth as it first embraces them then transforms them when it turns out aliens have invaded their neighborhood. Executive producer Edgar Wright introduced the film, which had a Q&A facilitated by Elvis Mitchell. The only reason why anyone left before the Q&A was to catch shuttles. If you have any tolerance for genre films, Attack the Block is a must-see.
Monday brings surprises with it, with not one but two secret screenings, including the Ain't it Cool News 15th anniversary secret screening. Win Win will be playing at the Paramount; if the film doesn't sound familiar, hopefully the director will; Thomas McCarthy also directed The Station Agent and The Visitor. Win Win may not be action-packed, but has as much heart as his previous features, with Paul Giamatti starring as a lawyer who makes a rash decision with unexpected consequences that make his life more complicated -- for the better.
I'm planning on seeing Heather Courtney's Where Soldiers Come From, and Don Argott and Demian Fenton's Last Days Here. The former is an Austin film and a TFPF recipient, and the latter, well, let's just say someone associated with the film gave me a compelling synopsis.