SXSW 2011: Day Nine

"A man walks into an Alamo Drafthouse for the first time" sounds like the start of a joke. But no matter how many times I see someone get giddy over the experience, it makes me happy to live in Austin. The man in question was a SXSW Platinum badgeholder who finally was taking the opportunity to catch a movie on the last evening of the festival.  I don't know if he liked the film, but he sure made the waitress laugh with his enthusiasm at being able to order food and beer at his seat.

As for me, I made it to three more films; four technically, but the last film wasn't holding my attention and being so exhausted, I figured it was better to walk and and wonder if it got better.

The funny and controversial Kumaré, about a man who pretends to be a guru and collects a following, played to a packed house but unfortunately without a Q&A. As James Rocchi described it, Kumaré  is "Being There plus The Music Man, with real heart and insight with the absurdist comedy." He said it better than I could.

Trekked over to the Paramount for the wedding weekend comedy-drama Ceremony. This directorial feature debut by Max Winkler at first seems predictable, but starts following less-predictable paths. I wish I'd stayed for the Q&A, but I wasn't sure about shuttle times. Turns out I ended up catching a #3, and taking a couple of badgeholders with me, because there was a hiccup with the shuttle. But that was straightened out by the time my companions and I showed up for the badge lines at Lamar, as the shuttle was pulling up after stopping at the Rollins.  We made the right choice, but glad to know the shuttle was still running.

My final film of the fest was the Audience Award Winner for the Emerging Visions program, Weekend. Andrew Haigh's story of a weekend fling that explores love, sex and other relationships was a relatively quiet film, with a strong story that makes me wish the shuttle hiccup didn't happen, because I suspect there would have been a bigger audience.

All in all, considering the sheer volume of people in town for the three conferences and festivals, and all the logistics involved, this was a fairly pain-free SXSW for me. Well, except for my feet, which are still unhappy with me about line waits, but that's unavoidable at any festival. I can say the post-fest blues I always get aren't that bad this year, because I had time to spend with friends, made new ones, and that Platinum badge guy was just one part of why I love this city and SXSW.

[photo credit: Wuss Q&A with Clay Liford and Barak Epstein, courtesy of Jette Kernion]