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

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.

My initial $15 parking fee lasted only until 5 pm, but after my first screening I realized that my second screening ended at 6 pm. I returned to the lot at 3:30 to see about parking for an extra hour, and the attendant said of course I could -- for an extra effing $15. No, he wouldn't let me slide for an hour. And no, I couldn't buy only one hour of parking. I had to pay to park all night or find another lot. I was in a hurry and didn't have time to argue with him, so I just forked over the cash. (I'm sure he didn't make the rules, anyway.) But this experience made me wish I were The Man and owned my own damned effing parking lot. (Insert large-font frowny-face emoticon here.)

Then again, maybe I deserved that glaring exercise in parking fee robbery for not planning ahead. Also, the day before, I scored a parking space at noon on Congress at 10th, with a generous three-hour limit for a mere $3. Some days, the parking gods smile upon you; other days, they laugh at you. This is how they entertain themselves.

But enough about parking. Aside from this one teachable moment about unfettered capitalism run amok (don't get me started again), I thoroughly enjoyed SXSW. I'm exhausted now, which is a sign of having a great time at a film festival.

Fortunately, I was remarkably successful at getting into screenings; I saw all 10 screenings I wanted to see with only a film pass and a lot of patience. I easily got into seven screenings that were either lightly attended or at the cavernous Paramount. The other three -- Better This World (my review), Terri (my review) and Natural Selection (Debbie's review) -- were sellouts and far more difficult; I ended up front-row-Joeing after those hoity-toity badge holders took all the good seats.

Curiously, passholders were an endangered species at every screening I attended. At most screenings, there were less than a dozen passholders; the largest number I saw was maybe 60 or so at My Sucky Teen Romance (my review). I heard the passes sold out this year, so either I have vastly different cinematic taste than most passholders, or they were avoiding the big premieres, less publicized films and smallish Alamo theaters where I was. (I also suspect many passholders were sticking to the Arbor and Westgate SXSatellite venues.)

Based on my experience, I strongly recommend buying a pass if you want to see the most films for the least money. You won't get into the premieres of major movies with major stars, but you'll get into almost everything else if you avoid the small venues, save the most popular films for later in the week and get in line early. To be safe, I showed up at least an hour early for all my screenings. (This is known as SXSWaiting.) But actually, this wasn't always necessary; at a few screenings, I was the first person in any line, and most of my screenings didn't sell out.

Not to brag, but I also was lucky enough to score filmmaker guest tickets for two screenings, which guaranteed me a good seat and made me feel special by going to the head of the line ahead of all those hoity-toity badgeholders. (We all need to feel special sometimes.) Filmmakers have very limited numbers of guest tickets, so if you're offered one, by all means take it. Sometimes this happens out of the blue, as it did to me at the Texas Shorts screening (my review). You'll get a great seat and feel special, too.

The films I saw varied from so-so to breathtaking, and overall I'm very pleased with my choices. My two favorite films could not be more different: the hilarious, poignant and charming Five Time Champion (my review) and the brutal, astoundingly real message film Inside America (my review). I've been excitedly evangelizing about these movies, both of which deserve to become classics. I also really enjoyed Natural Selection, a very funny multiple SXSW awardwinner with thought-provoking undertones.

Again, I had a great time at SXSW and look forward to covering next year's festival. If there's a unifying theme to my SXSW experience -- that is, aside from that you meet the nicest and most interesting people while waiting in lines -- it's that the boldest and best filmmaking no longer happens in big-budget, focus-group-addled Hollywood. It happens instead in the low-budget world of makeshift studios, borrowed shooting locations and spare bedrooms where indie filmmakers turn their artistic visions into fearlessly original and often brilliant cinema. Thankfully, festivals like SXSW ensure that these films see the light of day.