With the film conference over, and the music conference and festival well underway, attendance is dropping for the screenings, but not nearly as much as in recent years. From what I understand, attendance is up overall, but this is a very positive sign for the festival and for Janet Pierson's first year as the producer. Succession is not an easy thing, and Matt Dentler certainly left his stamp on SXSW, but I have to say it's been a solid program, and the SXSW team should be proud.

I had the day planned out, I was going to make it to five screenings, but first I got up later than expected, and then the music festival hit. I'm not a big fan of the Sixth Street insanity at the best of times, and the cacophony of very loud music from every possible angle, just made it impossible for me to keep my sanity and stay at the Ritz as planned. So after just one screening, I was back at the South Lamar Alamo, which is my home theater. I ended up skipping my last screening there, not because the buzz was bad (just the opposite), but because I'm getting movied out. I'm so movied out, I haven't done the snippet reviews of what I watched yesterday.

Updated 3/22: SXSW Film badgeholders get in free; anyone else should buy a ticket through Alamo.

If you haven't been able to watch any SXSW films this week, you've got a second chance. Alamo Ritz will show four SXSW films on Sunday as part of a "Taste of SXSW" series that I hope continues in upcoming weeks/months. Even if you've been at SXSW Film Festival, you may have missed one of these. These screenings aren't part of SXSW, so you need to buy tickets through Alamo Drafthouse.

• Beeswax -- Plays at 1:45 pm. I can recommend this one, which I reviewed for Cinematical. Beeswax was shot in Austin and half the filmmakers in town have minor roles.
• Anvil! The Story of Anvil -- Plays at 4:30 pm. I missed this movie last night because I was too chicken to deal with downtown parking. But on the Sunday after SXSW, parking shouldn't be a problem. It's a documentary about a heavy metal band that's been touring on and off for 30 years now.
• Adventureland -- Plays at 7:30 pm. This is the latest film from the director of Superbad and stars Jesse Eisenberg and Kristin Stewart.
• Ong Bak 2 -- Plays at 10:10 pm. Tony Jaa's martial-arts sequel played only at midnight during SXSW, so if you're a little more of an early bird, you can see this Sunday night.

I've commented on the sense of community I see at SXSW, and today proved it. I caught up with some friends I've made at Austin fests like SXSW and Fantastic Fest, and made some new ones, including a relatively random one who gave me a ride home after my last film, not to mention getting into datapop party, which was very fun.

The Least of These (Lone Star States)
Directors: Jesse Lyda, Clark Lyda
I knew very little about the T. Don Hutto family detention center in Taylor, Texas in Williamson County, but now that I do, I'm quite disturbed that it even exists. The privatization of the penal system bled into illegal alien detention, including children who's only crime is having parents who wanted better lives for their children. The cavalier corporate attitude towards detention is challenged by civil rights activists and media outlets alike. This deserves a much longer review, which we'll do later. In the meantime, it's playing again at 11 am on Friday at the Paramount, so if you're in town, go see it.

I saw The Overbrook Brothers on Monday night (it was Monday, wasn't it? the days are starting to fuzz together). This is the first feature film from Austin filmmaker John Bryant. If you saw his short Momma's Boy, this film is actually an expansion.

The photo is from the Q&A afterwards. That's producer Chris Ohlson, John Bryant, and actors Nathan Harlan and Mark Reeb. The high point of the Q&A -- or low point, if you like your humor refined -- was a discussion about an intimate prosthetic that Reeb had to wear in one scene. Other cast members who weren't at the screening but might look familiar to you are Cyndi Williams (Room) and Steve Zissis (Baghead, Momma's Boy).

The Overbrook Brothers was funny and over the top, and it's playing once more during SXSW. You can catch it Saturday night at 10 pm at the Paramount.

Less and less sleep, more and more people to keep in touch with. Oh, and if you don't know, the Alamo brunch menu is indeed available during the entire film festival run. SXSW is more than just conference panels and screenings, it's about community.

St. Nick (Emerging Visions)
Director/Writer: David Lowery
Shot in Forth Worth, this definitely had a Texas look. With very little dialogue, a lot is conveyed, as two youngsters turn an abandoned house into their home. Ultimately, the conclusion didn't work for me, but I'm open to persuasion.

I've got about 20 minutes. Let's see what's been going on.

• A funny moment on opening night: The red carpet for I Love You, Man was super-crowded, plus it was cold and raining and ... I thought a minute, then rushed from Paramount to ACC and caught The 2 Bobs instead. This is a fun movie if you live in Austin, because you can probably pick out every single locale. Plus, Turk Pipkin has an unbelievably freaky small role.
• I just saw David Lowery's St. Nick and wow. Lovely. The kids are amazing.

I never made it to the Trade Show, but for once I got in a full day's worth of movies, most of which were well worth it, and with a lot of Austin connections. The programming this year continues to be solid.

Me and Orson Welles
Director: Richard Linklater. Writers: Holly Gent Palmo and Vincent Palmo Jr. (screenplay), Robert Kaplow (novel)
SXSW loves Linklater, and rightly so; he embodies the independent spirit that's rampant at the festival, and is not only a filmmaker, but supports the film community very strongly, especially the Austin community. So it's no surprise his films get special screenings. Me and Orson Welles is a period piece and focuses on theatre, which means it won't likely find a large audience, but should be seen for the eerily outstanding performance by Christian McKay, who has a striking resemblance to Orson Welles, and captured the spirit of the high strung genius in his early days.

Days are already running into each other, and it's only day three.

American Violet (Lone Star States)
Director: Tim Disney. Writer: Bill Haney
It's an old story; wrongfully charged, someone fights back. What makes a film like this work is the performances, and Nicole Beharie delivers a memorable one as single mother wrongly charged with a felony drug offense. Actually, most of the performances were very strong. While the story itself is fiction, it puts faces to the very real phenomenon of aggressive police action. I just wish they'd shot in a Texas location, since the cases it's based on took place in the Waco area. I highly recommend it, if only for watching Beharie, particularly when she has battles of will with Alfre Woodard, who plays her mother.

It's only day two and I'm losing track of myself already. I only saw three films today, when I could have seen six. But I think catching a bit of Jeffrey Tambor's acting workshop, as well as all of the film critic panel makes up for it. There's a lot of diversity in the panels this year.

Objectified (Spotlight Premieres)
Director: Gary Hustwit
I was a big fan of Hustwit's Helvetica. However, his follow up was like Helvetica Lite. I was hoping for a more in-depth look at product design history, not just who are the big contemporary designers. Still worth catching, though fans of Helvetica are likely to be disappointed. I kept dozing off, when I wanted to be interested.

Despite the chill and the rain, filmgoers seemed to be out in force for the first day of SXSW film festival.

The Square (Spotlight Premieres)
Director: Nash Edgerton. Writers: Joel Edgerton and Matthew Dabnet
I usually avoid the opening film for festivals, and at SXSW, there is usually a single-screening of a smaller film I want to see. This year, it was The Square, which I knew very little about. It was an excellent choice. Screening with his darkly humorous and startling short, Spider let the audience know they were in for a very interesting ride. A tale of choice and repercussions, the audience gasped audibly several times, in unison, and at one point twice, yet the shock value was never gratuitous or outrageous. I don't know if it has distribution yet, but if it does, check it out. It's the best kind of low-key, small budget thriller. It's a shame it only screened once, I'd like to see it again.