SXSW

Many people may never have heard of the early '70s band Big Star, and aren't aware that "In the Streets," the theme song for That 70s Show performed by my personal favorite band Cheap Trick, was actually penned by Big Star's Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens (correction: Chris Bell). Attendees of the 2010 South by Southwest Music Festival became more aware of the band's influence when Chilton died unexpectedly of a heart attack on March 17, only three days prior to a Big Star reunion show in Austin. That show turned into a tribute with many musical guests from near and far, with several other tribute moments throughout SXSW that year -- including several songs played in tribute by Cheap Trick as headliners at the Auditorium Shores outdoor stage.

In addition to the fans that have supported the band throughout the years, many musicians credit Big Star with inspiring their careers. More importantly, music critics who were often disillusioned with the rock "gods" of the early '70s were attracted to the heart and soul that Big Star gave to its music. One such rock writer is Lenny Kaye (pictured above), who wrote for several magazines including Creem and Rolling Stone. He is one of the interview subjects of an upcoming film, Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me, which will have a special sneak preview at the 2012 SXSW Film Festival.

I interviewed one of the film's producers, Danielle McCarthy, and editor Chris Branca, a native Texan, who are busy working on the final edits. Find out what they had to say about Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me.

Every year, South by Southwest (SXSW) Festivals and Conferences offers an overwhelming amount of amazing content from film to interactive to music. If you are like me and enjoy the full spectrum SXSW offers, striking a balance between these interests can be challenging. The Film and Interactive conferences take place at the same time, from Friday, March 9 through Tuesday, March 13. The film festival starts on Friday too, and continues through Saturday, March 17. And that's not all -- SXSW 2012 also includes a dedicated SXSW Comedy program spotlighting stand-up comics, SXSWedu on March 6 - 8 featuring content for educational innovation, and the first-ever Tech Career @ SXSW March 9-10, open to those seeking careers in the tech and interactive media sectors.

This guide will hopefully help you balance both Film and Interactive successfully, whether you have a badge for either conference or the Gold or Platinum badges that provide you access to both. 

Here are some personal tips and "lessons learned" on balancing the film and interactive portions of SXSW 2012:

• Be prepared -- Read our upcoming SXSW 2012 guides.
• Plan ahead -- SXSW has made major improvements to the SX Schedule, although I haven't found an export feature. (Let us know if you have.) Check out the official mobile app SXSW GO app, which should allow you to view and build your schedule, including a map of what’s happening and how to get there, navigate the tradeshow, and stay connected to SXSocial registered attendees.

Say what? You don't recognize the name Ben Steinbauer? Perhaps you remember the hit documentary Winnebago Man, which wowed crowds at film festivals everywhere it played, including SXSW 2009. In 2010, the Austin Film Critics Association awarded it Best Austin Film. This time around, Steinbauer brings a documentary short about Stephen Friedland called Brute Force to SXSW 2012.

Slackerwood: Describe your film for us in a couple of sentences.
Steinbauer: Brute Force is the story of Apple Records recording artist Stephen Friedland, who in 1969 released the song "King of Fuh" that became the most controversial single Apple ever recorded.

What's one thing about the film that is going to make it impossible for people to resist seeing it?
The relationship between Stephen, aka "Brute Force," who is now in his seventies, and his daughter Lilah, aka "Daughter of Force," is funny, charming and endlessly relatable. It will appeal to anyone who has a complicated relationship to their parents (who doesn't?)

Every year we feature a "How to Drink Like an Austinite" guide for Fantastic Fest with recommendations on the favorite watering holes near film venues. SXSW Film Festival attendees looking for a change of pace from the "Miller Lite Taste Nation" will definitely want to venture out to bars offering craft beers beyond American light lager and great spirits. You can find award-winning beers from local breweries and brewpubs that will be sure to please any hophead or malt bomb lovers, as well as margaritas and great Texas wines from local wineries.

What is the best way to find great local beer in Austin? Arm yourself with information from Taplister as well the Austin Beer Guide. This collaborative effort between Beertown Austin and Craft Austin features information on craft breweries in Central Texas and where to find it -- unlike other states, in Texas it has been illegal for the breweries themselves to promote their retail locations although a recent lawsuit has changed that policy. The Austin Beer Guide maps are extremely useful to anyone not familiar with downtown and south Austin. Also follow the SXSW beer-drinking action on beer mobile apps including BrewskiMe, Untappd, and Tap Hunter -- if you are a beer geek with a SXSW Gold or Platinum badge, be sure to check out the SXSW Interactive Panel "Social + Location + Mobile = The Perfect Beer".

Rather than just share my own recommendations, this year I've asked local experts, i.e., beer bloggers as well as a couple seasoned SXSW volunteers to share their favorite bars and tips on drinking during SXSW. Find out after the jump where they think you should be enjoying fine craft beer and libations.

The Austin Film Society is providing a chance for AFS member filmmakers to get their short films screened during the SXSW Film Festival next month. ShortCase, a 70- to 90-minute special screening of short films, is confirmed for Saturday, March 10, 11 am, at the Canon Screening Room at the Long Center (aka the Rollins).

I am especially excited this year as I am officially curating the ShortCase film series on behalf of AFS. Our long-term goal is to expand the frequency of the ShortCase screening events, as well as provide constructive feedback to filmmakers whose work is not accepted into the screening lineup. We sincerely hope AFS filmmakers take advantage of the wealth of resources provided through AFS Artists Services, including the Texas Filmmaker Production Fund and Moviemaker Dialogues. AFS members interested in film-festival information should consider attending the upcoming "Maximizing Your Film Festival Experience" on February 29 with Kat Candler, Clay Liford and Geoff Marslett (and moderated by Slackerwood editor Jette Kernion).

To be considered for the AFS ShortCase screening at SXSW Film Festival, entries are due into the AFS offices no later than Wednesday, February 22, at 6 pm -- that's today, yes, and note that it's not the postmark-by date. They must be in DVD or Blu-ray format and should be clearly labeled . Films can be documentary, narrative, experimental, animation, music videos, etc. as long as they are under 30 minutes and completed -- no works-in-progress. Films should have been completed in the last 2 - 3 years (2010 to 2012). Older films can be submitted, but newer films will have preference. This will be a showcase for work that is not already playing at SXSW this year or has played in previous years. Find out more details here.

Debbie rounded up all the Austin films at SXSW Film Festival this year, but there are just a few more films in this year's SXSW fest with Texas connections... as far as we can tell, anyway. In addition to the features mentioned below, you can also catch Lone Star films in the Texas Shorts program (screening times) and the Texas High School Shorts program.

The folks who brought us Intimidad, which premiered at SXSW 2008, made documentary Girl Model (screening times), which follows an American model scout and the Siberian teen she has discovered. Nadya, a 13 year old, seems prime for the Japanese market and heads to Tokyo. Meanwhile, Ashley, the model scout, keeps searching Siberia for more young female faces. Girl Model comes from Carnivalesque Films directors Ashley Sabin and David Redmon. Redmon hails from north Texas.

The plethora of films at SXSW Film Festival this year includes a good selection of Austin-based features even without the Lone Star States category of movies. The quality and buzz for local films is high, and I predict a couple of these features are destined to win audience awards at SXSW.

Here's the best list we've been able to compile of Austin connections in SXSW films this year. If we missed your movie, please let us know in the comments and we will update the list as needed. Stay tuned for Elizabeth Stoddard's feature on other Texas films at SXSW.

A note to filmmakers: If your movie has some link to Austin, we would love to interview you about it and see the film. Please drop us a line ASAP so we can set something up before the fest begins.

It's that time of year: SXSW news is flying around thick and fast. Even if you're just concentrating on the film conference and festival, it's hard to keep up. In addition, SXSW has announced some new titles and conference sessions today. Here's the new information and some other recent news, all in our handy-dandy news tidbit format.

• SXSW has just added 15 features and four shorts to this year's lineup. The features announced today include the world premiere of  Todd Rohal's Nature Calls, Sundance selection Safety Not Guaranteed (the cast includes former Austinite Mark Duplass), the cameraphone-shot King Kelly, and Blue Like Jazz, about a Texas student who escapes to the Pacific Northwest. Oh yes, and a restored print of Yellow Submarine, which I might not be able to resist.
• SXSW also announced five new Film Conference panels today, including "A Conversation with Seth MacFarlane." Personally, I'm interested in a panel about restoring films at Universal, on Monday at the Paramount, which I hope means they'll show some restored footage.
• If you're more interested in the movies than the panels, and you're on a budget, be aware that SXSW Film Passes will go on sale starting tomorrow, Feb. 16. The passes cost $80 and are available to buy from Waterloo Records and three Alamo Drafthouse locations (Ritz, Lamar, Village). A limited number are sold so if you want one, don't wait. Look for our updated guide about getting the most out of SXSW with a film pass as we get closer to the festival.

Last week, SXSW announced the feature film lineup for the 2012 Film Festival, and today we've heard word about the short films and midnight screenings that will be headed our way this March. In recent years, some of my favorite finds at SXSW have been short films, and here's hoping this year is no different.  

Two of the programs will especially focus on films by Texans: Texas Shorts and Texas High School Shorts. A large slate of music videos is also in the lineup, including one by Austinite PJ Raval for Christeene ("African Mayonnaise"). Among the 135 shorts screening at the festival:

• Kat Candler's Hellion is part of the Texas Shorts program. The Austin filmmaker's short premiered at Sundance earlier this year. In his Sundance preview, Don calls it "an unexpected twist on how fathers, sons and brothers deal with other."
• Using stop-motion animation, Abuelas reflects on the past violence in Argentina through a grandmother's narration. I caught this beautifully haunting short at AFF. It returns to Austin through the SX Global Shorts program. 
• Remember how 12 Monkeys was a long-form remake of the 1962 short La Jetee? Well, Life and Freaky Times of Uncle Luke takes the French short to modern-day Miami and throws in 2 Live Crew's Uncle Luke. What say you, Terry Gilliam?

SXSW announced its film lineup today, which is full of all kinds of features and documentaries. The big splashy Hollywood news is that the movie 21 Jump Street, starring Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill, will premiere at the fest as its Centerpiece Film. In addition, the closing-night film will be the music documentary Big Easy Express from Emmett Malloy.

One marquee movie with a Texas connection is the Dallas-set Killer Joe, reuniting Bug filmmaker William Friedkin and playwright Tracy Letts, and starring Matthew McConaughey (and that's not the only film he's in that will play SXSW). Other notable movies playing the fest include Bobcat Goldthwait's God Bless America, the Will Ferrell-starring Casa de mi Padre and Guy Maddin's Keyhole ... among many many others announced.

SXSW Film has no Lone Star States category this year, but the overall lineup of narrative and documentary features includes many local and state connections. We'll have a full list later this month of all the Austin and Texas features and shorts screening at the fest this year. In the meantime, here are some Lone Star-connected films that stuck out in today's announcement:

• Gayby (Narrative Feature Competition)-- Jonathan Lisecki has expanded his popular 2010 short of the same name. It stars Jenn Harris and Matthew Wilkas (from the short) as well as Dule Hill and Samantha Buck. The cast also includes Austinites Alex Karpovsky and Anna Margaret Hollyman. Dallas-to-Austin filmmaker Clay Liford (Wuss) is director of photography.
• Somebody Up There Likes Me (Narrative Spotlight, pictured at top) -- The latest feature from Bob Byington (Harmony and Me) will have its world premiere at the fest. The movie stars Keith Poulson, Nick Offerman (also in Casa de mi Padre), Jess Weixler and Kevin Corrigan. The cast also includes local actors Chris Doubek, Andrew Bujalski, Allison Latta, Anna Margaret Hollyman (also in Gayby) and Jonny Mars ... and once again, Bob Schneider as a wedding singer. The trailer is already available on the film's website.