SXSW

Erik Jambor (formerly Sidewalk, now at Indie Memphis), Alan Hunter (Sidewalk FF), and Catherine Pfitzer (Sidewalk FF) at the world premiere of 'Bama Girl at the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz.

It was Saturday night and I was at Austin Convention Center, looking for an empty table where I could sit down and maybe do a bit of work (hah) before catching the documentary about Harlan Ellison, Dreams with Sharp Teeth. I finally found an empty spot in a corner, where I could also see the line for the film so I could pack up and duck in if it got too long. I sat down and started to unpack my laptop.

I looked up and realized that I recognized one of the guys at the table next to me, the only person at the table facing me. It was Kent Osborne, and if you've seen any films at SXSW this year, you've seen him in the Burger Hut house ads. I remembered meeting him briefly at SXSW 2007 when he was here as part of the Hannah Takes the Stairs cast. I thought it would be cool to get a random snapshot of him at the convention center. So I walked up, introduced myself, and asked if I could take some photos.

I looked at his friends and suddenly this bearded guy next to him is greeting me warmly: "Jette! How ya doin." I realize that under the beard, it's filmmaker Mark Duplass, whom I interviewed via e-mail a week or so ago. The woman next to him is Lynn Shelton, whose film My Effortless Brilliance is screening at SXSW this year, and whom I'd corresponded with a bit through e-mail last month. And the guy on the other side of Kent is Ross Partridge, whom I didn't know at all but would end up seeing as one of the main characters in Baghead the next night. It was like a little mumblecore (or is that Dumbledore?) gang right there next to me, and here's a photo to remember it by. So the moral is not to be afraid to just walk up fearlessly to people and ask to take their picture, because you never know who you might end up seeing (or shooting).

In my hurry to get my picks out the door I completely forgot about Wesley Willis Joyrides, an amazing doc I saw at Slamdance. Fortunately there are two screenings left (Wednesday and Saturday) and you can still get out there and see it. I don't have time to write a synopsis myself so I'll crib the official synopsis and tell you that it is an amazing, touching, emotional, jaw-dropping, I must shake you in your seat to get you to go see it film. So go see it.

A portrait of the self proclaimed rock 'n' roll star and 'Chicago City Artist', Wesley Willis. An underground rock icon and revered artist, the late, great Wesley Willis attracted & offended people the world over. Wesley Willis's Joyrides follows the life of the prolific & controversial artist on his journey from obscurity to fame.

Also hearing good buzz about A Necessary Death, Half Life, The Matador, The Promotion, and Dreams With Sharp Teeth.

Oh, and you should read Lars "Weird Wednesday" Nilsen's big SxSW post over at the Original Alamo Blog today. It's pretty great.

I'm at the Hideout and I have 10 minutes before I have to head to the Paramount. What can I tell you so far about what I've seen? Let's find out.

Bama Girl: A funny and sweet look at an African-American candidate for Homecoming Queen at the University of Alabama. How many documentaries have you attended where the filmmakers pass out tiaras for everyone? It's playing again later this week, so if you're here for SXSW you should check this one out.

The Order of Myths: Another movie set in Alabama, this time in Mobile, which has the oldest Mardi Gras tradition in America. Their Mardi Gras is even more segregated than in New Orleans, and this doc examines the racial issues behind the celebrations and balls. This movie was made by Austin filmmaker Margaret Brown, and it's playing again too. Warning: It will make you crave Moon Pies.

Baghead: Not set in Alabama at all (it was shot in Texas but is set in Southern California). This movie is totally not what I expected -- its direction took me totally by surprise. I liked it very much, and although it's not playing SXSW again, Sony Pictures Classics should be releasing it later this year.

Dreams with Sharp Teeth: A documentary about Harlan Ellison. Mr. Ellison was in attendance, and I also saw him at a panel the next day. I liked the doc but I'm not sure how interesting it would be to non-fans of the author. I think it's playing again later this week; if you're an Ellison fan it's worth seeing.

I also saw The Black List and Crawford and some other stuff and damn, I'm out of time. More later, including tons of photos.

KEYE TV reports on the economic benefits of South by Southwest to the city of Austin, and catches 'Bama Girl filmmaker Rachel Goslins in the act of an extreme operation of a tiara in the service of promoting her film.

'Bama Girl premieres Monday at 1:30pm at the Alamo Ritz.

Roger Tinch, Art & Online Director of Cinevegas, gets comfy on a couch at the Driskill Bar.

Adam Roffman, producer of Woodpecker, at the Spout Happy Hour.

I'll write more about the Texas Film Hall of Fame awards ceremony later, and my baptism by fire into the world of professional photography. But I'm short on time this morning -- gotta get to the Paramount -- so I'll whet your appetite with one of my favorite photos from last night. Somehow, Morgan Fairchild ended up on the red carpet at the same time as ZZ Top, and they all gathered together happily for group shots. I worried my lens wasn't wide-angle enough, but I just managed to get everyone in the photo. Woo-hoo! Now let SXSW begin.

It's always tough to make a top ten list of films to see at a film festival -- "top" implies that other films are unworthy of notice or simply inferior to the films that made it onto the list. Maybe film #11 is the one for you. Instead I have a quick list of pictures that have caught my attention. As the festival progresses maybe I'll post a few more, since many films get two and even three screenings over the course of the week.

Midnight Shorts - Shorts always get overlooked in lists like these, so I'll feature them prominently in this one. Midnight Shorts features one of my favorite short films of all time, Frog Jesus, which premiered locally at the Austin Film Festival. SxSW wisely brought it back to town for more people to enjoy. Go see 70 minutes of great shorts, ironically starting at 11pm.

Animated Shorts - I don't really know much about the films playing in this block, except for Pablo Gonzalez' For You, My People, which seems like a really neat picture. How many political animated films from Mexico have you seen? I thought so. Go show support for the animated media by seeing some animated shorts.

One of the more entertaining aspects of registering at SxSW is the chance to see filmmakers and entrepreneurs promote their movies and products in clever ways. For the premiere of her university homecoming doc 'Bama Girl, director Rachel Goslins positioned spokesmodel Carolee Gee (above) at the Convention Center dressed as a homecoming queen. Needless to say the flyers for her film disappeared in a hurry.

Bama Girl premieres Monday, March 10th at the Alamo Ritz at 1:30 p.m. and plays again on Tuesday and Thursday. Check out the entry on SxSW's site here.