Local Indies

Arguably the best thing about SXSW is discovering "new" talent, both onscreen and off. One of the world premiere films at SXSW 2011 was Apart, the feature directorial debut of Aaron Rottinghaus. The movie starred Texas native Josh Danziger, who worked on the original story with Rottinghaus (read the Slackerwood review). Both took time out of their whirlwind week to talk with Slackerwood about their romantic thriller, the story of a young man haunted by the past and the girl he cannot remember.

Below are excerpts from my conversation with Danziger, who was in town to support the movie and to celebrate making it in his home state of Texas. We're confirming he's also going to be in Dallas for the screenings of Apart at the Dallas International Film Festival in less than a week.

This year at SXSW Film, I decided to spend less time in line and more at the satellite and smaller venues, and catching the Narrative and Midnight Shorts programs. Kudos to SXSW Film programmers Claudette Godfrey and Stephanie Noone who set up the short film lineup. Anyone who's read my AFF Selected Shorts or Fantastic Fest coverage knows I love the short film format, partly due to the small time investments for great rewards. I found myself on the edge of my theater seat in under 15 minutes for one film and brought to tears of joy by another in the next 15. Find out which films that I found were most engaging after the jump.

Typically I'm a staunch believer in the cinéma vérité style of documentary filmmaking, with little if any involvement on the filmmaker's part so I can feel immersed in the story. On the other hand, there's Austin filmmaker Turk Pipkin, who narrates and is seen in his documentary films including Nobelity, One Peace at a Time and now Building Hope. His latest film often focuses on The Nobelity Project, an Austin-based nonprofit led by the filmmaker and his wife Christy Pipkin. The Nobelity Project partnered with a remote low-income African community with great results for the local primary school, and so Pipkin promised to help build Mahiga Hope High, the first high school for the community, while connecting Kenyans with American supporters.

In Building Hope, viewers learn that in Kenya, primary school is free and mandatory but families have to pay their teenagers to attend high school. Making matters worse are the gaps in qualified teachers, high school tuition and poor conditions of the few existing high schools, including lack of clean water and sports facilities. Without a high school education, the children of Mahiga are left with few options in life. The Pipkins were determined to change this fact, by introducing the "1000 Voices for Hope" program with the goal of getting 1,000 donors to donate $100. Donors included Austin musicians Lyle Lovett, Emily & Martie of The Dixie Chicks and Willie Nelson, who stated, "That's a choir I want to sing in."

If you share my interest in Austin film history, don't miss this week's screening of Eggshells, the first feature by Texas Chain Saw Massacre writer/director Tobe Hooper (pictured at right).

Made in Austin in 1969 with a cast of Hooper's friends, Eggshells is every bit a late 1960s film, a psychedelic drama about a group of students sharing a commune-like Austin house. Much of the film follows the students' typical activities -- this being 1969, many of them involve nudity and drug-fueled sociopolitical discussions -- but there also is an oddly mystical twist. In the basement is what Hooper describes as a "crypto-embryonic hyper-electric presence" that grows into a bulb-like form and manipulates the characters' lives.

Confused? So was I before I saw Eggshells last year, but fear not: It all makes sense -- sort of -- when you see the movie. While Eggshells is often quite bizarre, it's an intriguing film that shares many stylistic and thematic elements with Hooper's later work. It's also a dreamily nostalgic time capsule, a gloriously colorful document of life in late 1960s Austin. Fans of Austin-made independent cinema will find it fascinating.

Sponsored by Screen Door Film, the Austin Film Society and the Texas Independent Film Network, the Eggshells screening is on Friday, March 25 at 7:30 pm at the Austin Film Society Screening Room, 1901 East 51st St. Seating is very limited, so buy your tickets soon.

[Photo credit: "Tobe Hooper, Texas Film Hall of Fame 2009 Awards," by Jette Kernion]

As I sat in the Paramount Theatre watching the beautiful Otis Under Sky, as its story slowly unspooled, I thought of ... Roger Ebert. When Mr. Ebert reviewed the Austin-shot Harmony and Me in 2009, he said that "Austin has never looked more unlovely" and that the title character "never visits a part of town that doesn't look like an anonymous suburb." He would love the Austin portrayed in Otis Under Sky, though: lush parks, glittering downtown lights and lots of lakes and streams, contrasted with city bus rides and shabby housing that reveal parts of Austin tourists and many locals rarely see, but that still catch the eye.

Otis Under Sky is very much an Austin-y movie, without the desperate "everyone wear a Longhorn t-shirt and drink Shiner Bock" measures laughably adopted in Whip It. No one goes to Alamo Drafthouse; you wonder if the characters could afford such an outing. Instead, they head to Mayfield Park to stare at the peacocks ... but not for too long if they don't want to miss the bus back. Only one character in this movie drives a car.

No matter what side of the death penalty issue you're on, the aptly-titled documentary Incendiary: The Willingham Case is a must-see for anyone who believes in government transparency and protecting civil rights.

In 1991, an incomprehensible tragedy happened in Corsicana, Texas; three small girls died in a house fire. In 2004, their father was executed for their murder. And in 2011, the provocative documentary Incendiary brings focus to the controversial investigation that not only led to a man's death but illuminated the intractability of the Texas state government. The Willingham case has been making headlines because the state of Texas -- and particularly Governor Rick Perry -- has vehemently refused to reconsider the case, even when they could have stayed the execution when reports of a flawed investigation came to light.

Are you all recuperated from SXSW? Good, that means it's time to think about the Dallas International Film Festival. A mere three hours away (faster depending on your shortcuts/disregard for speed limits), DIFF has a great lineup for 2011 this year.

The fest opens on March 31 with the excellent documentary Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey, and runs through April 10. In addition, documentary filmmaker Steve James and actress Ann-Margret will receive the fest's Dallas Star Awards this year.

Here are some of the films with Austin connections:

• Apart (Jenn's review)
• Five Time Champion (Don's review)
• Katrina's Son (Debbie's review as part of Austin Film Festival 2010 shorts preview)
• OK Buckaroos (pictured top right) -- A documentary about Austin musician Jerry Jeff Walker.
• Rainbows End, which played AFF in 2010
• Sasquatch Birth Journal 2 -- Austin filmmakers David and Nathan Zellner's latest short played Fantastic Fest in 2010 and Sundance in 2011. I've embedded the video at the end of this article so you can experience it for yourself. I'm not sure I'd watch it in the office.

It bodes well for Austin filmmaker Emily Hagins's new feature, My Sucky Teen Romance, that the current Twilight-fueled vampire craze shows no signs of abating. Last year's installment of the bloodily romantic franchise, Eclipse, grossed more than $300 million, and new Twilight movies will be released this year and next. It seems that tweens and teens (and adults who dare admit it) have not yet had their fill of films and novels about pale, fanged, lovelorn teenagers. (No, I'm not one of those adults. But I think you knew that.)

Of course, I'm sure Hagins has no aspirations that her film will gross $300 million; the teenage filmmaker probably be happy just to find a distributor. But if the wildly enthusiastic reception at My Sucky Teen Romance's raucous world premiere at the Paramount on March 15 is any indication, a lot of Hagins's friends and fans hope the movie will be a smashing success.

The SXSW Texas Shorts screening is a diverse and impressive mix of shorts made in Texas or by Texas filmmakers. While the nine films range widely in their subjects and filmmaking styles, many of them are either dark or darkly funny, exploring everything from substance abuse to a murderous automated pool cleaner. Collections of short films can be hit or miss, but I enjoyed all the Texas Shorts selections. The smallish crowd at the screening on March 15 at the Rollins Theatre seemed very appreciative of the films also.

The most interesting of the lot is Chainsaw Found Jesus, directed by Spencer Parsons (I'll Come Running). Described as a "suburban fairy tale," the Austin-made film is a tragicomic story about two fathers and their sons who spend an afternoon together. While the kids entertain themselves with porn magazines and a neighborhood walk, the fathers do a drug deal in the garage and discuss why one of them recently turned to Jesus. The film is very funny and yet slightly bitter, and Sonny Carl Davis adds a bit of indie-film royalty to the mix.

Arguably the most intense film is Drawback, directed by Daniel Rigdon. In this Austin-made short, an impoverished, beaten-down man visits his former girlfriend. From their conversation and several slickly edited flashbacks, we learn that he's lived a hard life of bad choices and bad news; now he's trying to make sense of his fate. Well crafted, empathetic and thoughtful, Drawback is a captivating look at a life no one would envy.

As cliched as it may sound, the "must-see" movie at SXSW 2011 is Natural Selection, a joyful bittersweet story filmed in Smithville, Texas. From the opening moment, writer/director Robbie Pickering pulls viewers in for a fun and passionate ride from the pinnacle of conservative Christianity to the lows of the wrong side of the law.

The film focuses on Linda White (Rachael Harris), a barren and lonely Christian housewife in her 40s, who leads a sheltered existence in suburban Texas. Stringent religious convictions forbid Linda and her husband Abe (John Diehl) from copulating without the intent of procreating, resulting in an asexual marriage that has left Linda frustrated, lonely and full of shame. To compensate, she lives her life for everyone but herself.

After Abe suffers a stroke, Linda discovers that he has been keeping a secret -- donating to a sperm bank for over 20 years. From his hospital bed he asks her to find his 23-year-old biological son Raymond who is living in Florida. Linda sets off on a quixotic journey to find Raymond (Matt O'Leary) and bring him back before her husband passes away. Along the way, she develops a relationship with the troubled Raymond as they share their intimate secrets, allowing her to come to terms with herself and thereby discovering her own path.