The South by Southwest film festival in Austin, Texas is just about wrapped up for the year. Eight days of parties, barbecue, queso and over 200 films screened! If you are a lover of unique, independent films, there is no better place to be in March than SXSW Film. Here are some highlights from this year’s festival:

I Love You, Man
The festival officially opened up with a screening of Paul Rudd’s new bro-tastic comedy I Love You, Man, about a man trying to find some male best friends after he realizes he has none. If you’re a fan of Knocked Up or 40 Year Old Virgin, this comedy is right up your alley. The festival was  also lucky enough to get not only Rudd, but his co-stars Jason Segel and Rashida Jones at a panel describing the making of the film.

Watch a snippet of their panel after the jump…

MINE
Winner of best documentary feature at the SXSW Film Awards, this documentary features tales of what happened to all the abandoned animals after Hurricane Katrina. To promote the film’s screening, the filmmakers held a mobile adoption of shelter dogs right outside the convention center, which was unique and such a cute sight to see when walking in Monday morning.

A Conversation with Richard Linklater and Todd Haynes
Visionary directors Richard Linklater (Slacker, Before Sunrise, School of Rock) and Todd Haynes (Far From Heaven, Safe) chatted it up for an hour and we all got to watch. Haynes answered fascinating questions on AIDS activism in the 80s and how that affected his work. Both directors explained how the recession is affecting the film industry:  Haynes says studio heads have to “actually read scripts now” and that movies can no longer be cast solely on big names.  But, as Linklater points out, no matter what is going on with our world, filmmakers and artists always feel a need to react. Just as fascinating was a conversation with director Robert Rodriguez and animator Henry Selick (of Coraline and Nightmare Before Christmas). You can watch a snippet of the discussion on the SXSW YouTube channel.

We Live In Public
After winning the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance this year, SXSW hosted a special screening of documentary filmmaker Ondi Timoner’s We Live In Public, a film on Josh Harris, the biggest “Internet pioneer you’ve never heard of.” Harris was one of the first people to cash in on the dot com boom by starting a data mining company and running the first Internet only television station, Pseudo.Com. Harris predicted that one day we would all live in public on the Internet, which he himself did with an art project in New York called “Quiet” and later on, with his webcam site “We Live In Public.” Piecing together interviews with former Pseudo employees, colleagues and family members, we get a fascinating, stunning look into the mind of a disturbed genius, as well as extremely relevant commentary on the increasingly public nature of our lives.

Entre Lineas
One of the best parts of the festival is the number of shorts screened. I was charmed by this narrative short directed by UT Austin MFA graduate Maru Buendia-Senties, about two friends who live across the border from each other in Jaurez, Mexico and El Paso, Texas. Filmed almost entirely in Spanish, the movie shows how two people from the same place can be from completely different worlds. It culminates in an amazing scene filmed at the border crossing between Mexico and the USA, a scene which was a year in the making, according to the director.

As my first ever film festival, the SXSW experience was definitely overwhelming (there is so much I didn’t get to see!), but I loved it all and am already counting down for next year’s festival.

Image: SXSW

Post from: Film Gecko

Lindsay Long has graciously volunteered to be a Film Gecko field reporter at SXSW 2009, currently the happenin’ place to be in Austin, Texas. That’s Lindsay pictured with "Twilight" director Catherine Hardwicke. More on that later!

Lindsay attended two panels on Saturday. Read on for her report:

Jeffrey Tambor: "Break the Rules"

The first panel was Jeffrey Tambor’s Acting Workshop. For the first part of the workshop, Jeffrey took two actors, Jess Weixler ("Alexander the Last") and Mark Reeb (John Bryant Productions), and directed them through a scene. The two actors had only memorized their lines and the context of the scene they were doing.

More after the jump…

Using different acting tactics such as placing the actors at different distances, telling them to talk to each other the way they would address a family member, or telling them to break "rules," he was able to pull real emotion and develop a scene in under about 40 minutes. During that time, the audience members – comprised of mostly writers, actors, and directors – watched as Jeffrey, Jess, and Mark kissed, cried, and yelled their way through a variety of different ways the scene could be portrayed.

Every Actor is Nervous

Jeffrey stressed the importance of acknowledging that every actor is nervous, and that it is the director’s job to build them up in a positive way and the actor’s job to do the same for the director. Jeffrey said that when an actor automatically rejects what a director is asking them to do and "draws a line," you can actually see the production go "straight to video."

It was amazing to watch him break apart the scene and see what the actors did with Jeffrey’s direction. He told Jess she needed to stop being a "good girl" and do four bad girl things in the scene. The instant she had an objective to accomplish besides reciting her lines, the scene became much more interesting and she discovered another side to her character.

Jeffrey also talked about how flexibility in a script is a great thing to have. He described a script to making a soup — if it’s too sweet, you change it. You don’t say, "Oh well, that’s the recipe." Some of the best moments the actors had were when they broke from the script and were clearly in the moment. Even Jeffrey pointed it out to the audience, saying that you could see in the actors well after the exercise was over that they were still in the moment they had created earlier.

We’re Watching Shows on the Web

The second panel I went to was Comedy on Television and the Web. This panel was also a part of the interactive portion of SXSW. The panelists included Ricky Van Veen (CollegeHumor.com), B.J. Novak ("The Office""), Keith Richman (Break.com), Avner Ronen (boxee.tv), and Meredith Scardino ("The Colbert Report"). They talked about how the shows/websites that they work for are utilizing the web as a way to not only market their TV shows, but also encourage participation among their fans. Meredith, a writer for "The Colbert Report," talked about how the web content on colbertnation.com gives the audience a direct opportunity to contribute to the show and offer feedback. B.J. Novak, writer and actor (he plays Ryan), talked about webisodes and how they allow audience members to see more of their favorite characters on "The Office."

All the panelist predict that webisodes will in the future become a normal part of how new shows are conceived, and that consumers will be moving toward a more web-based way of watching their favorite shows. They also stated that they are seeing a trend of consumers cancelling their cable subscriptions in favor of watching their TV shows online through such sites as Boxee.tv and Hulu.com, which can average a better viewing count than some traditional TV shows.

"That’s What She Said" 

However the best part of the panel was when B.J. was talking about how new technology, such as web based "TV" shows, will work. "No one can shove anything down anyone’s throat … that’s what she said." It was awesome to hear a "that’s what she said" joke from basically the creators and propagators of the ongoing "Office" gag.

"Splinterheads" Breaks Free and Takes Risks

After the panels, I jumped over to the Alamo Draft Hourse to catch the world premiere of "Splinterheads," a coming of age comedy about a guy who is in search of his own "thing." Starring Thomas Middleditch and Rachael Taylor ("Transformers," "Shutter"), the film centers around a guy named Justin (Middleditch) trying to find himself. He meets Galaxy (Taylor) a hot scam artist "splinterhead" from the local carnival, and they bond after a geocaching adventure.

It’s a great little film about breaking free and taking risks. I wouldn’t be surprised if this gets picked up and goes mainstream. Director/Writer Brant Sersen has created a funny, quirky, romantic comedy that has a wide appeal. (See photos from the Q&A with the director and cast of "Splinterheads" at the end of this post.)

Random Notes

It is really hard to watch a movie when the cast and director are in the room. I was so nervous for them! How stressful it must be for them to watch an audience react to their hard work. The film took 25 days to shot, which seems incredible to me. Outside of each theater, there is a mini "red carpet" with a backdrop of the sponsors logos for the actors and directors to have their picture taken.

Last night, I went to the A&E Independent Film Chanel Opening Party for SXSW (celebrating 16 years of film at SXSW). The place was packed with actors and directors and other famous people. The entire cast of "I Love You, Man" was there.

Lindsay Meets Catherine Hardwicke! 

What was most awesome for me was seeing Catherine Hardwicke at the table next to me. When she was getting up to leave, I mustered up the courage to ask her to take a photo with me. She obliged, and I wish I had said something intelligent or amazing to her, but I was a bit starstuck and was unable to come up with anything of substance besides, "You’re awesome. Thank you." The party was super cool, but very odd to see actors "out of context," as in, not at the movies or on TV. Craziness!

Photos from the Q&A with the director and cast of "Splinterheads": 

Images: Lindsay Long, 2009

Post from: Film Gecko