Activism and new UK Film: How The Underground Recreated The Hero : Written By Jane Mcconnell     Jane McConnell @janemcconnell  and @futureartists May 8th 2012, Salford, UK   In Emily James’ Just Do It, we watch news packages from major news outlets interlaced with POV footage from protestors scaling the giant cooler chimneys at the Ratcliffe Power Station. For a UK audience, a film like Just Do It is particularly subversive – even controversial. The protests were decade-defining – it…

I met Yoni Bloch at SXSW – he cracked me up with hilarious stories but I didn’t fully understand how talented this guy is. Yoni is a delightful musician/geek hybrid who has developed software called Interlude that allows you to create interactive videos. I recently checked out an example of what this software does and I’m impressed – it’s a pretty seamless choose-your-own-adventure video experience. Check it out: www.yonibloch.co.il/pretendtobehappy/

Workbook Project’s New Breed brings you this piece by Zak Forsman on how to make the festival circuit work for you EVEN if you don’t have a film screening. The key advice is: manage your expectations and make connections because these connections will help you in the long haul and festivals are probably the best place to meet all the key players in one place. Here is Zak’s video from SXSW:

No this hasn’t turned into a food blog. But I know I wittered on and on to a lot of people in Austin about all the amazing food I was eating and I feel like you should share the food joy too. I should add that I was mostly vegetarian until I went to Austin for SXSW for the first time in 2004. I still feel terribly guilty about eating meat and I’m back to my veggie ways again now…

When your own mother tells you you’re behind on your blog you KNOW you’d better get to it! This was the first year I didn’t stay for the music at SXSW but I had a great and busy time at both the Film and Interactive Festivals. It’s tricky to try to do both because there isn’t really enough time to do either one justice but the Interactive panels are fascinating and cover all sorts of topics that filmmakers need to…

I love Helvetica and am really looking forward to seeing Hustwit’s latest film, Objectified, at SXSW in March. I can see long lines for this film too. I nearly didn’t get into the Helvetica screening at SXSW in 2007. The line went all the way through the convention hall because it was a joint Interactive/Film screening and everybody was going crazy over fonts. Look I have proof! Here’s the trailer for Objectified.

Calling techynerdygeeky filmmakers! Today is your last chance to vote for your favorite SXSW Interactive panels. There’s some good stuff on there and a lot of it is very relevant to filmmakers. Have a look at all the panels listed under Digital Filmmaking for starters. But don’t stop there digital citizens! Filmmakers who go to non-filmmaking panels at SXSW always seem to learn the most and get really inspired so have a look at everything on offer and start getting…

Moviestorm has launched some free software that allows you to make simple animated films, quickly and easily. This is obviously great for first-timers but perhaps it could also be useful for more experienced filmmakers who want to test out ideas quickly? The basic package is totally free so give it a try and see what you think. Thanks to SXSW News Reel for the info!

One of the only bum notes at SXSW last week was hearing that filmmaker Benh Zeitlin’s car had been rear-ended while he was driving to Austin for his Glory at Sea screenings resulting in some really nasty injuries. I don’t know Benh personally but it’s awful to hear about stuff like this, especially when health insurance is an issue (which is often the case in our community). Rooftop Films are going to be posting more information about Benh’s insurance situation…

I went to a roundtable discussion organized by the From Here to Awesome team at SXSW last week. Many topics were covered but one of the things I was pleased to discover is this 1,000 True Fans article by Kevin Kelly. What is really useful about this article is that Kelly is focusing on the possibilities for everyone working between “poverty and stardom” – rather than talking about the Radioheads of this world. This is the crux of it: A…