Ok, I know it is getting rather ridiculously late to be posting on SXSW but here finally (finally!) is my wrap up on films seen and deeds done at SXSW 07. As I mentioned before I didn’t get to see many narrative features at all. In fact the only one I saw was Great World of Sound by Craig Zobel, which is lucky because I really liked it. The interaction between the actors and the real musicians was fascinatingly, achingly poignant in particular.
I wish I could have thoroughly immersed myself in the mumblegeist (hey everyone else is making up names for it so I will too!) and seen Joe Swanberg’s Hannah Takes the Stairs, Aaron Katz’s Quiet City, and the two Special Jury Award winners: Ry Russo-Young’s Orphans, and Ronald Bronstein’s Frownland. The trouble is there are so many films to see at SXSW that it’s hard to get to even half the stuff you want to – and the music fest starts halfway through the week throwing an enormously fun, beer-sodden monkey wrench in the works.
There is a genuine feeling of community, enthusiasm, and innovative DIY spirit at South By that I loved the first time I attended in 2004 and that seems to get even stronger every year. The fact that it takes place in Austin doesn’t hurt. After stumbling up Main Street in the Park City snow at Sundance, it is wonderful to stroll along the wide streets in the sunshine, with delicious food to be found on almost every corner. Although this year the weather wasn’t behaving itself at all. It had the temerity to actually rain for gawd sakes! Still in retrospect dashing through the downpours to get to screenings and parties was rather fun, especially the time I had to take my sodden shoes off (because the leather had stretched and they wouldn’t stay on my feet) and hobble back to the hotel barefoot after the Hannah Takes the Stairs/Orphans party at the Peacock Lounge. Or were we at Emo's? But I digress. Without further ado here are some of the documentaries I saw.
Oh, hang on a minute, one more digression: the SXSW trailers before the films were brilliant this year. Usually even the cleverest, slickest trailers get old very quickly after multiple daily viewings but I enjoyed these every time they played (especially McGriddles). Which brings me back to Joe Swanberg. Crikey I haven’t met him, didn’t even see his film, but I feel like he’s an old friend. He was one of the trailer creators in case you think I’m going off on yet another tangent. Watch them here.
Ok, so documentaries:
Jennifer Venditti’s Billy the Kid, the film that won the Documentary Jury Award, is a lovely, honest portrait of a troubled teenager. It is sometimes hard to watch but the fiercely determined and passionate Billy is a great antidote to all the films about the kids who make people like Billy feel bad. Mark Rosenberg from Rooftop Films has a good review of Billy here, including the backstory of how Venditti found Billy while casting Bugcrush.
Michael Tully’s Silver Jew was shot in only a couple of days but it creates a remarkably intense portrait (great editing) of Silver Jews frontman and poet David Berman, as he embarks on a short tour of Israel with his band. I didn’t know much about the band before I watched the film but this didn’t matter because Berman has a poet’s way with words and his take on the world is always interesting. It also makes him a frustratingly slippery subject, impossible to pin down and get clearly in focus. I would have liked to hear more about his newfound connection to Judaism and his thoughts on the relationship between Israel and Palestine – but then that would have been a different film entirely. Read Tully’s blog for more background on the film and filmmaker.
AJ Schack’s Kurt Cobain: About a Son is a visual treat constructed around previously unheard audio interviews conducted by Michael Azerrad for his book "Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana." People expecting a traditional rock bio might be disappointed but I found it hypnotizingly beautiful and was reminded of how funny and insightful Cobain could be (as well as morbid, self-obsessed, and anti-social!). I still keep thinking about the film, Cobain’s voice resonating through the beautiful and depressing landscape of the Pacific Northwest. Towards the end of the film there is a moment when Courtney Love yells down the stairs to Kurt, interrupting the interview, and I got goosebumps all over my body, as though they were there in the Paramount Theatre with me. Check out AJ's blog for more info and some excellent ponderings on all things documentary.
Kamp Katrina - I guess I’m still hopelessly naïve but the aftermath of Katrina and the (utterly ineffectual) response of the powers that be never ceases to shock me. In Ashley Sabin’s and David Redmon’s powerful film shot in the wake of Katrina, Ms. Pearl, a New Orleans native, allows people displaced by the Hurricane to camp out in her backyard. Many of these people have drug and alcohol problems but all are trying fiercely to survive. Kamp Katrina is frequently harrowing, but the humour,flair, and determination of Ms. Pearl, and her ever changing outfits, add a necessary touch of human joy and optimism. This was preceded by Brian Cassidy's and Melanie Shatsky's God Provides, a short I am a big fan of – you can read an interview I did with Melanie here.
Audience of One is a film about a Pastor who believes he is on a mission from God to make a movie and proceeds to cheerfully solicit donations from his poor congregation in order to do so. David Lowery describes this film as a cross between Jesus Camp and American Movie. I heard Pastor Richard Gazowsky on NPR the other day and am now utterly convinced that he is either totally nuts or a blatant con artist. Or a little of both.
I love the scenes with his disapproving mother, the founder of the church he now leads, much to her obvious regret. There are so many spin-off docs waiting to be made from SXSW films. The story of Pastor Gazowsky's mother is one. The documentary filmmaker who ended up joining Fred Phelps' church is another. Fall From Grace, another SXSW doc, is a very impressive student film about Phelps, the abhorrent leader of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas. Even-handed and horrifying at the same time, I'm not sure I would have been able to remain so professional at the helm, so kudos to K. Ryan Jones the young director.
The Unforeseen – Laura Dunn's film is beautifully shot and I thought the opening was incredible: powerful and thought-provoking, leaving you unsure of what is to follow but knowing that it will be important. I ultimately found the film problematic, however, in its disinclination to tackle bigger subjects about necessary development. What do you do with all the people in the world and their different wants and needs? Where is the line between development and destruction? I just didn’t feel like these subjects were adequately addressed. The Republicans were made to look like crazies with their “Birds Don’t Pay Taxes” picket signs, and the developers were con artists and crooks, but surely growing, shifting populations and the need for infrastructure is a problem we ALL face. I feel like the focus on Barton Springs muddied the waters somewhat ('scuse the pun). I'm just not sure the micro always applies to the macro. The testimony of citizens in public hearings over the fate of the Springs was undeniably powerful but what about healthy, necessary, and sustainable development elsewhere? Is this possible? If so, what are our options? I guess it’s good that a film even raises these subjects for debate. But I want more of the debate now.
Manufacturing Dissent is so hard for me to talk about in the wake of so much debate about it. I think AJ Schnack, Agnes Varnum, and others tackle the subject far more eloquently than I could. On a slight tangent to this, I think the subject raised in the blogging panel about whether, as filmmakers and peers in independent film, we should criticise each others' films, is a really interesting topic for debate. On the one hand I feel like constructive criticism and debate is healthy and necessary, but I also understand the need for the independent film community to be supportive of each other. It’s a tricky one. Is this where journalists and bloggers part company?
There were some docs that I missed at other film fests and I missed them again at SXSW. Yikes Scoobs! I am DETERMINED to see Blindsight, and The Devil Came on Horseback as soon as feasibly possible. I’d also really love to see Run, Granny, Run – a film that Chelsea blogged about earlier here, and winner of the Documentary Audience Award.
One of the most gloriously fun screenings I attended at SXSW was the Duplass vs. Zellner short film smackdown. The Duplass and Zellner brothers both make great short films and if you haven’t seen them yet check them out NOW. Most of them are online for your viewing pleasure. You may also know the Duplass bros. from their excellent and truthful feature “The Puffy Chair.”
Find out more about the Zellners here, including links to watch short films (I recommend starting with "Quasar Hernandez"):
What is Mumblecore you ask? Well, these are the ultra-indie films – “Hannah Takes the Stairs” being the uber-example - screening at SXSW this year that Anthony Kaufman points out are “far closer to the origins of '70s and '80s American indie cinema than just about anything in Park City's Dramatic Competition.” In fact "Slackavetes" is another moniker jokingly given to these films. Unfortunately, due to my focus on documentaries, I missed almost all the narrative features at SXSW this year, but luckily the bloggers are coming to the rescue to fill me (and you) in. Aaron Hillis at Cinephiliac has drawn a lovely diagram to show how all the peeps making these films are connected. Meanwhile Andrew O’Hehir over at Salon argues that the narrative features at SXSW are divided between the mumblecore gang and “the shotgun-hobo camp” of Robert Rodiriguez’s “grindhouse trailer” competition winner - and that SXSW has become a festival that produces a "kind of long-term, deep-focus forecast of filmmaking themes and trends that aren't quite on the mainstream radar screen." Go SXSW!
This year was definitely the year for documentaries at SXSW. I saw 21 films in which only four were narratives. And out of all the movies, I only disliked one, which was a narrative. But all the docs told very interesting and captivating stories covering a wide spectrum of issues and topics whether it was following the campaign of a Japanese candidate in the film “Campaign” or climbing to the top of Mount Everest with a group of blind Tibetan teenagers in “Blindsight.”
I missed out on a lot of music documentaries, but I will say that the two I saw were awesome. “Dirty Country” had me choking on my saliva, and seeing Larry Pierce and -Itis live made my night a whole lot better. “The Gits” film may have ended with a tear, but now I’m longing to listen to more of their music. I had to resist the urge to stand up and shake my body to some of their rockin’ tunes during the screening.
My favorite narrative was “Quiet City,” It was a simple, sweet film about a girl, Jamie who is trying to get a hold of her friend in Brooklyn that she flew in to stay with. She stops a guy, Charlie, in the subway station and asks him for directions to a diner. He walks her and hangs out with her until her friend shows up, but she is a no-show. The rest of the movie follows them talking, hanging out in Prospect Park, and socializing at an art gallery and house party. I was really happy to see such a realistic story between two strangers of the opposite sex, in which no physical relationship is portrayed. Jamie puts her head on Charlie’s shoulder in the train and then it cuts to the sky with a plane flying. The director, Aaron Katz, wanted the audience to contemplate what happened between the two that night. The acting was very natural and it may have been that way since the two actors met each other for the first time on the first day of shooting. Katz did a great job capturing the quietness of Brooklyn, hence the name. At one point I knew I was in New York City because of the art gallery scene, but then I forgot about the setting when the two stroll down 7th Avenue in Park Slope with no one around and nobody present in the diner they wait in. Everything about this movie was fun, interesting and realistic. I loved it.
There were a couple movies I missed, because they were sold out, like “King Corn.” But people were saying really good things and recommending others to check it out. I was upset when I couldn’t go see a documentary, because it was full, but at the same time it made me glad that people were excited to go see them. Maybe there’s a documentary phenomenon taking over, which is fine by me. If the films are like any of the ones I saw this year at SXSW, then this phenomenon is gonna be really cool.
This panel was really enjoyable, not just for the content, but also because the audience was largely made up of film bloggers (including Michael Tully, AJ Schnack, Eugene Hernandez, Karina Longworth, and Anthony Kaufman) which gave the event a great collaborative feel. I think almost everyone put their hand up when the moderator, Alison Willmore, asked the audience who currently wrote a blog. I felt a rush of pride and happiness about this citizen media explosion - even if I'll never get to read most of the stuff that is published. I can barely keep up with the blogs I already know about!
Here's the SXSW blurb: "Blogs have become some of the first things people read each and every day. Film blogs are no exception. The movie reporter/critic uses their blog as a way to connect to the movie fan. A trip to a film set, an experience at a screening or a great discovery at a film festival, can be posted in just a few minutes. This panel will discuss the grind and payoff of publishing online. And, how future bloggers and current filmmakers, can get the most mileage out of this powerful medium."
Weiler – Wordpress, with plugins
Rabinowitz – Moveable Type
Varnum – Wordpress, also with plugins. It’s useful to explore plugins and modifications. There are more and more “blogs about blogs” these days to help you. Check out bloggingpro.com and JohnTP.com
Heller – Wordpress
Willmore: Are bloggers journalists?
Rabinowitz – Yes, if you go to screenings and do interviews you are a journalist and you can be sued for libel. You have to abide by certain ethics. Those who think they can play fast and loose with blogs are doing the medium a disservice.
Heller – There should be more media literacy.
Varnum – AJ’s post about the Carpetbagger’s deletion of his post mistakenly announcing a Sundance winner is interesting on this subject.
Rabinowitz – You should put a strike through the erroneous comment and then post the correct text next to it, not delete it as if you never posted it.
Harrill – Thinks of himself as an advocate, not a journalist.
Willmore: How easy is it to get accreditation?
Heller – There’s a split between publicists who support bloggers and those who don’t. Not everyone knows what to do with bloggers.
Rabinowitz – It depends on your track record.
Harrill – The term "blogging" is used for everyone so you have to legitimize yourself.
Weiler – (As an aside) mentions freeconferencecall.com
You can output a wav file and an RSS feed.
Varnum – Got writing assignments from more established publications to establish her reputation. It’s important to read other stuff out there and make comments. You need to be part of the film blogging community.
Willmore: How do you approach reviews?
Harrill – He sees himself as a filmmaker first and blogger second, and wants to support indie filmmakers. He will only write about stuff he likes unless he is defining the stuff he likes against something rubbish (like a bad Hollywood movie).
Weiler – He is trying to spark something and make change – not so focused on reviews but in building audiences and exploring new methods of distribution.
Rabinowitz – He also doesn’t spend a lot of time criticizing films, unless they are socially or politically problematic.
Heller – He feels a deep sense of community with other bloggers/filmmakers and wants to support this. He feels we are all early adopters and that it is still a small enough community that you can reach out to all the other bloggers out there.
Willmore: How do you share resources? Is film school now essentially available online?
Weiler – Was very inspired by Digimart and the people he met there in the open source movement. This led him to start the Workbook Project which is designed to become a repository of information for filmmakers. This also created unexpected additional revenue streams for him through sponsors and consulting to the gaming, advertising, and entertainment industries.
Harrill – Interested in putting his own learning out there – to share the process.
Willmore: Can you support yourself financially through blogging?
Rabinowitz – Uses Blogads. If you have traffic you will get ads but you still need a supplemental income.
Harrill – Doesn’t have ads but he is part of the Amazon Associates program which generates some money. He sees this as gift, not revenue, and he wants people to be self-reliant, not buy more stuff, so he tries to make it easy for people to find out how to borrow stuff instead of buying it.
Varnum – She gets other work based on her blog. Has experimented with various ads but the income is irregular.
Willmore: What are the mistakes you have made?
Nobody responded to this so Willmore mentioned her own realization that if you post it, people will see it. Everyone Googles themselves at some point so even if you post about someone well-known who you think may have better things to do with their time than read your blog, they will find it! You’re not writing into a void so think about what you write.
Audience: How do I as a filmmaker get myself covered on a blog? Do I have to set up my own blog?
Harrill – Make a good film and it will get written about. It’s not necessarily that interesting to write about the making of your film.
Weiler – Identify the hooks of your film and let people know about them.
Heller – Look at the kind of coverage on blogs and then try to provide that material (in his case he likes: video and non-publicity photos).
Audience: How do I maximize my time? Blogging is time-consuming.
Rabinowitz – Does less formatting now.
Heller – Tries to cover before and after festivals because it’s too time-consuming during, especially to prepare podcasts which can take between 4 and 6 hours.
Audience: How do you get a name for yourself?
Heller – Got access to Sundance because his blog is focused (on docs) and he had already interviewed many documentary filmmakers.
Rabinowitz - It’s best not to mix film in with other stuff in your life if you want publicists to take you seriously and the first post they see is about your relationship or your dog.
Audience (Eugene Hernandez from indieWire): What’s going to happen with reporting? Is commentary replacing reporting?
Harrill – It’s a “best of times, worst of times” scenario. Reporting is necessary so that you have something to comment on.
Rabinowitz – Traditional media now takes information and ideas from blogs.
Ok, I'm finally getting around to writing up a couple of the panels I attended - starting with this one on marketing to your target audience:
The SXSW blurb: "Target audience? Focus groups? Platform release? Niche marketing? Which niche is which? If you know how to be savvy in making and marketing your latest film, odds are there is a profitable audience waiting for you. Listen to some of the folks who know, as they discuss the finer points in identifying the niche that works for your film, and how to get your work to them."
Moderator: Karina Longworth Editor, Netscape
Chris Hyams, Founder & CEO, B-Side Entertainment
B-Side is an Austin-based company based around distribution and community. Their motto is “The Audience is Never Wrong”
Eamonn Bowles, Pres, Magnolia Pictures
Magnolia Pictures is the distribution arm of Cuban/Wagner’s biz empire.
Jim Miller, Executive Director, Brave New Foundation
Brave New Foundation is moving the bar on social justice issues. Brave New Films (probably already familiar to those of you who have seen Robert Greenwald’s documentaries) and Brave New Theaters are part of this.
Peter Goldwyn, VP Acqusitions, Samuel Goldwyn Films
Goldwyn Pictures release 9-12 films each year (previous releases include “Raising Victor Vargas,” “Super Size Me,” and “The Squid and the Whale”).
_________________________________________________
Longworth: How does your company work?
Hyams – The first thing to say is that word of mouth only works for something that people actually like.
In addition to distribution, B-Side has created free technology that festivals can use to run their websites - allowing audiences to connect with filmmakers, and creating an online community around the fest. IFC also use them to run their online community.
They use the term “exhibition” rather than “theatrical” because of the unique way they distribute and market films in partnership with the filmmaker.
Miller – They work together with groups like MoveOn to promote both films and the message. Their goal is to empower the audience to act.
Bowles – Theatrical is getting harder and harder. “A good little film” is a dead film in the theatrical marketplace but the catch 22 is that there is still no substitute for the profile that a theatrical release will get you. DVD releases simply aren’t covered as much in the press – but DVD sales is where the money is.
Their Truly Indie venture (in partnership with Cuban/Wagner’s Landmark Theaters) allows filmmakers to put together a release package that will work for their film but the filmmaker has to pay for this. In return they retain all rights, and can tailor their marketing as they wish. “51 Birch Street”, and “Maxed Out” have been distributed this way.
Longworth: How important are critics?
Goldwyn – Sometimes you need to think outside the usual routes because you won’t necessarily get the critical acclaim in The New York Times etc. “Boynton Beach Club” was promoted through cocktail parties in retirement communities because these were precisely the people it would appeal to. You need to build a solid base of very defined audiences – it can then spread from here by word of mouth to other audiences.
Longworth – Tyler Perry movies have a huge fan base and they don’t get good reviews.
Bowles – Magnolia sees movies they like all the time but they have to think about how they can sell the films to an audience. Who is the attackable audience? A Hollywood release costs in the vicinity of 30 million dollars. That's a lot of money and you’re competing against that.
Their attempt to promote the theatrical release of “Jesus Camp” to evangelical Christian groups in the Midwest backfired when Ted Haggard changed his mind about supporting the film. It is now doing well on DVD in the Heartland so ultimately this strategy paid off.
Longworth: How do you find your audience?
Hyams – “Before the Music Died” was well received at SXSW but not by music critics. So instead they built up a coalition around music professors, independent music producers, and indie radio stations.
Miller – Connections with military folk carried over from “Uncovered” to “Iraq for Sale.” They wanted the coalition to be wider than the usual suspects (peace groups, vets etc) so they tried to avoid sounding anti-war and focused instead on the anti-corruption message of “Iraq for Sale.” This didn’t work, however, because Robert Greenwald already had a reputation for being anti-war. However, as feeling about the war has changed, this strategy is now working better.
House parties are key to their approach. They also sent out 10,000 free DVDs to schools, libraries and military personnel.
Longworth: Do you just target the niche or do you have to go wider?
Goldwyn – It depends on how large the potential audience is but often they do just focus on the niche. They are always asking themselves: “How big is this audience?” – and they use research to get this information (census reports, sales of similar products, consultants). The other key question is: “How much will it cost to get to that niche?”
Bowles – Not playing the major media centers saves so much money – advertising in New York is four times what it is elsewhere.
Longworth – How important is the New York Times review?
Goldwyn – Very powerful
Bowles – It can kill your film. The negative hurts more than the positive helps. This is why distribution of high end films can be cheaper: good reviews are cheaper than advertising. However, the dirty secret of the indie film biz is that usually the really good indie/art-house films that you think should do well are total money losers (mentioning no names!). There is a huge difference between gross and net when it comes to distribution.
Hyams – Filmmakers aren’t always looking for business results but for reputation and calling cards – and the NY Times review can provide this.
Audience: Should you make films aimed at a niche?
Bowles – You have to make the film you’re dying to make but within that you can incorporate elements to appeal to the niche.
Audience: Should you project digitally or make a print? How much does it cost to open in NY?
Bowles – Advertising in the New York Times is $900 per inch and you’re looking at a 10-14 inch ad on opening Friday. Prints cost around $50,000 – but luckily digital projection is becoming more of an option these days.
Goldwyn – Adverse publicity can help, like the negative reaction from McDonald’s when “Super Size Me” was released. You have to be careful about over-doing this though. If people are already hearing the debates in the news they won’t want to see the film so this approach can backfire and drive your audience away.
Bowles – This is why Iraq films aren’t doing so well financially. People are sick of hearing about the war.
Audience: How do you explain the success of “The Secret”?
Bowles – This is phenomenon, rather than an example of good niche marketing. Sometimes these things just happen.
I haven’t talked about Austin food lately, so I thought I would begin this blog with some breakfast tacos. La Mexicana has some of the cheapest and the best migas tacos with the hottest homemade salsa. And even better, it’s open 24 hours everyday. So, next time you’ve had a late night, head on over to south first street to crave your drunken hunger.
I got to check out 638 Ways to Kill Castro. It was really interesting, but also scary. The film derived its name from the number of assassination attempts among US Presidents starting with Eisenhower and ending with Clinton. Nixon and Reagan had the most attempts. This movie was also historical. The director was able to interview some of the people who were hired to kill Castro. One of Castro’s good friends talks about several of his failed attempts at killing Castro and his regret for not succeeding. One thing I wished more of this film was reasons why these people attempted to kill Castro. There was one specific execution mentioned in the beginning, but that was it. I would have liked to know more about their motives behind the continuous attempts. This film definitely allowed me to question the relationship between the US and Cuba. That tells me, it was a good film.
638 Ways to Kill Castro at the Paramount.
A long time ago, one of my friends made me swear not to tell anyone her idea of making a film about truckers, but I think it’s a little too late. Big Rig directed by Doug Pray is a film about truckers across the country. Most documentaries that cover personal stories usually focus on three, four or five specific people. Big Rig was unique in that it covered a whole bunch of people, jumping from story to story. It was almost like watching a group of mini documentaries. And thrown in the mix of truckers were talks with a truck stop owner, a truck driving school, and a roadside brothel. The film looked really good and I loved the country influenced title cards in between stories. It threw me off a little bit in the beginning when one driver’s truck stalls at night. He sits at his wheel thinking of what to do and all of a sudden, the camera cuts. I was lost as to what happened to him, but his story unfolds throughout the film, inter-cutting between other stories.
I laughed my butt off throughout Dirty Country directed by Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher about Larry Pierce, a 50-something year old who writes pornographic country love songs. The first song he wrote was for his wife entitled, “You make my Peter stand up.” Larry has never played live until –Itis, another dirty song band who worships the ground Larry walks on, finds where Larry lives and pays him a visit. They begin to perform together, drawing crowds from across the country. After the screening, Larry and his wife, -Itis and the filmmakers invited everyone to see Larry and his band perform live with free beer and washer games.
Larry Pierce and filmmakers Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher of Dirty Country.
Someone gave Larry her bra for the night.
Larry Pierce and -Itis performing live in Austin, Texas.
Yesterday my boyfriend and I decided to take the bus downtown since all the movies we were going to check out were all in the vicinity. Unfortunately, it rained all day. But, luckily, every movie we saw was awesome. Seriously, I loved every single movie I saw.
Waiting for the bus, excited for another movie day.
Billy The Kid directed by Jennifer Venditti was superb. At times I felt I was watching a real-life Julien Donkey-Boy. The film follows the everyday life of 15 year-old Billy in Brunswick, Maine. Billy is funny, smart and is an outcast in school who loves heavy metal bands like ACDC and Kiss. One of the best scenes in the movie is when Billy discovers a girl Heather who works in a local family restaurant and is going blind. Everyday he stops by to talk to her and get to know her in preparation to ask her out. The day he does get the nerve to ask her to be his boyfriend, he walks her behind a building across from the restaurant. When they come out holding hands a group of older men standing outside begin clapping and cheering when they come walking back. Inside the restaurant, Heather’s grandma and co-workers cheer for her, too. How often does someone get their first time asking someone out documented on camera? It was just a great scene, perfectly edited and shot. What I liked about this film is how the story unfolded on its own. I had forgotten there was a camera present. It felt like I was looking into this life with the subject not knowing they were being watched. Venditti also did a great job not emphasizing Billy’s disability of asperger’s syndrome. It wasn’t until the end with a title card that I knew of Billy’s condition. In the Q & A after the screening she stated she was so intrigued by Billy’s intelligence and personality that she did not want to dwell on his disability for the audience to see him in a different light. I thought it was a great choice. I, too, was captivated by Billy’s big heart and kindness to others around him.
Run Granny Run directed by Marlo Poras was an inspiring documentary about a politically active 94 year-old New Hampshire citizen, Granny D, as she embarks on a quest to beat Senator Judd Gregg in the race for US Senate. Four years earlier she walked across America to demonstrate her concern for campaign reform. I was really inspired watching this documentary, because Granny D is such an amazing individual with immense pride for her country and has a tremendous amount of will to take political action. The film captured her weaknesses and strengths during her election campaign. She stumbled with words in the beginning of the Senate Debate between her and Sen. Gregg, but her strong remarks about corruption of the administration allowed her to gain votes in New Hampshire. Granny D stuck with her stance against special interest group monies and raised all her campaign money on her own with her staff through donations and fundraising. After a standing ovation at the screening, Granny D, her brother, campaign manager and director Poras answered questions about the film while audience members praised Granny D for her courageous endeavor. Learn more about Granny D on her website: www.grannyd.com
Check out Grannd D's awesome hat.
Me and Granny D at the screening of "Run Granny Run," winner of the SXSW Documentary Audience Award.
Another political film to check out is Election Day directed by Katy Chevigny. An audience member pointed out their lack of facts or political information like you would see in political documentary, but Chevigny stated she wanted to show the audience what went on during the presidential elections of 2004 in different communities across the nation. And that’s exactly what the film did. It was very bipartisan in that people from both parties were filmed on election day going to the polls to vote. Poll watchers were seen hopping to poll locations making sure voting machines operated correctly and making sure laws were not broken among polling staff. I thought it was a great insight to the differences among polling places across the US. Some towns were short on voting booths making citizens wait for hours before they could cast their vote, while others had no lines and available booths. What made this film different from other films about election day was that it didn’t focus on the outcome of the election. It focused on the day itself, seeing how people were eager to vote and how others encouraged people to use their right to vote.
Producer Maggie Bowman and Director Katy Chevigny of "Election Day."
The closing night party on Tuesday night wasn't as big as last year when Sleater Kinney played and the party was held out in East Austin in an enormous industrial space but the light saber made an appearance so I was happy. Here are some pics from the evening:
James and Jeff Israel - at SXSW with the short film "Face Value"
Lucy Walker, displaying a flyer for her doc "Blindsight" which is screening at the fest.
Mary Pat Bentel from Current TV, with Britdoc's Maxyne Franklin
The light saber!
Filmmaker and local Austinite David Zellner, with his brother Nathan pulling a face behind him. Lovely fellows both of them.
This is Maxyne Franklin from BRITDOC, with AJ Schnack (Director of "Kurt Cobain: About a Son" and also blog writer of All These Wonderful Things), Ryan Harrington from A&E, and Agnes Varnum (blogger about all things documentary, check out www.agnesvarnum.com).
Max and AJ looking very happy about something or someone.
Max with Brendt Hoff (rocking the red and white checks!) and Emily Doe from Wholphin, a DVD series I love.
