SXSW Film Festival 2012

Scott Glosserman Discusses Gathr and Theatrical On Demand

“Tipping.” “Pulling.” “Gathring.” Yes, a new tech start-up has entered the independent film space, and with it a nomenclature that speaks to its ambition to “democratize” the business of theatrical distribution. Launched by a filmmaker, Scott Glosserman (Behind the Mask), Gathr offers “TOD,” or theatrical-on-demand, an audience-driven process by which fans request (or “pull”) films to local venues by aggregating their interest and pledging their funds in advance via credit card. When enough fans support a screening on a particular day, the film “tips,” and credit cards are charged. Fans get to see films that might never come to their […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 9, 2012
20 FILMS (AND OTHER THINGS) I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO AT SXSW

SXSW starts tomorrow, hotels and airfares were sold out long ago, and Austin’s data networks are already trembling. I’ll be there, and here are 20 films and other things that I’m looking forward to catching. 1. Tchoupitoulas. Bill and Turner Ross won Best Documentary at SXSW in 2009 with their doc, 45365. Their new film, Tchoupitoulas (pictured), promises to be a similarly beguiling exploration of time and place. It is about, in the words of the filmmakers, “three kids, New Orleans at night, and MUSIC,” and it’s produced by the founding members of Court 13, whose Beasts of the Southern […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 8, 2012
CASSIDY AND SHATZKY’S “FRANCINE” DEBUTS IN BERLIN

David Rooney’s Hollywood Reporter review of Brian Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky’s tough, piercing American independent character drama Francine, which premiered this week in Berlin, is masterful. As noted also by Jeffrey Wells, Rooney approaches the film on its own terms, and distills in his prose strengths that would be ignored or misconstrued by another critic. From the review: A minimalist, image-based character study that is almost impossibly fragile and yet emotionally robust, Francine is a legitimate discovery. It’s propelled by Melissa Leo’s remarkable title-role performance, rigorous in its honesty and unimpeded by even a scrap of vanity. Made on a […]
by Scott Macaulay on Feb 15, 2012
SXSW ADDS TODD ROHAL’S “NATURE CALLS,” MORE TO LINE-UP

SXSW has announced a few late additions, rounding out a lineup that already includes high-profile world-premieres from Nelson George, Lena Dunham, Drew Goddard, Caveh Zahedi, and the Duplass Brothers. Notably, Todd Rohal’s Nature Calls, his Johnny Knoxville and Patton Oswald-starring followup to last year’s surrealist comedy The Catechism Cataclysm, will premiere in the Narrative Spotlight section, while Sundance favorites such as Shut Up and Play the Hits, Safety Not Guaranteed, and Sleepwalk with Me will screen as well. The full list of additions: NARRATIVE SPOTLIGHT Blue Like Jazz Director: Steve Taylor, Screenwriters: Donald Miller, Steve Taylor, Ben Pearson A Texas […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Feb 15, 2012
SXSW ANNOUNCES MIDNIGHTER AND SHORTS PROGRAMS

SXSW announced today the lineups for their Midnighters and Shorts programs. The Midnighters section pulls together a batch of genre-heavy world premieres, including Spanish found-footage horror sequel [REC] ³ GENESIS and dark comedy Girls Against Boys, as well as proven festival favorites V/H/S and John Dies at the End. The shorts program meanwhile is as extensive as ever, featuring 135 selections including works from James M. Johnson, Jeremiah Zagar, Bill Plympton, Dustin Guy Defa, and Josh and Benny Safdie (who present their Sundance Jury Prize winner The Black Balloon.) The full lineups: MIDNIGHTERS Scary, funny, sexy, controversial – provocative after-dark […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Feb 8, 2012
“BOOSTER,” “PAVILION” HEAD TO SXSW VIA KICKSTARTER

I’ve added some new projects to Filmmaker‘s curated Kickstarter page, including two IFP Narrative Lab projects selected for premieres at SXSW in March. The first is Tim Sutton’s gorgeous Pavilion, an eerie tale of adolescence that is breathtakingly shot and hauntingly directed. (It also has one of the most gorgeous websites around.) The second is Matt Ruskin’s intense character-based thriller Booster. Both films are well on their way to completion but are short the final finishing funds that will allow them to make their premiere dates. And, of course, both have some decent rewards. For $750, Sutton will give a […]
by Scott Macaulay on Feb 7, 2012
SXSW REVEALS FULL 2012 FEATURE FILM LINEUP

SXSW has announced their complete 2012 feature film slate. Over 90 films will screen across the festival’s ten categories, including the already announced opening night premiere of Joss Whedon’s Cabin in the Woods and a special preview screening of Lena Dunham’s new HBO series Girls. New additions include the sixteen films premiering in narrative and documentary competition. The eight films competing on the narrative side include Booster, directed by Matt Ruskin, Eden, directed by Megan Griffiths, Gayby, directed by Jonathan Lisecki, Gimme the Loot, directed by Adam Leon, Los Chidos, directed by Omar Rodriguez Lopez, Pilgrim Song, directed by Martha […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Feb 1, 2012
SXSW ANNOUNCES “CABIN IN THE WOODS” FOR OPENING NIGHT, TEASES FULL LINEUP

SXSW, has announced the first official titles from its 2012 film lineup, a list that includes the world premiere of Drew Goddard (Cloverfield) and Joss Whedon’s (The Avengers, Serenity) horror-comedy Cabin in the Woods, as well as a special preview screening of Lena Dunham’s new HBO series, Girls. Cabin in the Woods, which garnered a lot of buzz during a preview screening at Harry Knowles’ Butt-Numb-A-Thon this past December, will have its World Premiere as SXSW’s Opening Night film. Whedon will also be on hand at the festival for a panel discussion on Saturday, March 10. Check out the film’s […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Jan 12, 2012
KICKSTARTER: “LEAVE ME LIKE YOU FOUND ME”

Producer Adele Romanski (The Myth of the American Sleepover, The Freebie) is stepping into the director’s chair with Leave Me Like You Found Me, and she is raising post-production funds on Kickstarter. You can read our interview with Adele about Myth this past summer and check out her Kickstarter video below. From the Kickstarter page: A few years back while on a camping trip in California, I had the idea to shoot a film in a national park. The idea was to try and capture something small and intimate and beautiful within the backdrop of something vast and expansive and […]
by Scott Macaulay on Dec 20, 2011

Cookie	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Cookie	Duration	Description
cfmrk_cic		Used by Cloudflare to route user traffic for this Site.
sparrow_id		Installed by Cloudflare. Used to identify individual clients behind a shared IP address and apply security settings on a per-client basis. It does not store any personal identifiable information.

Cookie	Duration	Description
OAGEO		Installed by the Revive Ad Server. Used to cache geolocation (session, deleted when closing the browser)
OAID		Installed by the Revive Ad Server to distinguish users.