Multi-hyphenate Carson Mell has been known in the independent film world for some of the most subversively entertaining animated shorts of recent years, including Bobby Bird: The Devil in Denim. He’s acted, appearing recently in Marielle Heller’s The Diary of a Teenage Girl. And he’s now an established television writer, having written for the series Eastbound and Down and Silicon Valley. Which is all to say that the subject matter of his first feature would have been anyone’s guess. Beating a comedy about alcoholic astronauts to the punch is his SXSW-premiering, IFP Narrative Lab selection, Another Evil, a comedy about […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 12, 2016Virginia-born Josh Locy makes his feature debut at SXSW with Hunter Gatherer, a drama about forty-something African-American-man beginning life anew after prison — and after the support network he thought he had fail to reengage with him in his new life. Locy originally planned to become a Baptist minister, but a detour led him to the director David Gordon Green, for whom he worked, and the job of art director, which he now practices on various independent and studio films. Below, he discusses the origins of his story, what he learned from Green and how working in the art department […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 12, 2016Don’t let the title mislead you: In a Valley of Violence is only Ti West’s second non-horror film. This time around, West tackles the Western with a tonal twist. In an inspired bit of expectation-reversing casting, this classic saga of a violent town on the frontier has John Travolta as the good guy and Ethan Hawke as the villain. The film premieres tomorrow at SXSW. In advance, cinematographer Eric Robbins answered some questions about shooting on 2-perf 35mm, lighting in the desert and his longtime collaboration with West. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 11, 2016He may only have three features under his belt, but producer Olivier Kaempfer is quickly establishing himself as an central figure in London’s independent film community. His first production, director Jules Bishop’s Borrowed Time, won Best of the Fest at Edinburgh in 2012, and his second, Desiree Akhavan’s Appropriate Behavior, broke out at Sundance 2014 followed by a successful theatrical run and extensive critical praise. Now his third film, Spaceship, a family drama packaged as a trippy science-fiction story, has pushed Kaempfer and his company Parkville Pictures into new territory, both in terms of content and the production process. Written and directed by Alex Taylor, the […]
by Randy Astle on Mar 11, 2016Here’s the last group of titles to be added to SXSW’s slate. All the midnight features are here, as well as are new titles for the other slates, including the much-expanded “Festival Favorites” section. FEATURES MIDNIGHTERS Scary, funny, sexy, controversial – provocative after-dark features for night owls and the terminally curious. Carnage Park Director/Screenwriter: Mickey Keating The year is 1978. A team of wannabe crooks botch a small-town bank heist and flee with their hostage deep into the California desert, where they find themselves in a harrowing fight for survival against a psychotic ex-military sniper. Cast: Ashley […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Feb 9, 2016There will be late additions, but the bulk of this year’s SXSW feature film slate has been unveiled. From the festival, here’s the rundown section by section. Obvious highlights: world premieres of Richard Linklater’s Everybody Wants Some and Pee-wee’s Big Holiday, Joel Potrykus’ follow-up to Buzzard, and a documentary about the making of Smokey and the Bandit from Jesse Moss (The Overnighters). NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION Ten world premieres; ten unique ways to celebrate the art of storytelling. Selected from 1,443 narrative feature submissions in 2016. The Arbalest Director/Screenwriter: Adam Pinney The inventor of the world’s greatest toy reflects on his decade-long obsession with a woman […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Feb 2, 2016