SXSW Film Festival 2017
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An Experiment in Biohacking: Director Kate McLean on the SXSW Short, Gut Hack
Last year, a friend asked me to come to an event about synthetic biology. I’m a documentary filmmaker, and I suspected the evening was going to be a bit over my head, but she was speaking and I wanted to show support. When I arrived, the speakers were a mix of academics, industry types, enthusiasts and scientists. I began to prepare myself in for a night of polite nodding and drinking as a man from a biotech company took the microphone to present some kind of recruitment talk about his company. Then, back near the bar, someone started to boo […]
by Kate McLean on Mar 11, 2017 -
Do Brands’ Lives Matter? Whiskey Fist Director Gillian Wallace Horvat on When Story and Advertising Collapse
In my new short, Whiskey Fist — premiering Friday, September 10 at SXSW — the characters work in front of a sign that reads “Brands’ Lives Matter.” The font is ripped off from Ed Ruscha and the fluorescent ombre background is purloined from posters of the kind stapled to telephone poles advertising local reggae or salsa concerts. Such an insidious combination of high and low appropriation characterizes the vanguard of marketing today, that joking/not joking tone that one would find flourishing in the branding firm where Whiskey Fist takes place. Branding’s sophistication is more seductive than ever, and even more […]
by Gillian Wallace Horvat on Mar 10, 2017 -
Exclusive Clip: Mike Ott’s SXSW Comedy Doc, California Dreams
Straight from Berlin, Mike Ott’s California Dreams has its North American premiere at the SXSW premiere on March 11 in the Visions Program. Courtesy of the filmmakers and the Film Sales Company, which is handling world sales, Filmmaker has this exclusive clip from the film. From the filmmakers: In this clip from Mike Ott’s comedy doc California Dreams, various subjects recite monologues at the beginning of the film – all in pursuit of their own dreams. Director Mike Ott’s film is about the dreams we all have — of being something else, or somewhere else, or someone else. Director Bio: […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Mar 9, 2017 -
SXSW Announces Full 2017 Lineup
Yesterday SXSW unveiled the full slate for this year’s film festival. Hihglights include the world premiere of the first feature from 25 New Face Anthony Onah, the world premieres of new features from Edgar Wright, Terrence Malick and Joe Swanberg, and a boatload of popular titles from this year’s Sundance. This year’s SXSW runs March 10 to 19. Narrative Feature Competition A Bad Idea Gone Wrong (World Premiere) Director/Screenwriter: Jason Headley Two would-be thieves forge a surprising relationship with with an unexpected housesitter when they accidentally trap themselves in a house they just broke into. Cast: Matt Jones, Eleanore Pienta, Will […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Feb 1, 2017
