• SXSW ’09 Film Line-Up Announced

    SXSW 2009 LogoI’ve always thought of SXSW as a film festival but in my local circuit, most folks are heading to Austin not to take in the movies (they’ll catch a movie if there’s time) but rather they’re making the pilgrimage for the tech portion of the festivities. But this is a movie site and let’s be honest, if there’s a festival featuring films anywhere in the vicinity of where I’m standing, I’m likely to be interested in the films before anything else.

    Over the weekend the SXSW organizers announced the full list of films on show and this year’s line-up is looking pretty spectacular, especially in the “Spotlight Premieres” line-up which includes new films from Chop Shop (our review) director Ramin Bahrani, Kathryn Bigelow’s new offering Hurt Locker, John Hamburg’s bromance flick I Love You, Man, Gary Hustwit’s Objectified and the interesting sounding documentary titled For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism. And if you’re in town during the festival and only have time for one movie, I highly recommend making time for one of the best and most entertaining films I saw last year: Anvil! The Story of Anvil (our review).

    It’s a long, drawn out list but one well worth a look-over. The full list is tucked under the seat!

    Narrative Feature Competition

    Artois the Goat
    Director: Kyle Bogart. Writer: Cliff and Kyle Bogart
    Lab technician Virgil Gurdies embarks on an epic quest to craft the greatest goat cheese the world has ever known and reclaim the heart of his beloved Angie. Cast: Mark Scheibmeir, Sydney Andrews, Stephen Taylor Fry, Dan Braverman (World Premiere)

    Bomber
    Director/Writer: Paul Cotter
    A bittersweet comedy about love, family and dropping bombs on Germany. Cast: Shane Taylor, Benjamin Whitrow, Eileen Nicholas (World Premiere)

    Breaking Upwards
    Director: Daryl Wein. Writer: Peter Duchan, Daryl Wein, Zoe Lister-Jones
    A young New York couple who, desperate to escape their ennui, but fearful of life apart, decide to intricately strategize their own break up. Cast: Daryl Wein, Zoe Lister-Jones, Julie White, Peter Friedman, Andrea Martin, Pablo Schreiber, La Chanze, Olivia Thirlby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach (World Premiere)

    It Was Great, But I Was Ready to Come Home
    Director: Kris Swanberg. Writer: Kris Swanberg, Jade Healy, David Lowery, Ben Kasulke
    A woman tries to get over her recent breakup by backpacking in Costa Rica with her best friend, and through traveling together, the two women realize they may be on separate trips. Cast: Kris Swanberg, Jade Healy (World Premiere)

    Made in China
    Director: Judi Krant. Writer: Judi Krant and Dan Sumpter
    Lost in Shanghai, an inventor discovers that it takes more than a bright idea to succeed. Cast: Jackson Keuhn, Dan Sumpter (World Premiere)

    The Overbrook Brothers
    Director: John Bryant. Writer: John Bryant and Jason Foxworth
    Jason brings his girlfriend home for Christmas… and bad things happen. Cast: Nathan Harlan, Mark Reeb, Laurel Whitsett, Steve Zissis, John Jones (World Premiere)

    That Evening Sun
    Director/Writer: Scott Teems
    A ruthless grudge match between two old foes. Lines are drawn, threats are made, and the simmering tension under the Tennessee sun erupts, inevitably, into savagery. Cast: Hal Holbrook, Mia Wasikowska , Ray McKinnon, Walton Goggins, Carrie Preston (World Premiere)

    True Adolescents
    Director/Writer: Craig Johnson
    Aging indie rocker Sam Bryant takes two teen boys on an ill-fated hiking trip that forces everyone to grow up, and fast. Cast: Mark Duplass, Melissa Leo , Bret Loehr, Carr Thompson (World Premiere)

    Documentary Competition

    45356
    Director: Bill Ross
    An inquiring look at everyday life in middle America, the film explores the congruities of daily life in an American town Sidney, Ohio. (World Premiere)

    Garbage Dreams
    Director: Mai Iskander
    Filmed over four years, the film follows three teenage boys born into the trash trade and growing up in the world’s largest garbage village. Each boy chooses a different path when their community is suddenly faced with the globalization of their trade. (World Premiere)

    MINE: Taken By Katrina
    Director: Geralyn Pezanoski
    After Hurricane Katrina, thousands of pets were rescued and adopted by families around the country, leading to many custody battles. Through these stories, the film examines issues of race, class and animal welfare in the U.S. (World Premiere)

    Say My Name
    Director: Nirit Peled
    A story is built around the lives of entrepreneurs, mothers and artists fighting to be themselves in a society that offers few opportunities for women. (World Premiere)

    Severe Clear
    Director: Kristian Fraga
    Armed with the world’s most lethal ordnance and his home video camera, First Lieutenant Michael T. Scotti captures the chaos and complexity of war. (World Premiere)

    Sons of a Gun
    Director: Rivkah Beth Medow
    A family of 3 schizophrenic men and their alcoholic caregiver/Dad get evicted, move into one motel room, argue, joke around, and find a new home. (World Premiere)

    The Way We Get By
    Director: Aron Gaudet
    On call 24/7 for the past 6 years, a group of senior citizens transform their lives by greeting nearly one million U.S. troops at a tiny airport in Maine. (World Premiere)

    Trimpin: The Sound of Invention
    Director: Peter Esmonde
    A wild ride through the sonic world of an eccentric creative genius of Artist inventor/engineer/composer Trimpin. (World Premiere)

    Spotlight Premieres

    Adventureland
    Director/Writer: Greg Mottola
    In 1987, a recent college graduate takes a nowhere job at his local amusement park and discovers the job is perfect preparation for the real world. Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Martin Starr

    Alexander the Last
    Director/Writer: Joe Swanberg
    A sensual and intimate portrait of a young marriage. Focusing on an artistic young couple, the film illuminates the challenges of monogamy amidst myriad sexual and creative temptations. Cast: Jess Weixler, Justin Rice, Barlow Jacobs, Josh Hamilton, Jane Adams (World Premiere)

    Beeswax
    Director/Writer: Andrew Bujalski
    Something like a legal thriller for anyone who considers “legal thriller” an oxymoron, the film revolves around a pair of twin sisters, Jeannie and Lauren – “same face, different bodies” – and Jeannie’s brewing conflict with business partner Amanda. Cast: Maggie Hatcher, Tilly Hatcher, Alex Karpovsky (US Premiere)

    Best Worst Movie
    Director: Michael Paul Stephenson
    When an Italian filmmaker, an Alabama dentist and fledgling Utah actors filmed the low-budget horror movie, Troll 2, they’d no idea that twenty years later they would be celebrated for making the worst movie ever made. (World Premiere)

    For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism
    Director: Gerald Peary
    The first documentary to dramatize the rich, fascinating history of American film criticism. (World Premiere)

    Goodbye Solo
    Director: Ramin Bahrani. Writer: Ramin Bahrani and Bahareh Azimi
    On the lonely roads of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, two men from very different worlds forge an improbable friendship that will change both of their lives forever. Cast: Souleymane Sy Savane, Red West, Diana Franco Galindo, Carmen Leyva, Lane ‘Roc’ Williams

    Humpday
    Director/Writer: Lynn Shelton
    A farcical comedy about straight male bonding gone a little too far. Cast: Mark Duplass, Joshua Leonard, Alycia Delmore, Lynn Shelton, Trina Willard.

    Hurt Locker
    Director: Kathryn Bigelow. Writer: Mark Boal
    Forced to play a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse in the chaos of war, an elite Army bomb squad unit must come together in a city where everyone is a potential enemy and every object could be a deadly bomb.
    Cast: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Guy Pearce (US Premiere)

    I Love You, Man
    Director/Writer: John Hamburg
    The film centers on a man who, upon getting engaged, realizes he has no close male friends and must find someone to be the Best Man at his wedding. Cast: Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones, Andy Samberg, J.K. Simmons, Jane Curtin, Jon Favreau and Jaime Pressly (World Premiere, Opening Night Film)

    The Last Beekeeper
    Director: Jeremy Simmons
    This documentary follows the lives of three commercial beekeepers over the course of one year as they struggle with Colony Collapse Disorder. As they all take their bees to California’s enormous annual almond pollination, they are forced to ask the question “If all the bees die, what do you have to live for?” (World Premiere)

    Monsters from the ID
    Director: David Gargani
    The untold story of 1950’s American Sci-Fi Cinema and the role of the Modern Scientist. (World Premiere)

    Moon
    Director: Duncan Jones. Writer: Nathan Parker
    Before returning to Earth after three years on the moon, things go horribly wrong for astronaut Sam Bell. Cast: Sam Rockwell

    New World Order
    Director Andrew Neel and Luke Meyer
    Impassioned conspiracy theorists travel the globe trying to expose the group that they claim rules the world. (World Premiere)

    Objectified
    Director: Gary Hustwit
    A glimpse into our relationship to manufactured objects and, by extension, the people who design them. (World Premiere)

    Observe and Report
    Director/Writer: Jody Hill
    This dark comedy follows the story of Ronnie Barnhardt, a deluded, self-important head of mall security who squares off in a turf war against the local cops. Cast: Seth Rogen, Anna Faris, Michael Peña and Ray Liotta (World Premiere, Centerpiece Slot)

    Passing Strange
    Director: Spike Lee. Lyrics: Stew. Music & Lyrics: Stew and Heidi Rodewald
    A musical documentary about the international exploits of a young man from Los Angeles who leaves home to find himself and ‘the real’. A theatrical stage production of the original Tony-Award winning book by Stew. Cast: De’Adre Aziza, Daniel Breaker, Eisa Davis, Colman Domingo, Stew.

    Sin Nombre
    Director/Writer: Cary Fukunaga
    Writer/director Cary Fukunaga’s firsthand experiences with Central American immigrants seeking the promise of the U.S. form the basis of this epic dramatic thriller. Cast: Edgar Flores, Paulina Gaitan, Kristyan Ferrer, Tenoch Huerta Mej’a, Luis Fernando Pe–a, Diana Garc’a.

    The Square
    Director: Nash Edgerton. Writer: Joel Edgerton and Matthew Dabner
    Nash Edgerton’s debut feature is a film-noir in a bleak Australian town where a simple crime goes horribly wrong and escalates into a nightmare of unforeseen events. Cast: David Roberts, Claire Van Der Boom, Joel Edgerton, Anthony Hayes, Peter Phelps and Bill Hunter (North American Premiere)

    Three Blind Mice
    Director/Writer: Matthew Newton
    Three young Navy officers hit Sydney for one last night on land before being shipped over to the Gulf to fight. Throughout the night the boys lose each other, find themselves, and along the way discover courage, friendship and redemption. Cast: Ewen Leslie, Toby Schmitz, Matthew Newton, Tina Bursill

    The Two Bobs
    Director/Writer: Tim McCanlies
    Just as they finish their groundbreaking violent video-game masterpiece, the two gaming legends known as “The Two Bobs” discover that their precious game-software has been stolen… and with it, their livelihoods, genius reputations, everything they own. Cast: Tyler Francavilla, Devin Ratray, Mika Boorem, Cody Kasch, Leonardo Nam (World Premiere)

    Winnebago Man
    Director: Ben Steinbauer
    Jack Rebney’s outrageously funny outtakes from a Winnebago sales video became an underground phenomenon and made him an internet superstar. Filmmaker Ben Steinbauer sets out to find him. (World Premiere)

    Women in Trouble
    Director/Writer: Sebastian Gutierrez
    One day in the lives of ten desperate women with one thing in common: trouble. Cast: Carla Gugino, Josh Brolin, Connie Britton, Adrianne Palicki, Simon Baker (World Premiere)

    Emerging Visions

    Awaydays
    Director: Pat Holden. Writer: Kevin Sampson
    A blade-sharp rites-of-passage that buzzes with the post-punk energy of its late-70s Liverpool setting. Based on the classic novel by Kevin Sampson. Cast: Nicky Bell, Liam Boyle, Stephen Graham, Oliver Lee (North American Premiere)

    Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo
    Director: Jessica Oreck
    Untangling the web of cultural and historical ties underlying Japan’s deep fascination with insects… and what it says about the rest of us. (World Premiere)

    Brock Enright: Good Times Will Never Be The Same
    Director: Jody Lee Lipes
    Artist Brock Enright’s unbridled creative force clashes with the confines of love, family, and industry, as he crafts the most significant show of his career. (World Premiere)

    Creative Nonfiction
    Director/Writer: Lena Dunham
    Reality and fiction are indistinguishable as a college student tries and fails to differentiate her creative writing screenplay from her increasingly awkward social life. Cast: Eleonore Endricks, David Unger, Audrey Gelman, Sam Lisenco, Lena Dunham (World Premiere)

    Crude Independence
    Director: Noah Hutton
    A rumination on the future of small town America through the lens of a humanistic tale of change at the hands of the global energy market and its unyielding thirst for oil. (World Premiere)

    Four Boxes
    Director/Writer: Wyatt McDill
    A snarky social thriller about three suburban nobodies watching a creep named Havoc on a website called fourboxes.tv – Rear Window on the internet. Cast: Justin Kirk, Terryn Westbrook, Sam Rosen (World Premiere)

    The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle
    Director: David Russo
    When Dory’s life seems like it’s going down the drain, a strange “new life” takes shape inside him and he learns that sometimes you don’t have to find meaning, it grows in you. Cast: Marshall Allman, Vince Vieluf, Natasha Lyonne, Tania Raymonde, Tygh Runyan.

    Luckey
    Director: Laura Longsworth
    After sculptor Tom Luckey’s devastating fall through a window, his family must cross delicate lines drawn long ago by divorce and remarriage while Tom, fully paralyzed and wacky personality intact, pursues building his biggest, most complicated sculpture ever. (World Premiere)

    Make-Out with Violence
    Director: The Deagol Brothers. Writer: The Deagol Brothers, Cody DeVos and Eric Lehning
    A rock musical wherein the living love the dead and break into silence instead of song. Cast: Eric Lehning, Cody DeVos, Leah High, Brett Miller, Shellie Marie Shartzer

    Modern Love is Automatic
    Director/Writer: Zach Clark
    A story about an apathetic nurse who moonlights as a dominatrix, her aspiring model roommate and the sad, strange world they live in. Cast: Melodie Sisk, Maggie Ross (World Premiere)

    Motherland
    Director: Jennifer Steinman
    Six grieving mothers journey to Africa in order to test the theory that “giving is healing.” (World Premiere)

    My Suicide
    Director: David Lee Miller. Writer: David Lee Miller, Eric Adams, Gabriel Sunday, Jordan Miller
    An isolated, media obsessed teenager announces he’s going to kill himself for his high school, video production class final project. Cast: Gabriel Sunday, David Carradine, Joe Mantegna, Nora Dunn, Mariel Hemingway (North American Premiere)

    Pulling John
    Director: Vassiliki Khonsari
    The universal story of a champion arm wrestler’s glory in an unsung sport, who after 25 years of success is now burdened with the inevitable transformation of aging. (World Premiere)

    RATS and CATS
    Director: Tony Ayres. Writer: Jason Gann, Adam Zwar
    Ex-soap star Darren McWarren destroyed his career with a series of indiscretions. Now he’s living the live away from the spotlight when a “Where are they now” journalist comes to call. Cast: Jason Gann, Adam Zwar, Anya Beyersdorf, Tony Rogers (North American Premiere)

    Sissyboy
    Director: Kate Turinski
    A juncture in the lives of performance art revolutionaries, the film explores a Portland-based gender-bending drag troupe that has served up their audacity, ambivalence and social commentary throughout the Rose City for over 3 years before hundreds of devoted fans.

    Sorry, Thanks
    Director: Dia Sokol, Writer: Dia Sokol and Lauren Veloski
    Disaster looms when Kira (reeling from a brutal break-up) sleeps with Max (who already has a girlfriend) and Max takes up two new pursuits: an obsessive-tending interest in Kira, and the mystery of whether he may in fact be an ass. Cast: Wiley Wiggins, Kenya Miles, Andrew Bujalski, Ia Hernandez (World Premiere)

    Splinterheads
    Director/Writer: Brant Sersen
    For Justin Frost, a typical day is rolling out of bed at one, practicing improvised karate, and mowing grass for his best friend’s landscaping business. But when a traveling carnival lands in his small town, Justin falls for a sexy con artist and wakes up to the life he has yet to begin living. Cast: Thomas Middleditch, Rachael Taylor, Christopher McDonald, Lea Thompson, Dean Winters (World Premiere)

    St. Nick
    Director/Writer: David Lowery
    A stark, haunting portrait of childhood following the adventures of a runaway brother and sister as they try to survive, all on their own, out on the wintry plains of the great southwest. Cast: Tucker Sears, Savanna Sears, Barlow Jacobs, Mara Lee Miller (World Premiere)

    The Time of Their Lives
    Director: Jocelyn Cammack
    With a combined age of almost 300, Hetty, Rose and Alison are still powerfully engaged in their individual forms of activism – from journalism, to public speaking to anti-war demonstrations – while quietly negotiating the final moments of their lives. (North American Premiere)

    Trust Us, This Is All Made Up
    Director: Alex Karpovsky
    Immortalized in the world of improv comedy, Second City veterans TJ Jagodowksi and David Pasquesi explore the unique partnership and transcendental forces that govern their legendary performances. (World Premiere)

    Wake Up
    Director: Jonas Elrod
    An average 36-year old guy suddenly wakes up with the ability to see and hear angels, demons, auras and ghosts. With his girlfriend by his side, he goes on a journey to figure it all out, and his search becomes a guide to revealing larger truths about the world and everyone in it. (World Premiere)

    SX Global

    Calling E.T. (Netherlands)
    Director: Prosper de Roos.
    A close-up look at a small group of people listening, watching, waiting and preparing for their perceived inevitable earthly encounter with extraterrestrial intelligence. (U.S. Premiere)

    Favela on Blast (Brazil)
    Director: Leandro HBL
    Globe trotting taste-maker DJ Diplo presents a look at Brazil’s Baile Funk music scene from directly inside the mountain ghettos where it spawned and thrives.

    The Forgotten Tree (Mexico)
    Director: Luis Rincon
    A documentary that revisits the slums featured over fifty years ago in Los Olvidados, (Luis Buñuel), and reveals the current and similar conditions for the people in this area of Mexico City.

    Journey to the End of Coal (France)
    Director: Samuel Bollendorff
    Millions of Chinese coal miners are making sacrifices everyday, risking their lives and spoiling their land to satisfy their country’s appetite for economic growth. Meet them and learn more about how they live in this valley of death and pollution in the frozen winter of Northern China. (U.S. Premiere)

    Love on Delivery (Denmark)
    Director: Janus Metz.
    In a remote fishing village in Denmark, 575 Thai women are married to Danish men. An intimate look at the unique relationships between these Danish men and their Thai wives. (U.S. Premiere)

    Roadsworth: Crossing the Line (Canada)
    Director: Alan Kohl
    Stencil artist Peter Gibson’s personal and professional struggle to defend his work, define himself as an artist and address difficult questions about art and freedom of expression. (U.S. Premiere)

    Snowblind (England)
    Director: Vikram Jayanti
    Rachael Scdoris, 23, and legally blind since birth, is racing in her third Iditarod, the grueling 1,100 mile dog sled race in Alaska that’s the toughest race in the world. (World Premiere)

    Sounds Like Teen Spirit…a popumentary (England)
    Director: Jamie Johnson.
    Behind the scenes look at of the world’s premiere youth music spectacle: The Junior Eurovision Song Contest.

    Ticket to Paradise (Denmark)
    Director: Janus Metz.
    The sequel to Janus Metz’ Love on Delivery’ follows the story of a young Thai-girl’s journey from peasant to sex worker. (U.S. Premiere)

    24 Beats Per Second

    Anvil! The Story of Anvil
    Director: Sacha Gervasi
    At 14, Toronto school friends Steve “Lips” Kudlow and Robb Reiner made a pact to rock together forever. They meant it. Cast: Steve “Lips Kudlow,” Robb Reiner.

    All Tomorrow’s Parties
    Director: All Tomorrow’s People
    A kaleidoscopic journey into the parallel musical universe of cult music festival All Tomorrow’s Parties. (World Premiere)

    Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love
    Director: Chai Vasarhelyi
    Youssou Ndour, one of Africa’s most prominent musicians, returns home for the release of his highly controversial album, Egypt. (U.S. Premiere)

    Intangible Assets Number 82
    Director: Emma Franz
    An Australian drummer searches for an enigmatic Korean shaman and is transformed by the journey. (North American Premiere)

    Number One with A Bullet
    Director: Jim Dziura
    A feature-length documentary that pulls back the curtain on gun violence in Hip Hop.

    The Promised Land – A Swamp Pop Journey
    Director: Matthew Wilkinson
    The story of South Louisiana super group Lil’ Band o’Gold. 8 members, 25 egos, 6 livers – coming together to just play music. (World Premiere)

    RiP: A Remix Manifesto
    Director: Brett Gaylor
    A documentary feature exploring issues of copyright in the information age, mashing up the media landscape of the 20th century and shattering the wall between users and producers. (North American Premiere)

    Soul Power
    Director: Jeffrey Levy-Hinte
    Jeffrey Levy-Hinte takes us on an epic trip back to 1974 when the most famous R & B acts in the world, including James Brown, B.B. King, and Bill Withers, put on 12 hour long concert to help promote Muhammad Ali and George Foreman’s historic “Rumble in the Jungle” in Kinshasa, Zaire. (U.S. Premiere)

    When You’re Strange
    Director: Tom DiCillo
    Using only original footage shot between 1966 and 1971, When You’re Strange: A Film About The Doors, attempts to disentangle truth from myth, depict Jim Morrison, artist and alcoholic/addict, and showcase the other members of the band: Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger, and John Densmore, who together channeled the group’s magic.

    Lone Star States

    American Violet
    Director: Tim Disney. Writer: Bill Haney
    The astonishing story of Dee Roberts, a young African American single mother, whose courageous fight against her unwarranted drug arrest forever changes her life and the Texas justice system. Cast: Nicole Beharie, Tim Blake Nelson, Will Patton, Michael O’Keefe, Xzibit, with Charles Dutton and Alfre Woodard.

    Blaze Foley Inside
    Director: Kevin Triplett
    A documentary on the everyday man behind the legend, Blaze Foley. Born in a tree house, killed in a friend’s living room and 86′ed from his own funeral, is now a bona fide country music legend whose songs are covered by Merle Haggard, John Prine, Willie Nelson and Lyle Lovett. (World Premiere)

    Exterminators
    Director: John Inwood. Writer: Suzanne Weinert
    A dark comedy about a group of women who meet in court mandated rage therapy and decide to form a traditional business with very untraditional methods. Cast: Heather Graham, Jennifer Coolidge, Amber Heard, Joey Lauren Adams, Matthew Settle (World Premiere)

    The Least of These
    Director: Clark Lyda
    Detention of immigrant children in a former medium-security prison leads to controversy when three activist attorneys discover troubling conditions at the facility. (World Premiere)

    Over the Hills and Far Away
    Director: Michel Orion Scott
    This documentary chronicles the journey of the Isaacson family as they travel through Mongolia in search of a mysterious shaman they believe can heal their autistic son.

    Sunshine
    Director: Karen Skloss
    In 1975 rural Texas, the local mayor’s daughter grapples with an unplanned pregnancy finally deciding to have her baby in secret before giving her away in a hidden adoption. Twenty-three years later, the adopted child also has an unplanned baby out of wedlock. The film tells the intimate story of these two single mothers, while exploring the times and circumstances that afforded them very different options. (World Premiere)

    Midnighters

    A Film With Me In It
    Director: Ian Fitzgibbon
    An actor hard on his luck ends up with a large number of dead bodies on his hands. Cast: Mark Doherty, Dylan Moran (U.S. Premiere)

    The Ceremony
    Director/Writer: James Palmer
    After finding a bizarre book, a young man is plagued by unexplainable occurrences inside his home. Cast: Scott Seegmiller (World Premiere)

    Grace
    Director/Writer: Paul Solet
    After losing her unborn child, Madeline Matheson insists on carrying the baby to term. Following the delivery, the child miraculously returns to life, but when the baby develops a desperate appetite for human blood, Madeline is faced with a mother’s ultimate decision. Cast: Jordan Ladd, Samantha Ferris, Gabrielle Rose, Malcom Stewart

    Lake Mungo
    Director/Writer: Joel Anderson
    A supernatural drama about grief. Cast: Talia Zucker, Rosie Traynor, David Pledger (North American Premiere)

    Trailers from Hell.com with Joe Dante – LIVE PRESENTATION
    Joe Dante presents The Best of Trailers from Hell which showcases classic-era Previews of Coming Attractions – punctuated with humorous, passionate and insightful commentaries by contemporary filmmakers like John Landis, Eli Roth and Edgar Wright – with particular emphasis on the lurid, the extreme and the outrageous.

    Zift
    Director: Javor Gardev. Writer: Vladislav Todorov
    A man freed after a wrongful murder conviction enters a diabolical city full of decaying neighborhoods, gloomy streets and bizarre characters. Cast: Zachary Baharov, Tanya Ilieva, Vladmir Penev, Mihail Mutafov

    Special Screenings

    American Prince
    Director: Tommy Palotta
    After being forgotten for 30 years, filmmaker Tommy Pallotta revisits Scorcese’s lost documentary “American Boy” and its raconteur subject, Steven Prince. (World Premiere)

    Berlin Calling
    Director/Writer: Hannes Stoehr
    Berlin Calling is an extraordinary story that starts in pre-war Berlin, spans three generations, and concludes in the dark and sweaty rock n’ roll clubs that line the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. Cast: Paul Kalkbrenner, Rita Lengyel, Corinna Harfouch, Araba Walton, Peter Schneider (U.S. Premiere)

    Blood Trail
    Director: Richard Parry
    War photographer Robert King let a camera crew follow him for over 15 years. From his first assignment in Bosnia to his breakthrough work in Chechnya, and on to his recent coverage in Iraq, Blood Trail is an extraordinary look at this difficult and dangerous profession. (U.S. Premiere)

    Burma VJ
    Director: Anders Ostergaard
    Armed with small handy cams, undercover Video Journalists in Burma risk their lives to keep up the flow of news from their closed country as in September 2007 thousands of monks take to the streets of Rangoon in a peaceful protest against the country’s military rulers.

    Daytime Drinking
    Director/Writer: NOH Young-seok
    A drinking road trip fable of a guy who just got dumped… Cast: SONG Sam-dong, YUK Sang-yeop, KIM Kang-hee (U.S. Premiere)

    For All Mankind
    Director: Al Reinart
    A trip to another world disguised as a documentary.

    De Ofrivilliga (Involuntary)
    Director: Ruben Östlund. Writer: Erik Hemmendorff and Ruben Östlund
    A tragic comedy or comic tragedy about group pressure on the individual. Five separate episodes on everyday disasters. Cast: Maria Lundqvist, Leif Edlund, Olle Lijas, Vera Vitali, Cecilia Milocco (North American Premiere)

    It Came From Kuchar
    Director: Jennifer M. Kroot
    The hilarious and touching story of the legendary, underground filmmaking twins, George and Mike Kuchar, and how their outrageous, no-budget movies inspired generations of filmmakers (World Premiere)

    Know Your Mushrooms
    Director: Ron Mann
    Filmmaker Ron Mann puts the fun in fungus with his newest documentary. (U.S. Premiere)

    Letters to the President
    Director: Petr Lom
    Exclusive access film about President Ahmadinejad of Iran, and what life is like under his regime. The film takes as its narrative thread the letters that supposedly ten million Iranians have written to the President. (North American Premiere)

    Office Space – 10th Anniversary – LIVE PRESENTATION
    Director Mike Judge will present a special screening of the cult phenomenon film on the occasion of its 10th Anniversary.

    The Paranoids
    Director: Gabriel Medina. Writer: Gabriel Medina and Nicolas Gueilburt
    An aspiring screenwriter who lives in constant state of paranoia, faces the return of his successful friend Manuel and his girlfriend in this off-beat romantic comedy. (U.S. Premiere)

    Saint Misbehavin: The Life and Time of Wavy Gravy
    Director: Michelle Esrick
    The true story of cultural phenomenon Wavy Gravy – a man whose life proves that you can change the world and have fun doing it. (World Premiere)

    The Snake
    Director/Writer: Adam Goldstein and Eric Kutner
    The funniest movie about dating a bulimic… possibly ever. Cast: Adam Goldstein, Nina Braddock (World Premiere)

    Strongman
    Director: Zachary Levy
    Stainless Steel bills himself as the world’s strongest man (at bending steel) and hopes to make it big despite his advancing age.

    Sweethearts of the Rodeo
    Director: Bradley Beesley
    Amidst stories of murder, hardship, heartache and redemption, the film follows the convict cowgirls of the Eddie Warriors Correctional Center in their preparation for the only rodeo where female prisoners compete rough-stock and as equals against male prison teams. (World Premiere)

    We Live in Public
    Director: Ondi Timor
    The story of the Internet’s revolutionary impact on human interaction as told through the eyes of Internet pioneer and visionary, Josh Harris.

    The Yes Men Fix the World
    Director: Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno and Kurt Engfehr
    A pair of notorious troublemakers sneaks into corporate events disguised as captains of industry, then use their momentary authority to expose the biggest criminals on the planet. Cast: Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno

    You Won’t Miss Me
    Director: Ry Russo-Young. Writer: Ry Russo-Young and Stella Schnabel
    A portrait of a modern day rebel, Shelly Brown, a twenty-three year-old alienated urban misfit recently released from a psychiatric hospital. Cast: Stella Schnabel, Rene Ricard

4 Comments


  1. Ashley says:

    “It Was Great, But I Was Ready to Come Home” is an awesome title for a movie. I hope it’s a comedy, I think I’ll relate very well to this story.

    For the Love of Movies sounds good too, and Three Blind Mice caught my eye when it was at TIFF, but I couldn’t get tix.

  2. Gary says:

    “Artois the Goat” is going to be a hit with festival goers.

  3. Jandy says:

    Heh, usually most people I know are going to the music section. I think I’d have an identity crisis if I ever made it to South by; I’d want to go to all three parts.

  4. Marina says:

    And most of the folks I know go to the interactive. I too would have a complex!

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