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redcarpetview · 2 years

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SXSW FILM & TV FESTIVAL DIRECTOR JANET PIERSON SHIFTS TO DIRECTOR EMERITUS ROLE CLAUDETTE GODFREY PROMOTED VP, DIRECTOR OF FILM & TV

The South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Conference and Festivals announced today that Janet Pierson, revered VP, Director of the SXSW Film & TV Festival will become Director Emeritus and her long-time deputy, Claudette Godfrey, Film Festival Programming Director, will assume leadership of the SXSW Film & TV Festival.

2022 marked Pierson’s 15th year as head of SXSW Film & TV, capping a forty-five year career championing independent films and filmmakers in a variety of roles including exhibitor, producer’s rep, executive producer and segment producer and segment director of IFC-Criterion’s Split Screen. During her tenure as head of SXSW Film & TV, Pierson ensured the event was vital and wide-ranging, championing numerous careers in both the Conference and Festival, launching a dedicated section for Episodic programs years before other festivals and showcasing a renowned XR exhibition section, all while contributing to the strategy and direction of the broader event. Many of the films and careers Pierson has been privileged to be involved with are highlighted at SXSW Film at 25 and Alumni Stories. Her new role will include serving as a programmer for the 2023 event, where she will be celebrated for her exceptional contributions to SXSW and the entertainment sphere.

“Leading SXSW Film (now SXSW Film & TV) starting in 2008 at the age of 50 was a wonderful, and quite unexpected, adventure. It’s been glorious to present so much great work at our unique event, yielding so many transformative experiences for creators and audience alike,” said Pierson. “I’m intensely proud of the work our small and very mighty team has accomplished. Now, 15 years and 14 events later, it feels right to hand the reins to the new Director, Film & TV, Claudette Godfrey. Claudette and I began working together in 2008 and she has been a significant collaborator and leader every step of the way. I’m excited to remain on the programming team to continue to support and elevate creators in this new capacity as Director Emeritus. It’s been a true privilege and I’m filled with gratitude.”

Claudette Godfrey. Vice President, Director of Film & TV.

Claudette Godfrey is widely regarded as a tastemaking curator of new voices in film. She has championed numerous short and music video filmmakers who went on to illustrious and award-winning careers, including Daniels (Everything Everywhere All At Once), Janicza Bravo (Lemon, Zola) Trey Shults (Krisha), Jim Cummings (Thunder Road) and many others. A native Austinite, she holds a singular understanding of every facet of SXSW, serving in a variety of capacities during her 17-year tenure at the event, ranging across volunteers, operations, and programming, and often multiple disciplines at once.

Godfrey started as a volunteer crew manager in 2006, working her way up to an essential programming and operational force, becoming Film Festival Coordinator in 2009, Shorts Programmer and Operations Manager in 2010, Senior Programmer in 2017, and Director of Film Festival Programming in 2022. In her new role, Godfrey will lead the team and be responsible for the vision, programming, and execution of the SXSW Film & TV Festival, and the film and TV-focused content within the SXSW Conference.

“Janet is an incredible leader and mentor, and I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to watch and learn from her example. Our bold community of filmmakers, our enthusiastic audiences, and our gifted team that makes it all happen perpetually inspire me,” said Godfrey. “I’m a hype woman at heart, and it’s a great joy in my life to discover and elevate new talent by curating and evolving an event that celebrates film, TV, and creativity. I started from the bottom and the journey has been exceptional — it’s an immense honor to continue to build on the legacy of SXSW Film & TV and take it into the future.”

Register now for the 2023 event to get the best hotel rates and options. SXSW Film & TV and XR submissions are open through October 18, 2022.

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#Film #Music #SXSW #SXSW Film & TV Festival #Claudette Godfrey #Janet Pierson #SXSW Conference #Naomi Richard #naomijrichard #naomi j richard #Naomi Logan Richard #IFC-Criterion’s Split Screen #SXSW 2023 #SXSW2023 #RCV #Red Carpet View

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dog-d · 1 year

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SXSW 2019 Titles (All Versions) from Coat of Arms on Vimeo.

This includes all four intro title sequences we created for SXSW 2019: Narratives, Midnighters, Documentaries, and Shorts.

Can you spot all the SXSW Premiered film easter eggs?

Client: SXSW Client Lead: Gabe Van Amburgh Creative Post by Coat of Arms Direction/Producing by Clara Lehmann & Jonathan Lacocque Design & Animation by Joe Sparkes & Linn Fritz Additional Animation by Campbell Hartley, James Hobbs, John Long, Knifeson Yu, Ricardo Nilsson, & Ryan Butterworth Music by Ambrose Yu (Narratives), Wesley Slover (Midnighters), Ho-Ling Tang (Documentaries), & Chris Bartels (Shorts). Sound Design & Mix by Jerry Walterick Special Thanks to Janet Pierson, Blake Kammerdiener and the whole SX team.

Visit coatofarmspost.com for more

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byneddiedingo · 1 year

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Neil Hamilton and Constance Bennett in What Price Hollywood? (George Cukor, 1932)

Cast: Constance Bennett, Lowell Sherman, Neil Hamilton, Gregory Ratoff, Brooks Benedict, Louise Beavers, Eddie Anderson. Screenplay: Jane Murfin, Ben Markson, Gene Fowler, Rowland Brown, based on a story by Adela Rogers St. John. Cinematography: Charles Rosher. Art direction: Carroll Clark. Film editing: Del Andrews, Jack Kitchin. Music: Max Steiner.

Bradley Cooper's 2018 film A Star Is Born is often called a remake of the films by that title starring Fredric March and Janet Gaynor in 1937, James Mason and Judy Garland in 1954, and Kris Kristofferson and Barbra Streisand in 1976. But all four of them can trace their origin to What Price Hollywood?, produced by David O. Selznick and directed by George Cukor in 1932. The name is different but the plot's the same: A successful man in the entertainment business discovers a young woman whom he helps become a star, but as her career ascends, his personal problems send him into a tailspin. if there's any doubt about the link with What Price Hollywood? and at least the first A Star Is Born, both were produced by Selznick. RKO, which released What Price Hollywood?, threatened to sue Selznick over the similarities, but decided against it. Selznick also asked Cukor to direct the 1937 film, but Cukor declined, so William A. Wellman took it on. But then Cukor went on to direct the 1954 Star Is Born. I don't think there's any direct connection between What Price Hollywood? and the 1976 version, produced by Streisand and Jon Peters and directed by Frank Pierson, but the lineage by then was obvious. The idea for the original film is a natural in a Hollywood that had become increasingly conscious of its own myth, and many real-life rising-star-falling-mentor analogs can be found in the history of the industry. Selznick commissioned Adela Rogers St. Johns, a former reporter for Photoplay and the Hearst newspapers, to write the story for the film, and various other hands turned it into a screenplay, though St. Johns and Jane Murfin claimed most of the credit when they were nominated for an Oscar for best original story. The film begins with a touch of screwball comedy when Max Carey (Lowell Sherman), an alcoholic director, encounters Mary Evans (Constance Bennett), a waitress at the Brown Derby looking for her chance to break into the movies. After some funny scenes involving Max's drunkenness and Mary's initial ineptness as an actress, the movie unfortunately begins to get serious. Though it's clear Mary really loves Max, when she becomes a big star she marries a society polo player, Lonny Borden (Neil Hamilton), after a somewhat cutesy courtship. But Borden is unhappy being "Mr. Mary Evans," and eventually storms out, though she's pregnant. Meanwhile, Max's decline continues, and after Mary rescues him from the drunk tank and promises to rehabilitate him, he shoots himself, thereby embroiling her in a headline-making scandal. But then Borden returns to apologize and all is well again. What keeps the film alive despite its clichés are the performances. Bennett is quite charming, and Sherman clearly models Max on John Barrymore, whom he knew well: He was married to Helene Costello, whose sister, Dolores, was Barrymore's third wife. The supporting cast includes Gregory Ratoff as the producer of Mary's films, Louise Beavers as (of course) her maid, and Eddie Anderson as Max's chauffeur -- five years before he became famous as Jack Benny's chauffeur, Rochester, on radio.

#What Price Hollywood?#George Cukor #Neil Hamilton #Constance Bennett

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popentertainment-moviereviews · 7 months

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CLERK (2021)

Featuring Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Brian O’Halloran, Joey Lauren Adams, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Stan Lee, Mark Hamill, Justin Long, Penn Jillette, Richard Linklater, Judd Nelson, Jason Reitman, Michael Rooker, Scott Mosier, Grace Smith, Donald Smith, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith, Harley Quinn Smith, Walt Flanagan, Bryan Johnson, Vincent Pereira, John Pierson, Janet Pierson, Trevor Groth, Betty Aberlin, Brian Quinn, Joe Quesada, Mark Bernardin, Raquel Castro and Lily-Rose Depp.

Directed by Malcolm Ingram.

Distributed by Mercantile Instinct. 115 minutes. Not Rated.

“When we made Clerks, I didn't even dream about going to a film festival,” Kevin Smith told me a couple of years ago on the red carpet at the Philadelphia Film Festival screening of the documentary on his life called Clerk. “We were dreaming about going to the independent feature film marketplace. I didn't think the film was festival-worthy, let alone Sundance. While we were making that film I never once thought, ‘Oh my God, what if somebody makes a documentary about me one day?’ That’s mind bending.”

Yes, Kevin Smith has had a long, strange trip in the last thirty or so years. This film, directed by former film journalist turned documentarian and Smith’s long-time friend Malcolm Ingram, gives a pretty good overview of the life of the head of the View Askewniverse.

As noted above, this film has been making the rounds of film festivals for a couple of years (which explains why Clerk ends on Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, not Smith’s more current film Clerks 3), but now it is being released on video. (For hard copy fans, VHS and Blu-Ray copies of Clerk will only be available for purchase via Mercantile Instinct's website – www.mercantileinstinct.com.)

Clerk takes a good look at Smith’s life – an aspect which fraught right off the top because his professional career is so wide-ranging, in subjects, in different mediums and even in quality. (After all, this is the guy who wrote and directed Yoga Hosers and Tusk.)

The most interesting part of the film, somewhat naturally, looks at Smith’s early filmmaking career, and how he was learning as he went on making such classics as Clerks and Chasing Amy (as well as some more problematic films like Mallrats and Dogma).

Looking at his halting steps towards film stardom – as shared by Smith and members of his regular troupe like Brian O’Halloran and Jason Mewes (surprisingly there is no appearance by Jeff Anderson) as well as some of the then-unknown actors Smith helped to break (including Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Joey Lauren Adams) – makes for some intriguing looks behind the scenes.

However, while his career as a writer/director (and sometime actor) pretty much peaked in those early years, he has worked in an interesting if sometimes disappointing group of films ever since. (He briefly retired from filmmaking after a traumatizing experience working with Bruce Willis in Cop Out.)

However, in the mid-late period of his career, Smith has branched out and reinvented himself as the ultimate fan boy creator, taking on such diverse interests as comic books (creating and selling), opening and running stores (including reopening the original Clerks store), social media, podcasting and finding what seems to be his true calling as a public speaker, doing long lectures and Q&As on his passions and his career.

Of course, one of the great dramas of his life happened after one of those appearances, when Smith had a major heart attack and came close to ending. It has led to many changes in Smith’s lifestyle – a great loss of weight, a new seriousness of purpose and a decision to throw himself more fully back into filmmaking. (In Clerk, Smith acknowledges that he did not want to die and have Yoga Hosers be his last film.)

Still, in the long run, Smith is happy with the path his life has taken.

“I'm sure if I go back in time and tell the young me like, ‘Hey, keep this up. They're going to make a documentary about you,’ he’d be like, ‘What did we do? Who did we kill? Why did that happen?’” Smith laughed to me when I spoke with him at that red carpet interview. “Just you live long enough and fucking they make a documentary about you. But yeah, there's a lot of things I would love to tell that kid. I wouldn't change a fucking thing, because all of his choices led to this moment for me, which absolutely rocks.”

Clerk shows many of the moments which absolutely rocked him.

Jay S. Jacobs

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#Clerk #2023 #Movie Review #Kevin Smith #Jay S. Jacobs #Youtube

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eug · 1 year

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One year ago today here in Austin, TX, Janet Pierson, Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert at the world premiere of “Everything Everywhere All At Once” at SXSW. I love walking into a movie with no context, not having seen trailers or footage. I wasn’t really tracking “Everything Everywhere All At Once” (and kept screwing up the title) but knew I wanted to see whatever the Daniels were up to. SXSW only described EEAAO as, “a hilarious and big-hearted sci-fi action adventure about an exhausted Chinese American woman (Michelle Yeoh) who can't seem to finish her taxes.” The response that night in the Paramount Theater was at first totally silent and then purely explosive. When Michelle Yeoh walked on stage after the screening, WOW. The film was so much. I was sitting with Indiewire’s Eric Kohn at the screening and when the movie ended, mind blown, I turned to him with puzzled excitement and started rambling with joy about seeing such bold American filmmaking grappling with real topics and big issues. As Daniel Kwan noted in an Instagram post today, the Q&A was a stunner, audience lined up in the aisles to ask questions about, as Kwan recalled, intergenerational trauma, mental health and depression, and Asian hate crimes. “Everything Everywhere All At Once” was unstoppable at the box office last spring and seems to be the same in this season’s awards race (but we’ll know for sure tomorrow). It’s so great to be back here in Austin this weekend to watch new movies and see friends, salute Janet Pierson on 15 years at the helm of SXSW, cheer on incoming fest head Claudette Godfrey, and gear up for Monday’s convo with Tilda Swinton (Julio Torres’s first feature, “Problemista” - starring Tilda & Torres - premieres Monday and is a must-see)! So whatever may happen tomorrow night at the Oscars, congratulations Daniels, A24, and the entire EEAAO team! (at Paramount Theatre) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpqImaEpW_6/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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oldtvlover · 2 years

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Tonight we were Stranded from 1986! Right after Riptide ended, so to speak. Cast: Loni Anderson - Stacy Tweed Perry King - Nick MacKenzie Elaine Stritch - Maxine Joel Brooks - Phil William Hickey - Mr. Pierson Janet DuBois - Bettina and many more

Story: Two former advertising partners are now arch-rivals at two different companies, yet they still meet each other in the same building. Stacy Tweed can't let go of the past whenever she sees Nick MacKenzie, her former partner and lover. A new campaign for a cosmetic lipstick, made by Mr. Pierson who loves competition, brings the two together - on a plane, island, balloon and later then stranded on an island, Tahiti. At first, the sparks flow of who's better and all, yet after some time they fell slowly in love with each other again - and some serious struggle with food, building a house and a thunderstorm. Well, Stacy and Nick come together again whereas Stacy then discovers they are on a holiday island where tourists are. After returning to New York, there are some changes and Nick and Stacy form an agency again.

I find it hilarious that Mr. King's character is named "Nick" right after the Riptide ended. Too funny!

NOTE: We take a step back here before it goes forward again. Just to let you know!

#stranded #tv movie #1986 #perry king #loni anderson #elaine stritch #joel brooks #william hickey #janet dubois #advertising #arch-rivals #lovers #competition

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wahwealth · 8 months

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Original "A Star is Born" (1937) | Janet Gaynor | Frederich March |

his is the first and original move of "A Star Is Born". The film has been remade three times: in 1954 (directed by George Cukor and starring Judy Garland and James Mason), in 1976 (directed by Frank Pierson and starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson), and in 2018 (starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, who also directed). A Star Is Born is a 1937 American Technicolor drama film produced by David O. Selznick, directed by William A. Wellman from a script by Wellman, Robert Carson, Dorothy Parker, and Alan Campbell, and starring Janet Gaynor (in her only Technicolor film) as an aspiring Hollywood actress, and Fredric March (in his Technicolor debut) as a fading movie star who helps launch her career. The supporting cast features Adolphe Menjou, May Robson, Andy Devine, Lionel Stander, and Owen Moore. The Cast: Janet Gaynor as Esther Blodgett Fredric March as Norman Maine Adolphe Menjou as Oliver Niles May Robson as Grandmother Lettie Blodgett Andy Devine as Daniel "Danny" McGuire Lionel Stander as Matt Libby Owen Moore as Casey Burke Peggy Wood as Miss Phillips Elizabeth Jenns as Anita Regis Edgar Kennedy as Pop Randall J. C. Nugent as Mr. Blodgett Guinn "Big Boy" Williams as posture coach Clara Blandick as Aunt Mattie Never Miss An Upload, Join the channel.

#youtube

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deadlinecom · 2 years

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letterboxd · 3 years

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Best of SXSW 2021.

From properly good Covid comedies to an epic folk-horror doc and an Indigenous feminist Western, the Letterboxd Festiville team reveals their ten best of SXSW Online.

We dug out old lanyards to wear around the house, and imagined ourselves queuing up the block from The Ritz (RIP). We dialled into screenings and panels, and did our level best to channel that manic “South By” energy from our living rooms.

The SXSW festival atmosphere was muted, and that’s to be expected. But the films themselves? Gems, so many gems, whether shot in a fortnight on the smell of an oily stimulus check, or painstakingly rotoscoped over seven years.

When we asked SXSW Film director Janet Pierson what she and her team were looking for this year, she told us: “We’re always looking for films that do a lot with little, that are ingenious, and pure talent, and discovery, and being surprised. We’re just looking for really good stories with good emotional resonance.” If there was one common denominator we noticed across this year’s SXSW picks, it was a smart, tender injection of comedy into stories about trauma, grief, unwanted pregnancy, chronic health conditions, homelessness, homophobia and, yes, Covid.

It’s hard to pick favorites, but here are the ten SXSW features and two short films we haven’t stopped thinking about, in no particular order.

Recovery Directed by Mallory Everton and Stephen Meek, written by Everton and Whitney Call

“Covid 19 is in charge now” might be the most hauntingly funny line in a SXSW film. In Recovery, two sisters set out on a haywire road trip to rescue their grandmother from her nursing home in the wake of a severe Covid 19 outbreak. There’s no random villain or threat, because isn’t being forced to exist during a pandemic enough of a threat in itself? If ever we were worried about “Covid comedies”, SXSW managed to flush out the good ones. (Read about the Festiville team’s other favorite Covid-inflected comedies, including an interview with the directors of I’m Fine (Thanks for Asking).)

Alex Marzona praises the “off-the-charts chemistry” between leads Mallory Everton and Whitney Call. Best friends since they were nine, the pair also wrote the film, with Everton co-directing with Stephen Meek. Every laugh comes from your gut and feels like something only the cast and crew would usually be privy to. “You can tell a lot of the content is improvised, which just attests to their talent,” writes Emma. Recovery doesn’t make you laugh awkwardly about how awful the last year has been—rather, it reminds you that even in such times there are still laughs to be had, trips to be taken, family worth uprooting everything for. Just make sure you’ve packed enough wet wipes for the road, and think long and hard about who should babysit your mice. —EK

The Spine of Night Written and directed by Morgan Galen King and Philip Gelatt

Don’t get too attached to any characters from its star-studded cast—nobody is safe (or fully-clothed) in The Spine of Night’s raw, ultra-violent and cynical world. Conjured over the last seven years, directors Philip Gelatt and Morgan Galen King’s rotoscoped epic recaptures the dazzling imagination and scope of their influences Ralph Bakshi and Heavy Metal. Approaching an anthology-style structure to explore how ‘absolute power corrupts absolutely’—a proverb more potent now than when Gelatt and King began their project—the film packs a franchise’s worth of ideas in its 90-minute runtime. Though the storytelling justifiably proves itself overly dense for some, it will find the audience it’s after, as other Letterboxd members have declared it “a rare treat” and “a breath of fresh air in the feature-length animation scene��. For sure, The Spine of Night can join Sundance premieres Flee and Cryptozoo in what’s already a compelling year for unique two-dimensional animation. —JM

Kambole Campbell caught up with Gelatt and King (who are also Letterboxd members!) during SXSW to talk about animation inspirations and rotoscoping techniques.

The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson Written and directed by Leah Purcell

Snakes, steers and scoundrels beware! Writer-director-star Leah Purcell ably repurposes the Western genre for Aboriginal and female voices in The Drover’s Wife. Molly Johnson is a crack-shot anti-heroine for the ages, in this decolonized reimagining of a classic 1892 short story by Henry Lawson. And by reimagining, we mean a seismic shift in the narrative: Purcell has fleshed out a full story of a mother-of-four, pregnant with her fifth, a missing husband, predatory neighbors, a mysterious runaway and a young English couple on different paths to progress in this remote Southern land. Purcell first adapted this story for the stage, then as published fiction; she rightly takes the leading role in the screen version, too.

As a debut feature director, Purcell (Goa-Gunggari-Wakka Wakka Murri) already has a firm grip on the macabre and the menacing, not shying away from violence, but making very careful decisions about what needs to be depicted, given all that Molly Johnson and her family are subjected to. She also sneaks in mystic touches, and a hint of romance (local heartthrob Rob Collins can take us on a walk to where the Snowy widens to see blooming wildflowers anytime). Judging by early Letterboxd reviews, it’s not for everyone, but this is Australian colonization through an Indigenous feminist’s eyes, with a fierce, intersectional pay-off. “Extremely similar to a vast majority of the issues and themes explored in The Nightingale,” writes Claira. “I’m slowly realizing that my favorite type of Westerns are Australian.” —LK, GG

Swan Song Written and directed by Todd Stephens

Udo Kier is often the bridesmaid, rarely the bride. Now, after a lifetime of supporting roles ranging from vampires and villains to art-house muse, he finally gets to shine center-stage in Swan Song. Kier dazzles as a coiffure soothsayer in this lyrical pageant to the passage of queer times in backwater Sandusky, Ohio. “He is absolutely wonderful here,” writes Adrianna, “digging deep and pulling out a mesmerizing, deeply affecting and emotionally textured performance, proving that he’s an actor with much more range than people give him credit for.”

A strong supporting cast all have melancholy moments to shine, with Linda Evans (Dynasty), Michael Urie (Ugly Betty) and Jennifer Coolidge (Legally Blonde) along for the stroll. Surreal camp touches add joy (that chandelier, the needle drop!) but by the end, the tears roll (both of joy and sadness). Writer-director Todd Stephens ties up his Sandusky trilogy in this hometown homage, a career peak for both him and Kier. Robert Daniels puts it well, writing that Swan Song is “campy as hell, but it’s also a heartfelt LGBTQ story about lost lovers and friends, vibrant memories and the final passage of a colorful life.” —LK

Leo Koziol spoke with Todd Stephens and Udo Kier during SXSW about Grace Jones, David Bowie and dancing with yourself.

Islands Written and directed by Martin Edralin

Islands is a Mike Leigh-esque story that presents a Canadian Filipino immigrant family full of quirk and character, centered around Joshua, a reticent 50-year-old homebody son. The story drifts in and out of a deep well of sadness. Moments of lightness and familial love make the journey worthwhile. “A film so Filipino a main plot device is line-dancing,” writes Karl. “Islands is an incredibly empathetic film about what it’s like to feel unmoored from comfort. It’s distinctly Filipino and deals with the psychology of Asian culture in a way that feels both profound and oddly comforting.” In a year in which we’ve all been forced to physically slow down, Islands “shows us how slow life can be,” writes Justin, “and how important it is to be okay with that.” Rogelio Balagtas’s performance as Joshua—a first-time leading role—won him the SXSW Grand Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance. —LK

Ninjababy Directed by Yngvild Sve Flikke, written by Flikke with Johan Fasting and Inga H. Sætre

Ninjababy is as ridiculous as its title. When 23-year-old Rakel finds herself accidentally pregnant, scheduling an abortion is a no-brainer. But she’s way too far along, she’s informed, so she’s going to have to have the baby. The ensuing meltdown might have been heartbreaking if the film wasn’t so damn funny. Ninjababy draws on the comforting and familiar (“Lizzie McGuire if she was a pregnant young adult,” writes Nick), while mixing shock with originality (Erica Richards notices “a few aggressive and vulgar moments [but] somehow none of it seemed misplaced”).

An animated fetus in the style of Rakel’s own drawings appears to beg and shame Rakel into motherhood while she fights to hold onto her confidence that not wanting to be a mother doesn’t make her a bad person. Ninjababy’s greatest feat is its willingness to delve into that complication: yes, it’s righteous and feminist and 21st-century to claim your own body and life, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to turn away from something growing inside of you. It’s a comedy about shame, art, finding care in unlikely places—and there’s something in it for the gents, too. The titular ninjababy wouldn’t leave Rakel alone, and it’s unlikely to leave you either. Winner of the SXSW Global Audience Award. —SH

The Fallout Written and directed by Megan Park

Canadian actress Megan Park brought the youthful wisdom of her days on the teen drama series The Secret Life of the American Teenager to her first project behind the camera, and it paid off. Following the scattered after-effects of a school shooting, The Fallout may be the most acute, empathetic depiction of childhood trauma on screen in recent memory. “It sneaks up on you with its honesty and how it spends time with its lead, carried so beautifully by Jenna Ortega. Even the more conventional moments are poignant because of context,” writes Kevin L. Lee. Much of that “sneaky” honesty emerges as humor—despite the heavy premise, moments of hilarity hang on the edges of almost every scene. And Ortega’s portrayal of sweet-but-angsty Vada brings self-awareness to that humor, like when Vada’s avoidant, inappropriate jokes with her therapist reveal her desperation, but they garner genuine laughs nonetheless.

In this debut, Park shows an unmatched understanding of non-linear ways that young people process their pain. Sometimes kids try drugs! Sometimes they scream at their parents! But more often than not, they really do know what they want, who loves them, and how much time they need to grieve (see also: Jessie Barr’s Sophie Jones, starring her cousin Jessica Barr, out now on VOD and in theaters). The Fallout forsakes melodrama to embrace confusion, ambiguity and joy. Winner of both the SXSW Grand Jury and Audience Narrative Feature Awards, and the Brightcove Illumination Award. —SH

Ludi Directed by Edson Jean, written by Jean and Joshua Jean-Baptiste

When Ludi begins, it’s quiet and dreamy. The film’s opening moments conjure the simple pleasures of the titular character’s Haitian heritage: the music, the colors, the people. Ludi (Shein Monpremier) smiles to herself as she starts her morning with a tape recording her cousin mailed from Haiti to Miami, and listens as her family members laugh through their troubles before recording an upbeat tape of her own. But that’s where the dreaminess ends—Ludi is an overworked, underpaid nurse picking up every shift she possibly can in order to send money home. Writer-director Edson Jean fixates on the pains and consequences of Ludi’s relentless determination, which comes to a head when she moonlights as a private nurse for an old man who doesn’t want her there.

Ashton Kinley notes how the film “doesn’t overly dramatize or pull at false emotional strings to make its weight felt. The second half of the feature really allows all of that to shine, as the film becomes a tender and empathetic two-hander.” George’s (Alan Myles Heyman) resentment of his own aging body steps in as Ludi’s antagonist. Jean throws together jarring contrasts: George throwing Ludi out of the bathroom, followed by Ludi’s memories of home, followed by another lashing out, followed by a shared prayer. The tension is unsustainable. By interspersing the back-breaking predicament of a working-class immigrant with the sights and sounds of the Caribbean, Ludi elegantly, painfully reveals what the cost of a dream can be. —SH

Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror Written and directed by Kier-La Janisse

Building on the folk horror resurgence of films like The Witch and Midsommar, Kier-La Janisse’s 193-minute documentary Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched is a colossal, staggering undertaking that should school even the most seasoned of horror buffs. “Thorough is an understatement,” says Claira.

Combining a historian’s studied, holistic patience with a cinephile’s rabid, insatiable thirst, the film, through the course of six chapters, broadens textbook British definitions, draws trenchant socio-political and thematic connections, debunks myths and transports viewers to far-flung parts of the globe in a way that almost feels anthropological. As Jordan writes, “Three hours later and my mind is racing between philosophical questions about the state of hauntology we generationally entrap ourselves in, wanting to buy every single one of the 100+ films referenced here, and being just a bit in awe of Janisse’s truly breathless work.” An encyclopedic forest worth losing yourself in—get ready for those watchlists to balloon. Winner of the SXSW Midnighters Audience Award. —AY

Introducing, Selma Blair Directed by Rachel Fleit

There’ll likely be some level of hype when this intimate collaboration between actress Selma Blair and filmmaker Rachel Fleit comes out later in the year on Discovery+, and that’s okay, because that is Blair’s intention in sharing the details of her stem-cell transplant for multiple sclerosis. There’d be little point in going there if you are not prepared to really go there, and Introducing, Selma Blair is a tics-and-all journey not just into what life is like with a chronic condition, a young son, and a career that relies on one’s ability to keep a straight face. It’s also an examination of the scar tissue of childhood, the things we are told by our parents, the ideas we come to believe about ourselves. “I almost felt like I shouldn’t have such intimate access to some of the footage in this documentary,” writes Andy Yen. “Bravo to Selma for allowing the filmmakers to show some truly raw and soul-bearing videos about her battle with multiple sclerosis that make us feel as if we are as close to her as family.” —GG

Femme Directed by Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping

I May Destroy You fans, rejoice: Paapa Essiedu, who played Arabella’s fascinating best friend Kwame, takes center stage in Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping’s intoxicating short film Femme. It’s a simple premise—Jordan, a femme gay man, follows his drug dealer (Harris Dickinson, mastering the sexually repressed brusque young man like no one else) home to pick up some goods on a night out. Except, of course, it’s not that simple. The co-directors build a world of danger, tension and electricity, with lusciously lensed scenes that lose focus as the threat rises. Frankie calls it “hypnotizing and brutal and gorgeous” and we couldn’t agree more. A crime thriller wrestling with hyper-masculinity seen through the eyes of an LGBTQ+ character, with a sucker-punch ending to boot, the world needs more than twenty minutes of this story. —EK

Play It Safe Directed by Mitch Kalisa

If you (unwisely) thought that the vulnerable, progressive environment of drama school would be a safe space for Black students, Play It Safe confirms that even a liberal bunch of actors (and their teacher) are capable of being blind to their own egregiously racist microagressions. Mitch Kalisa’s excellent short film explores structural prejudice head-on, in an electric acting exercise that rests on where the kinetic, gritty 16mm camera is pointing at every pivotal turn. At first, we’re with Black drama student Jonathan Ajayi as he receives the assignment; then we are with the rest of the class, exactly where we need to be. “Literally in your face and absolutely breathtaking,” writes Nia. A deserving winner of the SXSW Grand Jury and Audience narrative shorts prizes. —GG

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watchingalotofmovies · 2 years

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Clerk

Clerk [trailer]

A documentary on the career and life of filmmaker and raconteur Kevin Smith.

Real fans probably won't learn anything new, but, unsurprisingly, it's a very entertaining doc.

I've stopped following Smith too closely in recent years, as his movies have become more difficult to enjoy. So it was fun to get reminded of his early films and catch up with all his recent activities. Raconteur is an apt expression to describe much of what he does now.

He's always been a champion of comics, and when it comes to podcasts, he's been ahead of his time. And as the doc shows, he really found his way.

#Clerk #Malcolm Ingram #Kevin Smith #Scott Mosier #Janet Pierson #Joey Lauren Adams #Penn Jillette #Marc Bernardin #Jason Mewes #Walter Flanagan #documentary #like #recommended

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redcarpetview · 2 years

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SXSW Film Festival now SXSW Film & TV Festival

The South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Conference and Festivals announced the Film Festival will now be called the Film & TV Festival, to reflect the event’s long standing and deep programming of episodics in the screening program, Film & TV tracks, and Keynote and Featured Speaker sessions in the Conference. SXSW was the first festival to program episodics a decade ago with HBO’s Girls in 2012, launched an Episodic section in 2014, and subsequently showcased the world premieres of some of television’s most iconic series including Silicon Valley, Mr. Robot, Barry, What We Do In The Shadows, and Search Party, among 68 other Episodic Premieres and 57 Episodic Pilots.

“We are so proud of our rich history of showcasing both film and television, and wanted the festival name to reflect what we have been doing for a decade,” said Janet Pierson, VP, Director of Film & TV. “Whether in the screening program, the Conference or associated activations on our footprint, SXSW has long been at the epicenter of the best new TV, and in 2023 we will once again thrill our audiences with exciting new work from some of the most talented creators.”

The SXSW Film & TV badge is available at the lowest rate August 2 through September 15, 2022. Registration opens August 2 to get the best hotel rates and options. SXSW Film, TV, XR submissions open on August 23 through October 18, 2022.

Selma Director Ava DuVernay at SXSW 2015. Photo by Naomi Richard.

History of SXSW Episodic Programming in the Festival

2012: World Premiere of HBO’s Girls by Lena Dunham is the first episodic featured in the festival program.

2013: World Premiere of A&E’s Bates Motel and Conference session Bates Motel: Story to Screen with Carlton Cuse.

2014: Official launch of dedicated Episodic screening section, with six projects in the program: COSMOS: A SpaceTime Odyssey, and the world premieres of Deadbeat, From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series, Halt and Catch Fire, Penny Dreadful, and Silicon Valley.

2015: Five Episodic world premieres: Angie Tribeca, The Comedians, iZOMBIE, Mr. Robot, and UnREAL.

2016: Five Episodic world premieres: Outcast, Preacher, Search Party, Vice Principals, and You Me Her .

2017: Six Episodic world premieres: American Gods, Dear White People, I Love Bekka & Lucy, I’m Dying Up Here, Nobodies, and The Son.

2018: Seven Episodic world premieres: This Is Us Season 2 Finale Episode (special event), Barry, Condor, Krypton, The Last O.G., Vida, and Warriors of Liberty City. This year we launched the Independent Episodics section with 13 titles. The section would be renamed the independent Pilot Competition in 2019: Beast, Cleansed, Everything is Okay: Robot, First World Problems, Hold To Your Best Self, My Dead Ex, Night Owl, One Eye Small, Otis, Polar, Rapture, She’s the Ticket, and Unspeakable.

2019: Seven Episodic world premieres: Broad City Series Finale Screening, Love, Death & Robots, David Makes Man, NOS4A2, Ramy, Shrill, What We Do in the Shadows, and Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate SXSW Event, which included Conference session and several unique activations. 12 Episodic Pilot Competition titles: Baby Love, A Cure For Fear, East of La Brea, Hammerhead, M, Maggie, Moderately Put Together, Queering, Rainbow Ruthie, Revenge Tour, Sterling, and Who You Are.

2020: 12 Episodic world premieres were programmed: Central Park, Chad, Cursed FIlms, Hightown, Home, Motherland: Fort Salem, Outcry, Snowpiercer, Solar Opposites, Tales from the Loop, Upload, and We’re Here. 14 Episodic Pilot Competition titles were programmed: Alisa, Beached, Bored, Embrace, Everyone Together, Heart To Heart, This Isn’t Me, Bananas, Chemo Brain, Cooper’s Bar, The Dream, Homecoming: The Journey of Cardboard, Lusty Crest, and Racist Trees.

(While the 2020 Festival was canceled due to the Coronavirus pandemic, some titles were screened among the 39 projects in Prime Video presents the SXSW 2020 Film Festival Collection, and all projects remained official SXSW Selections.)

2021: Six Episodic world premieres: Confronting a Serial Killer, Cruel Summer, The Girlfriend Experience, Made for Love, Sasquatch, and Them. Six Episodic Pilot Competition titles: 4 Feet High, Dale’s House, For the Record, Parked in America, The Position, and Pretend Partners.

2022: 12 World Premiere Episodics: Atlanta Season 3 premiere, 61st Street, The Big Conn, Brené Brown: Atlas of the Heart, DMZ, The Girl From Plainville, Halo, The Last Movie Stars, The Man Who Fell To Earth, Shining Girls, Swimming with Sharks, They Call Me Magic, and WeCrashed. Six Episodic Pilot Competition titles: Awayy, Brownsville Bred, Hidden Kingdom, My Year of Dicks, Something Undone, and We’re Doing Good.

Film & TV Conference Highlights: Robust TV programming in the Conference preceded 2012’s first Episodic screening in the Festival. Highlights of Conference Keynotes and Featured Speakers, many covering both film and TV topics, include: Bob Odenkirk in Conversation with Fred Armisen, Elizabeth Moss in Conversation with Brandi Carlile, Silicon Valley Cast and Creators Panel. Other Highlights include: Lizzo Keynote, Ava DuVernay Keynote, Lee Daniels Keynote, Jill Soloway Keynote, and Spike Lee with a Masterclass, and many more.

Iconic Film & TV Activations: Each year features dozens of inventive, immersive, award-winning installations promoting work in the Festival and Conference, as well as other projects that appeal to the unique SXSW audiences. These include HBO’s groundbreaking recreation of Westworld, and subsequent Bleed for the Throne; Amazon’s Good Omens Garden of Earthly Delights, A&E’s Bates Motel; USA Networks’ recreation of Coney Island for Mr. Robot; AMC’s Preacher and Starz’ American Gods Installations, plus many others. 2022 featured Amazon's Superheroes & Superstars Experience featuring The Boys and Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls, FX's Atlanta Season 3 Amsterdam style cafe pop up fittingly called The Trip, Disney+'s Outdoor Screening complete with larger-than-life characters and all-day outdoor screenings, the WarnerMedia House, the Peacock Playground and many others.

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