SXSW film fest spotlights Texas

American Cowboy, a film by radio-television-film graduate student Kyle Henry, looks at the life of a gay rodeo cowboy.

Rene Penaloza-Galvan and Peter Debruge
Daily Texan Staff

Friday afternoon Austin will try to play up its third-coast status, hosting a film festival to rival a movie buff's wet dream.

Billed as the Southwest's largest cinema showcase, the SXSW Film Festival features a generous cross section of documentary, short and feature-length films from around the country.

This year the festival focuses on the Lone Star State, featuring hometown panel representatives Mike Judge, Richard Linklater and Robert Rodriguez as well as several entries with a Texas twist (Dancer, Tx Pop. 81, The Newton Boys and Olympia).

Both competitive and cooperative, the festival is a forum for filmmakers to discuss industry issues and exhibit their newest works.

In years past, the event has attracted filmmakers of all levels, from students making their way in the indie scene to professionals working for the big studios.

Previous pieces include mainstream films such as Kevin Smith's Chasing Amy and Robert Rodriguez' El Mariachi as well as indie films such as Traveller and Letters From Waco.

This year, the festival offers more than 100 films to choose from, including a fascinating mix of experimental, documentary and narrative film.

With so much to watch at SXSW, where's the best place to start? The following picks should help you wade through the flood of celluloid which will hit Austin theaters over the next nine days. From festival highlights to possible low points, this list should point you in the right direction.

Atom Egoyan in Austin

The most artistically prominent person at this year's festival is Atom Egoyan, a director worthy of the term auteur. Canada's premier filmmaker may not be as well-known in the United States as he is throughout the world, but two Oscar nominations for The Sweet Hereafter (best direction and best adaptation) should correct that.

Egoyan was originally scheduled to appear solely on the "Making it in the Film Business" panel, a glaringly dull staple of film festivals everywhere. But thanks to the people at the Austin Film Society, Egoyan will now introduce a collection of his short films on Tuesday at 5:15 p.m. in the Texas Union Theatre.

The four films appearing (Waiting for Arshile, Looking for Nothing, En Passant, Sarabande) cover a broad span in the director's career, from his earliest shorts to his most recent work.

This is a truly unique opportunity to meet and watch rarely seen work by a director who (after garnering the Palm D'Or at last year's Cannes festival) has firmly established his position as one of the most strikingly original and relevant voices in filmmaking today.

While many so-called innovators have fallen to the wayside, Egoyan has produced a coherent yet increasingly interesting body of work which will only become more influential with the passage of time.

Familiar faces

SXSW features films by up-and-coming directors as well as premiering new work by established filmmakers.

Headlining the festival is the world premiere of Richard Linklater's The Newton Boys, the true story of four Texas brothers who robbed more than 60 banks. Open only to SXSW film registrants, the screening will feature the director and cast members.

Oscar-winning director Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs) will present Storefront Hitchcock, his documentary about singer/songwriter Robyn Hitchcock, at the Paramount on March 19.

Oscar-nominated for the screenplays for Lone Star and Passion Fish, John Sayles wrote and directed Men With Guns, showing March 16 at the Convention Center. In Men With Guns, an unprepared doctor ventures to Latin America to find some of his former students who are trying to work against tremendous odds.

University talent

Several works by University students and faculty will be screened during the festival. The only one in competition, however, is Kyle Henry's American Cowboy, a documentary which captures the vicissitudes of a gay rodeo competitor. Interestingly enough, the film actually acknowledges a documentary's inherent shortcomings in trying to accurately represent reality. As a result, American Cowboy challenges its audience to fill in the blanks, not with reductive stereotypes, but with human understanding.

Another film, Paul Stekler's award-winning PBS series Vote for Me: Politics in America, documents the electoral process. The documentary professor takes a long, hard (4-hour) look into his subject, but manages to keep it interesting by emphasizing the human elements and focusing on the many characters that arise. Another documentary by a University professor is Richard Lewis' The Snow Monkeys of Texas which was financed by National Geographic and deals with the state's most unique immigrants.

Finally, a program of eight selected student shorts will feature documentary, narrative, and experimental subjects presented in almost every possible format (no, not 35mm or 70mm). Included is The Clock by Joseph Ambrosavage, a multiple winner -- as well as a big audience favorite -- during last year's Cinematexas short film festival.

A Mexican soap star chases her dreams in Olympia, Robert Byington's debut film.

Aimed at the college crowd

Since many of the promising directors at SXSW are young college graduates, it's no surprise that many of the festival films will hit close to home for university audiences.

The Grand Jury pick for best documentary at Sundance went to Todd Phillips and Gurland, whose Frat House will also be showing at SXSW. The devoted filmmakers subjected themselves to all the degrading rituals that pledges go through to make their movie.

Ever thought about cashing in on the promised 4.0 semester average you supposedly get if your roommate commits suicide? For two desperate students in Dead Man's Curve, the grisly plan seems like the perfect way to boost their grades.

In Tim McCanlies' Dancer, Texas Pop. 81, five high school graduates in an extremely small town must decide whether to keep a childhood pact that they would all leave town and head for Los Angeles. You can always revisit the glories of your own high school days with a black comedy about the state of public education in Texan Andy Anderson's Detention.

Not for the faint of heart

For more daring viewers, South Park creator Trey Parker's directing debut Cannibal! The Musical adds song and dance routines to his tasteless biopic of the only convicted cannibal in America.

Twenty-five years ago, Steve Yeager appeared in John Waters' infamous Pink Flamingos, universally esteemed as the most revolting film ever made. In Divine Trash, he pieces together interviews, rare footage and important insights in an attempt to explain the importance of the notorious film.

Now that Mattel seems to be cooling down about Aqua's song "Barbie Girl," Susan Stern's irreverent documentary Barbie Nation: An Unauthorized Tour is likely to rattle a few executives at the toy company.

Featuring bizarre plots that can only leave us guessing about what to expect, several other movies promise refreshingly unique story ideas.

While others worry about invading aliens, The Leafblower does his best to make Earth look a little cleaner for its visitors. Offering more unexpected fun, Robert Byington's Olympia tells the unlikely story of a Mexican soap-opera star whose dream of throwing the javelin for the U.S. in the Olympics sends her on an adventure across the border.

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Film passes are available for $45 at all of the SXSW theaters. Tickets to individual showings cost between $5 and $10 and will be sold 15 minutes before screenings based on availability. An alternative festival, the 30th Parallel Film Festival, runs March 13-18 and features independent and college films.