Another hot programmer is Matt Dentler at SXSW. He has helped to shape a must-attend multi-media festival taking place from March 7 – 16. Most who attend rank it high on their favorites to attend, and in my opinion, the fest is poised to become a serious marketplace. I feel a bit less confident of traditional film sales (in my mind meaning theatrical and TV), but there is huge potential in the synergies between the three worlds that collide in Austin at that time. A look at the doc competition reveals some serious sale potential, so hopefully it will make waves in traditional sales, but also really start rocking the online film/digital delivery world as well.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION

Bulletproof Salesman
Directors: Michael Tucker & Petra Epperlein
Fidelis Cloer is a self-confessed war profiteer who found The Perfect War when the US invaded Iraq. It wasn’t about selling a dozen cars, or even a hundred, it was a thousand-car war where security would become the ultimate product. (World Premiere)

FrontRunners
Director: Caroline Suh
The campaign for student body president at Stuyvesant, perhaps the most prestigious public high school in the country, is almost as sophisticated as any presidential election. But unlike presidential candidates, they also have to do their homework, take their SATs and write their college applications. (World Premiere)

Full Battle Rattle
Directors: Jesse Moss & Tony Gerber
A feature documentary about life inside the US Army’s Iraq Simulation in California’s Mojave Desert. The film follows one Army Battalion’s efforts to pacify the town of Medina Wasl, one of thirteen villages in the simulation, as it tips precariously on the brink of civil war. (North American Premiere)

The Matador
Directors: Stephen Higgins & Nina Gilden Seavey
The epic tale of David Fandila’s quest to become the world’s top-ranked bullfighter. Heart-wrenching setbacks and thrilling successes dramatize his three-year journey across Spain and Latin America and into the pages of bullfighting history. (World Premiere)

Sex Positive
Director: Daryl Wein
A look at the life of Richard Berkowitz, a revolutionary gay S&M hustler turned AIDS activist in the 1980s, whose incomparable contribution to the invention of safe sex has long since been forgotten. (World Premiere)

Some Assembly Required
Director: Dori Berinstein
Over 2000 kids. 400 teams nationwide. Eight months of brainstorming, designing and building. One goal: to create the next great toy. (World Premiere)

They Killed Sister Dorothy
Director: Daniel Junge
On February 12th, 2005, a 73 year-old Catholic nun from Ohio, was shot six times at point blank range and left to die on a muddy Amazon road. Who was this woman, and why was she killed? What will become of her murderers, and who else was involved? What are the implications of her murder and these trials on the future? (World Premiere)

We Are Wizards
Director: Josh Koury
An entertaining and comprehensive portrait of the passionate culture of Harry Potter fans. (World Premiere)