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Agnes Varnum is a freelance writer, film programmer and communications manager for the Austin Film Society. She is the primary contributor to doc it out and Tribeca Film Institute's Resources.

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A Geek’s Guide to SXSW Film

February 27th, 2009 • Related Posts • Tags
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There are many websites and blog posts out pre- to help you figure out the behemoth event, but since I have a panel on the subject, I want to add my own to the mix. Check out all of the geeky Film goodness – check back as updates are coming in all the time.

My panel is Getting the Most Out of SXSW Film at the Interactive conference. Some of you may know that I started this blog because I was hanging out with the fellas of Rain City Studios some years back and was really impressed by the work they were (and still are) doing. I could see how beneficial it was to be among folks who were not in the film world but were creating communities online, finding clients among the attendees of and in general, crossing the boundaries that tend to divide the Interactive, Film and Music programs of . I pitched new fest producer Janet Pierson (@JanetPierson – she’s still figuring Twitter out, so cut her some slack!) on finding more ways to create spaces within the fest environment where crossover between attendees could happen (as opposed to randomly meeting cool people while sharing a table). Long story short, Janet and her team have put together a steller line up of just such events, including the panel that I will be moderating.

Panelists include Kevin Kelly (@gadgetguy, Spout.com, Joystiq and former Austinite), Amy Dotson (@Adotson780, IFP New York and producer of Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo), PJ Raval (cinematographer of The 2 Bobs and local), and Michael Lerman (The Film Sales Company and producer of ‘08 fave Natural Causes). The panel is on Friday, March 13 at 2 PM. Each of the panelists have been to many a time and will share their tips and tricks on how to navigate the Film fest to maximum advantage. Bottom line is that there are lots of ways Interactive and Film folks can and should connect and collaborate – we’ll have some ideas for you. Here are some links to get you going in your schedule planning.

Where to go & How to get there

  • Slackerwood’s SXSW 2009 Guide to Film Festival Venues
    local and movie blogger Jette Kernion has a guide to the movie theaters that are part of the fest, including when to arrive, whether they have beer or not and general tips like where to park. Also, new this year, shuttle buses to help you get to the far flung theaters.
  • SXSW Film FAQs
    The folks at have put together FAQs about the Film Fest.
  • Film Parties & Lounges
    I know, it’s tough to network at a party where you don’t know anyone, so I understand the difficulty in crossing into Film via parties and lounges, but some are totally geek-ready, like “Get in the Game” with Voodoo Cowboy (the last Voodoo Cowboy party I went to had a tattoo artist giving tats), PBS’ Interactive Social Media & Online Video Studio and new this year, the Block Party for Film and Interactive.
  • Happy Hour
    In year’s past, we’ve gotten a drink card for a tent outside the Convention Center where between 4 and 6 PM or so each day, we could go grab a free beer or water. It’s laid back and can be a nice transition from a days worth of panels and screenings into an evening of BBQ, more screenings, parties and music. The card gets punched each day, so put it in your badge pouch and head on over to the watering hole.
  • A new party added: Interactive / Film Fusion Party Hosted by Whrrl and JavaFX – 8 pm – 10 pm, Red Eyed Fly (715 Red River) Whrrl and JavaFX invite you to join us for an evening of food, drinks and world-class entertainment at the official Film & Interactive “Fusion” party! Hosted bar and appetizers, the launch of Whrrl v2.0, and world premiere of Sparhusen, featuring actress Illeana Douglas.

While you are putting your sked together, here is an outline of some events that should be on there:

Interactive at the Movies

Don’t have a Gold badge? Want a taste of the Film Festival? Each year Interactive badgeholders can attend a few select Film screenings for FREE! Below is a generous list of geek-related films that will be open to all Interactive badgeholders. Please note that only the screenings listed below are free to Interactive badgeholders. In addition to upgrading your Interactive badge to Gold, individual tickets may be purchased for many films at the Film Festival (pending availability and theater capacity). Full festival schedule here.

The Dungeon Masters
Director: Keven McAlester
11:30 AM – Monday, March 16 @ Convention Ctr
Against the backdrop of crumbling middle-class America, two men and one woman devote their lives to Dungeons and Dragons, the storied role-playing game, and its various descendants. As their baroque fantasies clash with mundane real lives, the characters find it increasingly difficult to allay their fear, loneliness, and disappointment with the game’s imaginary triumphs. (U.S. Premiere)

RiP: A Remix Manifesto
Director: Brett Gaylor
9:30 PM – Sunday, March 15 @ Convention Ctr
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. (U.S. Premiere)

We Live in Public
Director: Ondi Timoner
2:30 PM – Tuesday, March 17 @ Convention Ctr
The story of the Internet’s revolutionary impact on human interaction as told through the eyes of Internet pioneer and visionary, Josh Harris.

The 2 Bobs
Director/Writer: Tim McCanlies
6:45 PM – Friday, March 13 @ Convention Ctr & 6:30 PM, Monday March 16th @ Paramount
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)

Objectified
Director: Gary Hustwit
5:00 PM – Saturday, March 14th @ Paramount
A glimpse into our relationship to manufactured objects and, by extension, the people who design them. (World Premiere)

The Yes Men Fix the World
Director: Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno and Kurt Engfehr
1:30 PM – Monday, March 16th @ Paramount
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

Four Boxes
Director/Writer: Wyatt McDill
4:00 PM – Tuesday March 17th @ Paramount
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)

Interactive/Film Panels
Each year, there are panels that both Interactive and Film badgeholders can attend (as well as Gold and Platinum badgeholders). Panels, more so than screenings, are a great spot to engage in conversation. Do you already know enough about the subject of the panel? Cool, but there are probably filmmakers there who could use your help. Clients, folks. Work the fest to generate new business. They might find you at the Trade Show, but why not be more proactive – go to a panel, make yourself known by making a comment or asking a question, or go up to folks who asked questions you can answer afterwards.

Here are a list of the panels (including mine!):

Film Folks on Twitter
Besides the Twitter accounts for the panelists and moi (@Aavarnum), there are also some other very cool film folks you might want to follow. If they are headed somewhere, it’s probably awesome. If you are a film geek that isn’t on this list but you should be, or an awesome geek who can show the film folks a thing or two, just leave your Twitter in comments.

Former producer Matt Dentler @MattSXSW
Rooftop Films programmer & blogger Mark Elijah Rosenberg @markelijah
Filmmaker Garret Savage @GarretSavage
Film Fest coordinator Claudette Godfrey @claudasaur
staffer Stephanie Noone @stefunnynoone
Film Press liaison Rebecca Feferman @rebfef
Conference Producer and taco expert Jarod Neece @jneece
Author of Film Festival Secrets Christopher Holland @stomptokyo
Filmmaker and blogger David Lowery @davidlowery
Film Festival programmer Kelly Williams @KellyWilliams
American-Statesman Social Columnist Michael Barnes @outandabout
Game developer and Austinite Rodney Gibbs @rgibbs
Slackerwood author and Austinite Jette Kernion @jettek
Shooting People and part of the totally fun British contingent Ingrid Kopp @fromthehip
The Rabbi Report’s Mark Rabinowitz @RabbiReport
Spout.com’s unstoppable Karina Longworth @KarinaLongworth
Official Twitter @sxsw

Do you have a suggestion for more geek fabulous-ness? Leave it in the comments. I’m going to display this page at our panel, so get your submissions in by Friday, March 13. See you in !

There Are 9 Responses So Far. »

  1. Comment by david dunkley gyimah on 28 February 2009:

    Hi Agnes

    that’s a wonderful idea yours – getting most out of SXSW film. Great stuff to take in and I’d really like to ingest as much as poss in the three days.. sadly three days that I can spend.

    David presenting on
    IM Video Journalism Saturday, March 14th 10:00 AM
    viewmagazine.tv

  2. Comment by James McNally on 2 March 2009:

    Agnes, this is pure gold, and I’m going to share this with my Interactive fest pals. I’ve been trying to “cross over” from Interactive to Film myself the past few years, and I hope that some of this information will make it easier for the two communities (who have so much in common) to meet.

    p.s. I’ve got two Twitter accounts: @jmcnally is personal (and not strictly film-related) and @toscreenshots is for my film blog.

  3. Comment by Agnes Varnum on 3 March 2009:

    I didn’t add you James because your Tweets are protected. I didn’t realize you had another for your blog. Do you protect them so others can see or just so Google isn’t caching them? I always assumed protected Tweets meant not open to the public.

  4. Comment by Kevin Dando on 3 March 2009:

    Thanks for mentioning PBS’s Interactive Social Media and Online Video Studio (which will be March 14-16). For anyone who wants more detail — the Facebook event/invitation page is at http://www.facebook.com/wall.php?id=308057&banter_id=817245174&show_all#/event.php?eid=52520693251

    Our events are open to all Film & Interactive badge holders. Please stop by — we want to encourage SXSWers from both groups to mingle and have a good time.

    Kevin Dando (@kdando on Twitter) [**Corrected by AV]

  5. Comment by James McNally on 3 March 2009:

    I protect my Twitter account really just as a form of “call screening”. It gives me a little more control over who follows me. For instance, I generally don’t let “brands” or people with unnaturally high following:followers ratios, but if you’re a real human being whom I know or who makes some effort, then I don’t mind letting you follow me.

    Also, I just suppose anyone following my personal twitter account who only knows me from my film blog might be surprised at all the other frivolous stuff I talk about, so it’s really meant for people who know me personally.

    It’s funny how Twitter now is like blogging was in 2000. We’re all figuring out our boundaries and what’s acceptable to talk about. I suppose after learning those lessons (well, still learning them) with my blogs, I’m just trying to apply them to this new “microblogging” environment.

    Sorry for the long-winded response!

  6. Comment by Taylor McKnight on 3 March 2009:

    I’m the founder of http://sxsw2009.sched.org/ an all inclusive sxsw scheduling including all official + unofficial events. You can create your own schedule, share it with friends, view it nicely formatted for your iPhone etc.. here’s mine: http://sxsw2009.sched.org/gtmcknight

    I’m going to SXSW film and found it frustrating to watch the trailers, then tab back over and add it to my schedule so I put them in one place: http://sxsw2009.sched.org/film-trailers

    If you are logged into sxsw2009.sched.org, you can search for the films while you watch the trailers and easily add them to your schedule.

    We were on the front page of wired.com as the breakout app of last year’s SXSWi conference, and we’ve been looking to add more features for film and music people this year. You can see the buzz we’ve been getting at: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=sxsw2009.sched.org

  7. Pingback by tiara.org » Blog Archive » SXSW 2009: Tips, Tricks, and Resources on 5 March 2009:

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  8. Comment by Agnes Varnum on 10 March 2009:

    Here is a very nice post of collected material for accessing SXSWi at Sam Michel’s Chinwag Blog: 30+ Handy Resources for SXSW Interactive. He mentions me… Thx!

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