Ron Berry is a new friend here in Austin. He is the artistic director of Fusebox (@fuseboxfestival). He doesn’t go anywhere without a smile, kind words and an impeccable eye for really intriguing artists. He tends to gravitate toward performance that incorporates music, video, spoken word, visual art, or whatever else the artists can get their hands on. I would say that some of the material bends toward odd, but I think that is just my New York-Broadway snobbery rearing its ugly head. The works are contemporary, current, modern.

Above all, Ron is a consummate listener. He always wants to hear what others have to say, and then rather than responding in words, he responds in his own work and in programming. But I respond in words, and this is my response to a panel discussion on Friday where arts writers continued the lament for their overworked, status-quo writing that has plagued film writing over the past months, years. It’s truly frustrating to hear people say that only arts writers are qualified to write about art. I’m paraphrasing the discussion since the same argument is being made for film critics, and again, there was no acknowledgment of the fact that plenty of people, like me, are out in the world responding to the things we see and other people are reading, watching, and talking with us. I have no pedigree other than having had mentorship in the field, the drive to produce even if I’m not being paid and no one was reading, and opportunities to watch lots and lots of movies.

St. Nick by David Lowery

I’m a bad blogger, very behind in posting about SXSW, but trust me, I’m very excited. You know the line-up (hopefully) so I’ll skip right to my picks. Here is what I’ll definitely be lining up to see:

Know Your Mushrooms
I don’t know if director Ron Mann would say that he is a hippie or not, but he sure does share my hippie sensibility. Mushrooms? Oh yea, I’ll see that.

Winnebago Man
While this doc is directed by Ben Steinbauer and produced by Joel Heller, two guys who are my friends and wonderful people, festival buzz is that the film is great. And I’m certainly a sucker for potty mouth.

St. Nick
I’ve read the description but truthfully, David Lowery just intrigues me. I’ve read his blog, which alternates between astute and incomprehensible (to me), his photos are amazing and in person, he is as sweet as apple pie. Can’t wait to finally see a Lowery film. This one also involved a whole Ft. Worth contingent of folks, so I’m getting a sense of the Tejas film scene. (Narrative)