



SXcycles is a complimentary bike share program for Platinum, Gold, Interactive and Film registrants. Tern is providing their "Link D8" bicycles for daily use. Registrants can pick up a bike with helmet, locks and BioLogic lights and Commute Bag (so long as supplies last), and be on their way to satellite campuses, film venues or nighttime happenings. Come to 513 East Cesar Chavez Street, directly across from the Austin Convention Center, to pick up one of these sweet Tern Bicycles and enjoy this eco-friendly way to explore the city and all that SXSW has to offer!


Canon is proud to be a part of the 2012 SXSW Film Festival and inspire all filmmakers to imagine more. That was the story behind Project Imagin8ion, the first photo contest to inspire a Hollywood film. After receiving 96,362 photo submissions, the Winning 8 were chosen by Ron Howard, setting the stage for his production, "when you find me," shot on the new Canon Cinema EOS C300.





With the twenty-first century comes a new breed of artist: the indie game designer. These innovators design and program their distinctly personal games in the hope that they may find connection and success. After years of work, designer Edmund McMillen and programmer Tommy Refenes work toward the release of their first major game for Xbox, Super Meat Boy. At a big video-game expo, developer Phil Fish unveils his highly anticipated, FEZ. Designer Jonathan Blow considers a new game after his very successful game, Braid. Four developers, three games, one ultimate goal— to express oneself through a video game.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Joystick Joy: Two Mediums, Same Ethos at Play."











































SXcycles is a complimentary bike share program for Platinum, Gold, Interactive and Film registrants. Tern is providing their "Link D8" bicycles for daily use. Registrants can pick up a bike with helmet, locks and BioLogic lights and Commute Bag (so long as supplies last), and be on their way to satellite campuses, film venues or nighttime happenings. Come to 513 East Cesar Chavez Street, directly across from the Austin Convention Center, to pick up one of these sweet Tern Bicycles and enjoy this eco-friendly way to explore the city and all that SXSW has to offer!











Canon is proud to be a part of the 2012 SXSW Film Festival and inspire all filmmakers to imagine more. That was the story behind Project Imagin8ion, the first photo contest to inspire a Hollywood film. After receiving 96,362 photo submissions, the Winning 8 were chosen by Ron Howard, setting the stage for his production, "when you find me," shot on the new Canon Cinema EOS C300.

In search of a simpler life, a young couple returns home to Alabama where they set out to eat the way their grandparents did – locally and seasonally. But as their new diet forces them to navigate the agricultural industrial complex, they soon realize that nearly everything about the food system has changed since farmers once populated their family histories. A thoughtful and often funny essay on community, the South and sustainability, "Eating Alabama" is a story about why food matters.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "The Place Is the Thing: The influence of Geography in a Quartet of Docs." Read the full feature here.
















Despite a lack of obvious similarities between Siberia and Tokyo, a thriving model industry connects these distant regions. "Girl Model" follows two protagonists involved in this industry: Ashley, a deeply ambivalent model scout who scours the Siberian countryside looking for fresh faces to send to the Japanese market, and one of her discoveries, Nadya, a thirteen year-old plucked from the Siberian countryside and dropped into the center of Tokyo with promises of a profitable career. After Ashley’s initial discovery of Nadya, the two rarely meet again, but their stories are inextricably bound.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "The Place Is the Thing: The influence of Geography in a Quartet of Docs." Read the full feature here.















After the tragic death of a newly arrived Ex-pat, ESL kindergarten teachers Simon and Darin, steal the corpse in order to perform the final rites for the fallen stranger. Their quest for the perfect burial spot becomes a quixotic odyssey along Taiwan's picturesque East Coast Highway, where they encounter welcoming families, violent gangsters, personal demons, and Nikita, their traveling companion. The duty, transport, and dementia fueled by frequent substance abuse, ignites an internalization in all three characters as they define their personal feelings concerning mortality, purpose, burial rites and the concept of legacy.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Aftershocks: Finding Inspiration in the Devastation of the 921 Earthquake."























"Tchoupitoulas" is a story of the New Orleans night. It is a visually exhilarating and aurally immersive record of one night in the many lives of a thriving nocturnal populace. Three young boys act as our wide-eyed conduits to a parade of entertainers and revelers as they dance through the lamp lit streets and doorways of the Crescent City. From dusk to dawn, from Rampart to the river, we explore the lives and locales of one of the world's most unique cities. In moments, vignettes, performances, and exchanges, "Tchoupitoulas" is a kaleidoscopic odyssey into another side of New Orleans.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "The Place Is the Thing: The influence of Geography in a Quartet of Docs." Read the full feature here.






















































Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters follows the acclaimed photographer’s decade-long quest to create a series of haunting, surreal, and stunningly elaborate portraits of small-town American life. His photographs are like single-frame movies — partly because each composition brims with narrative, partly because he uses cinematic tools such as special effects, hundreds of lights, and huge crews of technicians. As we travel with him — from first inspirations, through countless creative and logistical obstacles, to the instant where all the elements coalesce in a single perfect moment — we realize that, despite their vast scale, Crewdson’s images grow from his most intimate dreams and fantasies.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Art as Acts of Subversion and Immersion: 'The Sheik and I,' 'Trash Dance,' and 'Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters'." Read the full feature here.





















































SXcycles is a complimentary bike share program for Platinum, Gold, Interactive and Film registrants. Tern is providing their "Link D8" bicycles for daily use. Registrants can pick up a bike with helmet, locks and BioLogic lights and Commute Bag (so long as supplies last), and be on their way to satellite campuses, film venues or nighttime happenings. Come to 513 East Cesar Chavez Street, directly across from the Austin Convention Center, to pick up one of these sweet Tern Bicycles and enjoy this eco-friendly way to explore the city and all that SXSW has to offer!










Canon is proud to be a part of the 2012 SXSW Film Festival and inspire all filmmakers to imagine more. That was the story behind Project Imagin8ion, the first photo contest to inspire a Hollywood film. After receiving 96,362 photo submissions, the Winning 8 were chosen by Ron Howard, setting the stage for his production, "when you find me," shot on the new Canon Cinema EOS C300.














































"Tchoupitoulas" is a story of the New Orleans night. It is a visually exhilarating and aurally immersive record of one night in the many lives of a thriving nocturnal populace. Three young boys act as our wide-eyed conduits to a parade of entertainers and revelers as they dance through the lamp lit streets and doorways of the Crescent City. From dusk to dawn, from Rampart to the river, we explore the lives and locales of one of the world's most unique cities. In moments, vignettes, performances, and exchanges, "Tchoupitoulas" is a kaleidoscopic odyssey into another side of New Orleans.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "The Place Is the Thing: The influence of Geography in a Quartet of Docs." Read the full feature here.





"The Central Park Effect" reveals the extraordinary array of wild birds who grace Manhattan’s celebrated patch of green and the equally colorful, full-of-attitude New Yorkers who schedule their lives around the rhythms of migration. Acclaimed author Jonathan Franzen, an idiosyncratic trombone technician, a charming fashion-averse teenager, and a bird-tour leader who’s recorded every sighting she’s made since the 1940s are among the film’s cast of characters. Featuring spectacular wildlife footage capturing the changing seasons, this lyrical documentary transports the viewer to a dazzling world that goes all but unnoticed by the 38 million people who visit the park each year.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "The Place Is the Thing: The influence of Geography in a Quartet of Docs." Read the full feature here.







Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters follows the acclaimed photographer’s decade-long quest to create a series of haunting, surreal, and stunningly elaborate portraits of small-town American life. His photographs are like single-frame movies — partly because each composition brims with narrative, partly because he uses cinematic tools such as special effects, hundreds of lights, and huge crews of technicians. As we travel with him — from first inspirations, through countless creative and logistical obstacles, to the instant where all the elements coalesce in a single perfect moment — we realize that, despite their vast scale, Crewdson’s images grow from his most intimate dreams and fantasies.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Art as Acts of Subversion and Immersion: 'The Sheik and I,' 'Trash Dance,' and 'Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters'." Read the full feature here.







"WE ARE LEGION: The Story of the Hacktivists" takes us inside the world of Anonymous, the radical "hacktivist" collective that has redefined civil disobedience for the digital age. The film explores early hacktivist groups like Cult of the Dead Cow and Electronic Disturbance Theater, then moves to Anonymous' raucous beginnings on the website 4chan. Through interviews with current members, people recently returned from prison or facing trial, writers, academics, activists and major players in various "raids," the documentary traces Anonymous’ evolution from merry pranksters to a full-blown movement with a global reach, the most transformative civil disobedience of our time.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Attack of the Cybermen: Activism Powered by the Internet." Read the full feature here.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Attack of the Cybermen: Activism Powered by the Internet."


With the twenty-first century comes a new breed of artist: the indie game designer. These innovators design and program their distinctly personal games in the hope that they may find connection and success. After years of work, designer Edmund McMillen and programmer Tommy Refenes work toward the release of their first major game for Xbox, Super Meat Boy. At a big video-game expo, developer Phil Fish unveils his highly anticipated, FEZ. Designer Jonathan Blow considers a new game after his very successful game, Braid. Four developers, three games, one ultimate goal— to express oneself through a video game.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Joystick Joy: Two Mediums, Same Ethos at Play." Read the full feature here.









Commissioned by a Middle Eastern Biennial to make a film on the theme of "art as a subversive act," independent filmmaker Caveh Zahedi ("I Am a Sex Addict") goes overboard. Told that he can do whatever he wants except make fun of the Sheik, who rules the country and finances the Biennial, Zahedi decides to do just that. He turns his camera on the Biennial itself and gleefully presses every culturally sensitive button he can find. But his court jester antics fail to amuse. Zahedi's film is banned for blasphemy and he is threatened with a fatwa.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Art as Acts of Subversion and Immersion: 'The Sheik and I,' 'Trash Dance,' and 'Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters'." Read the full feature here.




Rama, a member of a special forces team, arrives at a rundown apartment block with a mission to remove its owner, a notorious drug lord. The building has become a sanctuary to killers, gangs, rapists and thieves seeking accommodation in the one place they know they cannot be touched by the police. When a spotter blows their cover, Rama and his team must fight their way through every floor and every room not just to complete their mission but to survive their bloody ordeal.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Bruises Easily: 'The Raid' Opens Up a Can of Whupass."


Thirty-five years in the life of Max (Keith Poulson), his best friend Sal (Nick Offerman) and a woman they both adore, Lyla (Jess Weixler).The trio stumble through mandatory but seemingly unfulfilling entanglements, at weddings, funerals, hospitals, eateries, divorce courts and the tool shed. A deadpan fable about time sneaking up on and swerving right around us.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Poker Face: The Life Cycle of Man as Deadpan Farce." Read the full feature here.


In search of a simpler life, a young couple returns home to Alabama where they set out to eat the way their grandparents did – locally and seasonally. But as their new diet forces them to navigate the agricultural industrial complex, they soon realize that nearly everything about the food system has changed since farmers once populated their family histories. A thoughtful and often funny essay on community, the South and sustainability, "Eating Alabama" is a story about why food matters.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "The Place Is the Thing: The influence of Geography in a Quartet of Docs." Read the full feature here.


After the tragic death of a newly arrived Ex-pat, ESL kindergarten teachers Simon and Darin, steal the corpse in order to perform the final rites for the fallen stranger. Their quest for the perfect burial spot becomes a quixotic odyssey along Taiwan's picturesque East Coast Highway, where they encounter welcoming families, violent gangsters, personal demons, and Nikita, their traveling companion. The duty, transport, and dementia fueled by frequent substance abuse, ignites an internalization in all three characters as they define their personal feelings concerning mortality, purpose, burial rites and the concept of legacy.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Aftershocks: Finding Inspiration in the Devastation of the 921 Earthquake." Read the full feature here.

Despite a lack of obvious similarities between Siberia and Tokyo, a thriving model industry connects these distant regions. "Girl Model" follows two protagonists involved in this industry: Ashley, a deeply ambivalent model scout who scours the Siberian countryside looking for fresh faces to send to the Japanese market, and one of her discoveries, Nadya, a thirteen year-old plucked from the Siberian countryside and dropped into the center of Tokyo with promises of a profitable career. After Ashley’s initial discovery of Nadya, the two rarely meet again, but their stories are inextricably bound.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "The Place Is the Thing: The influence of Geography in a Quartet of Docs." Read the full feature here.








SXcycles is a complimentary bike share program for Platinum, Gold, Interactive and Film registrants. Tern is providing their "Link D8" bicycles for daily use. Registrants can pick up a bike with helmet, locks and BioLogic lights and Commute Bag (so long as supplies last), and be on their way to satellite campuses, film venues or nighttime happenings. Come to 513 East Cesar Chavez Street, directly across from the Austin Convention Center, to pick up one of these sweet Tern Bicycles and enjoy this eco-friendly way to explore the city and all that SXSW has to offer!


Canon is proud to be a part of the 2012 SXSW Film Festival and inspire all filmmakers to imagine more. That was the story behind Project Imagin8ion, the first photo contest to inspire a Hollywood film. After receiving 96,362 photo submissions, the Winning 8 were chosen by Ron Howard, setting the stage for his production, "when you find me," shot on the new Canon Cinema EOS C300.















Despite a lack of obvious similarities between Siberia and Tokyo, a thriving model industry connects these distant regions. "Girl Model" follows two protagonists involved in this industry: Ashley, a deeply ambivalent model scout who scours the Siberian countryside looking for fresh faces to send to the Japanese market, and one of her discoveries, Nadya, a thirteen year-old plucked from the Siberian countryside and dropped into the center of Tokyo with promises of a profitable career. After Ashley’s initial discovery of Nadya, the two rarely meet again, but their stories are inextricably bound.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "The Place Is the Thing: The influence of Geography in a Quartet of Docs." Read the full feature here.













"Tchoupitoulas" is a story of the New Orleans night. It is a visually exhilarating and aurally immersive record of one night in the many lives of a thriving nocturnal populace. Three young boys act as our wide-eyed conduits to a parade of entertainers and revelers as they dance through the lamp lit streets and doorways of the Crescent City. From dusk to dawn, from Rampart to the river, we explore the lives and locales of one of the world's most unique cities. In moments, vignettes, performances, and exchanges, "Tchoupitoulas" is a kaleidoscopic odyssey into another side of New Orleans.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "The Place Is the Thing: The influence of Geography in a Quartet of Docs." Read the full feature here.

Jenn and Matt are best friends from college who are now in their thirties. Single by choice, Jenn spends her days teaching hot yoga and running errands for her boss. Matt suffers from comic-book writer’s block and can’t get over his ex-boyfriend. They decide to fulfill a youthful promise to have a child together… the old-fashioned way. Can they navigate the serious and unexpected snags they hit as they attempt to get their careers and dating lives back on track in preparation for parenthood? "Gayby" is an irreverent comedy about friendship, growing older, sex, loneliness, and the family you chose.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Mama Drama: A Comedy in 21st Century Baby-Making" Read the full feature here.




































"The Central Park Effect" reveals the extraordinary array of wild birds who grace Manhattan’s celebrated patch of green and the equally colorful, full-of-attitude New Yorkers who schedule their lives around the rhythms of migration. Acclaimed author Jonathan Franzen, an idiosyncratic trombone technician, a charming fashion-averse teenager, and a bird-tour leader who’s recorded every sighting she’s made since the 1940s are among the film’s cast of characters. Featuring spectacular wildlife footage capturing the changing seasons, this lyrical documentary transports the viewer to a dazzling world that goes all but unnoticed by the 38 million people who visit the park each year.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "The Place Is the Thing: The influence of Geography in a Quartet of Docs." Read the full feature here.


Commissioned by a Middle Eastern Biennial to make a film on the theme of "art as a subversive act," independent filmmaker Caveh Zahedi ("I Am a Sex Addict") goes overboard. Told that he can do whatever he wants except make fun of the Sheik, who rules the country and finances the Biennial, Zahedi decides to do just that. He turns his camera on the Biennial itself and gleefully presses every culturally sensitive button he can find. But his court jester antics fail to amuse. Zahedi's film is banned for blasphemy and he is threatened with a fatwa.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Art as Acts of Subversion and Immersion: 'The Sheik and I,' 'Trash Dance,' and 'Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters'." Read the full feature here.




































SXcycles is a complimentary bike share program for Platinum, Gold, Interactive and Film registrants. Tern is providing their "Link D8" bicycles for daily use. Registrants can pick up a bike with helmet, locks and BioLogic lights and Commute Bag (so long as supplies last), and be on their way to satellite campuses, film venues or nighttime happenings. Come to 513 East Cesar Chavez Street, directly across from the Austin Convention Center, to pick up one of these sweet Tern Bicycles and enjoy this eco-friendly way to explore the city and all that SXSW has to offer!


Canon is proud to be a part of the 2012 SXSW Film Festival and inspire all filmmakers to imagine more. That was the story behind Project Imagin8ion, the first photo contest to inspire a Hollywood film. After receiving 96,362 photo submissions, the Winning 8 were chosen by Ron Howard, setting the stage for his production, "when you find me," shot on the new Canon Cinema EOS C300.











WE ARE LEGION: The Story of the Hacktivists (SXSW 2012) takes us inside the world of Anonymous, the radical "hacktivist" collective that has redefined civil disobedience for the digital age. The film traces the collective's evolution from merry pranksters to a full-blown movement with a global reach. In the last year, Anonymous has been associated with attacks or “raids” on hundred’s of targets ranging from financial institutions, cyber-security firms to foreign dictators. They played a vital role in the “Occupy” movement and recently launched the largest DDoS attacks in history against Hollywood for their support of SOPA.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Attack of the Cybermen: Activism Powered by the Internet." Read the full feature here.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Attack of the Cybermen: Activism Powered by the Internet."




With the twenty-first century comes a new breed of artist: the indie game designer. These innovators design and program their distinctly personal games in the hope that they may find connection and success. After years of work, designer Edmund McMillen and programmer Tommy Refenes work toward the release of their first major game for Xbox, Super Meat Boy. At a big video-game expo, developer Phil Fish unveils his highly anticipated, FEZ. Designer Jonathan Blow considers a new game after his very successful game, Braid. Four developers, three games, one ultimate goal— to express oneself through a video game.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Joystick Joy: Two Mediums, Same Ethos at Play." Read the full feature here.








Jenn and Matt are best friends from college who are now in their thirties. Single by choice, Jenn spends her days teaching hot yoga and running errands for her boss. Matt suffers from comic-book writer’s block and can’t get over his ex-boyfriend. They decide to fulfill a youthful promise to have a child together… the old-fashioned way. Can they navigate the serious and unexpected snags they hit as they attempt to get their careers and dating lives back on track in preparation for parenthood? "Gayby" is an irreverent comedy about friendship, growing older, sex, loneliness, and the family you chose.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Mama Drama: A Comedy in 21st Century Baby-Making" Read the full feature here.

Thirty-five years in the life of Max (Keith Poulson), his best friend Sal (Nick Offerman) and a woman they both adore, Lyla (Jess Weixler).The trio stumble through mandatory but seemingly unfulfilling entanglements, at weddings, funerals, hospitals, eateries, divorce courts and the tool shed. A deadpan fable about time sneaking up on and swerving right around us.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Poker Face: The Life Cycle of Man as Deadpan Farce." Read the full feature here.








From Robert Faires, The Austin Chronicle:
If comedy is hard, viral video comedy is even harder. Funny or Die writers Owen Burke and Alex Fernie, producers Ally Hord and Betsy Koch, and editor Darryl Gudmundson explain how much harder in a behind-the-scenes look at the company's creative process, from conception to promotion – with actual FOD videos!









"Tchoupitoulas" is a story of the New Orleans night. It is a visually exhilarating and aurally immersive record of one night in the many lives of a thriving nocturnal populace. Three young boys act as our wide-eyed conduits to a parade of entertainers and revelers as they dance through the lamp lit streets and doorways of the Crescent City. From dusk to dawn, from Rampart to the river, we explore the lives and locales of one of the world's most unique cities. In moments, vignettes, performances, and exchanges, "Tchoupitoulas" is a kaleidoscopic odyssey into another side of New Orleans.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "The Place Is the Thing: The influence of Geography in a Quartet of Docs." Read the full feature here.





"WE ARE LEGION: The Story of the Hacktivists" takes us inside the world of Anonymous, the radical "hacktivist" collective that has redefined civil disobedience for the digital age. The film explores early hacktivist groups like Cult of the Dead Cow and Electronic Disturbance Theater, then moves to Anonymous' raucous beginnings on the website 4chan. Through interviews with current members, people recently returned from prison or facing trial, writers, academics, activists and major players in various "raids," the documentary traces Anonymous’ evolution from merry pranksters to a full-blown movement with a global reach, the most transformative civil disobedience of our time.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Attack of the Cybermen: Activism Powered by the Internet." Read the full feature here.



















In search of a simpler life, a young couple returns home to Alabama where they set out to eat the way their grandparents did – locally and seasonally. But as their new diet forces them to navigate the agricultural industrial complex, they soon realize that nearly everything about the food system has changed since farmers once populated their family histories. A thoughtful and often funny essay on community, the South and sustainability, "Eating Alabama" is a story about why food matters.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "The Place Is the Thing: The influence of Geography in a Quartet of Docs." Read the full feature here.

From Robert Faires, The Austin Chronicle:
Want to hear people "tell true stories they never thought they'd dare to share in public"? Then this live show from Los Angeles and New York is for you. How risky are these stories? Hear some samples on the podcast or the website at www.risk-show.com. Kevin Allison of the State hosts.






Sometimes inspiration is found in unexpected places. Choreographer Allison Orr finds beauty and grace in garbage trucks -- and in the men and women who pick up our trash. She joins city sanitation workers on their daily routes to listen, learn, and ultimately to try to convince them to collaborate in a unique dance performance. Hard working, often carrying a second job, their lives are already full with work, family and dreams of their own. But some step forward, and after months of rehearsal, two dozen trash collectors and their trucks perform an extraordinary spectacle. On an abandoned airport runway, thousands of people show up to see how in the world a garbage truck can "dance."
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Art as Acts of Subversion and Immersion: 'The Sheik and I,' 'Trash Dance,' and 'Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters'." Read the full feature here.






























Produced by Oxford Film and Television, Wikileaks: Secrets and Lies is Bafta winner Patrick Forbes' seventy-six-minute documentary of the Wikileaks affair as told by the people involved: personal, moving and frequently hot tempered, it documents history in the making and establishes a new frontier for technology and journalism. A definitive factual account of the Wikileaks affair, the film features the first major television interview with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Attack of the Cybermen: Activism Powered by the Internet." Read the full feature here.





















Canon is proud to be a part of the 2012 SXSW Film Festival and inspire all filmmakers to imagine more. That was the story behind Project Imagin8ion, the first photo contest to inspire a Hollywood film. After receiving 96,362 photo submissions, the Winning 8 were chosen by Ron Howard, setting the stage for his production, "when you find me," shot on the new Canon Cinema EOS C300.





Commissioned by a Middle Eastern Biennial to make a film on the theme of "art as a subversive act," independent filmmaker Caveh Zahedi ("I Am a Sex Addict") goes overboard. Told that he can do whatever he wants except make fun of the Sheik, who rules the country and finances the Biennial, Zahedi decides to do just that. He turns his camera on the Biennial itself and gleefully presses every culturally sensitive button he can find. But his court jester antics fail to amuse. Zahedi's film is banned for blasphemy and he is threatened with a fatwa.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Art as Acts of Subversion and Immersion: 'The Sheik and I,' 'Trash Dance,' and 'Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters'." Read the full feature here.






























Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters follows the acclaimed photographer’s decade-long quest to create a series of haunting, surreal, and stunningly elaborate portraits of small-town American life. His photographs are like single-frame movies — partly because each composition brims with narrative, partly because he uses cinematic tools such as special effects, hundreds of lights, and huge crews of technicians. As we travel with him — from first inspirations, through countless creative and logistical obstacles, to the instant where all the elements coalesce in a single perfect moment — we realize that, despite their vast scale, Crewdson’s images grow from his most intimate dreams and fantasies.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Art as Acts of Subversion and Immersion: 'The Sheik and I,' 'Trash Dance,' and 'Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters'." Read the full feature here.


From Robert Faires, The Austin Chronicle:
All you really need to know is that it's from Upright Citizens Brigade and it's called "the most bizarre and often saddest talk show in New York City." But you can also expect stunts that range from the physically painful (being beaten by kickboxers, being electrocuted) to the conceptually inspired (luring P. Diddy on the show via Twitter or using social media to direct the route of an unplanned cross-country trip). And expect to be interacted with. Mostly, expect Chris Gethard.






























"WE ARE LEGION: The Story of the Hacktivists" takes us inside the world of Anonymous, the radical "hacktivist" collective that has redefined civil disobedience for the digital age. The film explores early hacktivist groups like Cult of the Dead Cow and Electronic Disturbance Theater, then moves to Anonymous' raucous beginnings on the website 4chan. Through interviews with current members, people recently returned from prison or facing trial, writers, academics, activists and major players in various "raids," the documentary traces Anonymous’ evolution from merry pranksters to a full-blown movement with a global reach, the most transformative civil disobedience of our time.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Attack of the Cybermen: Activism Powered by the Internet." Read the full feature here.

Produced by Oxford Film and Television, Wikileaks: Secrets and Lies is Bafta winner Patrick Forbes' seventy-six-minute documentary of the Wikileaks affair as told by the people involved: personal, moving and frequently hot tempered, it documents history in the making and establishes a new frontier for technology and journalism. A definitive factual account of the Wikileaks affair, the film features the first major television interview with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Attack of the Cybermen: Activism Powered by the Internet." Read the full feature here.










Sometimes inspiration is found in unexpected places. Choreographer Allison Orr finds beauty and grace in garbage trucks -- and in the men and women who pick up our trash. She joins city sanitation workers on their daily routes to listen, learn, and ultimately to try to convince them to collaborate in a unique dance performance. Hard working, often carrying a second job, their lives are already full with work, family and dreams of their own. But some step forward, and after months of rehearsal, two dozen trash collectors and their trucks perform an extraordinary spectacle. On an abandoned airport runway, thousands of people show up to see how in the world a garbage truck can "dance."
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Art as Acts of Subversion and Immersion: 'The Sheik and I,' 'Trash Dance,' and 'Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters'." Read the full feature here.




After the tragic death of a newly arrived Ex-pat, ESL kindergarten teachers Simon and Darin, steal the corpse in order to perform the final rites for the fallen stranger. Their quest for the perfect burial spot becomes a quixotic odyssey along Taiwan's picturesque East Coast Highway, where they encounter welcoming families, violent gangsters, personal demons, and Nikita, their traveling companion. The duty, transport, and dementia fueled by frequent substance abuse, ignites an internalization in all three characters as they define their personal feelings concerning mortality, purpose, burial rites and the concept of legacy.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Aftershocks: Finding Inspiration in the Devastation of the 921 Earthquake." Read the full feature here.














Review by Marc Savlov, The Austin Chronicle
Space Nazis must die.Any film that stars Udo Kier as a Nazi is comedy gold in our book and Iron Sky, from Finnish director Timo Vuorensola, is a crackerjack bit of Aryan tomfoolery, this despite the fact that the film is essentially a one-note gag strung out to feature length.Iron Sky's beautifully retro vision of the master race on the moon is great fun, especially if, like Indiana Jones, you hate Nazis. And who doesn't? Apart from Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and theRed Skull, no one, that's who. Iron Sky's very premise sells the entirety of the film and while not every jape hits its target, the overall effect is pure fanboy-centric fun.
In the waning days of WWII, German scientists managed to design a spacecraft capable of landing on the moon, where, ever since, the last vestiges of Hitler's mad dream have survived and thrived on the dark side (literally and, I suppose, figuratively as well). Led by Kier's equally demented Führer Kortzfleisch, they're preparing to return and create the Fourth Reich.
It's 2018 and Sarah Palin (Stephanie Paul) is in the White House when a chance encounter between an American astronaut and a moon Nazi results in Korzfleisch's decision to invade the earth as soon as possible via ProjectGotterdamerung, a gigantic space armada replete with swastika-branded fighter ships and hyper-obedient moon-Germans.
Iron Sky's weakest link, strangely, is the relationship that develops between blonde Aryan goddess/school teacher Renate Richter (Julia Dietze) and African-American astronaut James Washington (Christopher Kirby), the latter of which has arrived on the moon to foil the Nazi plot. The jokes here are too obvious and the characters played too broadly to be truly transgressive, and at times the whole film seems to be sliding into some sort of wild meta-self parody.
Still, Iron Sky looks like a million deutschmarks (part of the film's funding was crowdsourced on the internet) and it's a surreal pleasure to watch. And Udo Kier? Unhinged as ever.


















In search of a simpler life, a young couple returns home to Alabama where they set out to eat the way their grandparents did – locally and seasonally. But as their new diet forces them to navigate the agricultural industrial complex, they soon realize that nearly everything about the food system has changed since farmers once populated their family histories. A thoughtful and often funny essay on community, the South and sustainability, "Eating Alabama" is a story about why food matters.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "The Place Is the Thing: The influence of Geography in a Quartet of Docs." Read the full feature here.








"The Central Park Effect" reveals the extraordinary array of wild birds who grace Manhattan’s celebrated patch of green and the equally colorful, full-of-attitude New Yorkers who schedule their lives around the rhythms of migration. Acclaimed author Jonathan Franzen, an idiosyncratic trombone technician, a charming fashion-averse teenager, and a bird-tour leader who’s recorded every sighting she’s made since the 1940s are among the film’s cast of characters. Featuring spectacular wildlife footage capturing the changing seasons, this lyrical documentary transports the viewer to a dazzling world that goes all but unnoticed by the 38 million people who visit the park each year.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "The Place Is the Thing: The influence of Geography in a Quartet of Docs." Read the full feature here.















Jenn and Matt are best friends from college who are now in their thirties. Single by choice, Jenn spends her days teaching hot yoga and running errands for her boss. Matt suffers from comic-book writer’s block and can’t get over his ex-boyfriend. They decide to fulfill a youthful promise to have a child together… the old-fashioned way. Can they navigate the serious and unexpected snags they hit as they attempt to get their careers and dating lives back on track in preparation for parenthood? "Gayby" is an irreverent comedy about friendship, growing older, sex, loneliness, and the family you chose.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Mama Drama: A Comedy in 21st Century Baby-Making" Read the full feature here.

With the twenty-first century comes a new breed of artist: the indie game designer. These innovators design and program their distinctly personal games in the hope that they may find connection and success. After years of work, designer Edmund McMillen and programmer Tommy Refenes work toward the release of their first major game for Xbox, Super Meat Boy. At a big video-game expo, developer Phil Fish unveils his highly anticipated, FEZ. Designer Jonathan Blow considers a new game after his very successful game, Braid. Four developers, three games, one ultimate goal— to express oneself through a video game.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Joystick Joy: Two Mediums, Same Ethos at Play." Read the full feature here.






BIG STAR: NOTHING CAN HURT ME is a feature-length documentary about legendary Memphis band Big Star. While mainstream success eluded them, Big Star’s three albums have become critically lauded touchstones of the rock music canon. A seminal band in the history of alternative music, Big Star has been cited as an influence by artists including REM, The Replacements, Belle & Sebastian, Elliot Smith and Flaming Lips, to name just a few. With never-before-seen footage and photos of the band, in-depth interviews and a rousing musical tribute by the bands they inspired, BIG STAR: NOTHING CAN HURT ME is a story of artistic and musical salvation.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "The Ballad of Big Star: A Work-in-Progress Premiere and Supergroup Performance Pay Tribute to the Cult Band" Read the full feature here.



Despite a lack of obvious similarities between Siberia and Tokyo, a thriving model industry connects these distant regions. "Girl Model" follows two protagonists involved in this industry: Ashley, a deeply ambivalent model scout who scours the Siberian countryside looking for fresh faces to send to the Japanese market, and one of her discoveries, Nadya, a thirteen year-old plucked from the Siberian countryside and dropped into the center of Tokyo with promises of a profitable career. After Ashley’s initial discovery of Nadya, the two rarely meet again, but their stories are inextricably bound.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "The Place Is the Thing: The influence of Geography in a Quartet of Docs." Read the full feature here.


























Thirty-five years in the life of Max (Keith Poulson), his best friend Sal (Nick Offerman) and a woman they both adore, Lyla (Jess Weixler).The trio stumble through mandatory but seemingly unfulfilling entanglements, at weddings, funerals, hospitals, eateries, divorce courts and the tool shed. A deadpan fable about time sneaking up on and swerving right around us.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Poker Face: The Life Cycle of Man as Deadpan Farce." Read the full feature here.



































"WE ARE LEGION: The Story of the Hacktivists" takes us inside the world of Anonymous, the radical "hacktivist" collective that has redefined civil disobedience for the digital age. The film explores early hacktivist groups like Cult of the Dead Cow and Electronic Disturbance Theater, then moves to Anonymous' raucous beginnings on the website 4chan. Through interviews with current members, people recently returned from prison or facing trial, writers, academics, activists and major players in various "raids," the documentary traces Anonymous’ evolution from merry pranksters to a full-blown movement with a global reach, the most transformative civil disobedience of our time.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Attack of the Cybermen: Activism Powered by the Internet." Read the full feature here.




















































































Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters follows the acclaimed photographer’s decade-long quest to create a series of haunting, surreal, and stunningly elaborate portraits of small-town American life. His photographs are like single-frame movies — partly because each composition brims with narrative, partly because he uses cinematic tools such as special effects, hundreds of lights, and huge crews of technicians. As we travel with him — from first inspirations, through countless creative and logistical obstacles, to the instant where all the elements coalesce in a single perfect moment — we realize that, despite their vast scale, Crewdson’s images grow from his most intimate dreams and fantasies.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Art as Acts of Subversion and Immersion: 'The Sheik and I,' 'Trash Dance,' and 'Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters'." Read the full feature here.







































































Produced by Oxford Film and Television, Wikileaks: Secrets and Lies is Bafta winner Patrick Forbes' seventy-six-minute documentary of the Wikileaks affair as told by the people involved: personal, moving and frequently hot tempered, it documents history in the making and establishes a new frontier for technology and journalism. A definitive factual account of the Wikileaks affair, the film features the first major television interview with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Attack of the Cybermen: Activism Powered by the Internet." Read the full feature here.








Sometimes inspiration is found in unexpected places. Choreographer Allison Orr finds beauty and grace in garbage trucks -- and in the men and women who pick up our trash. She joins city sanitation workers on their daily routes to listen, learn, and ultimately to try to convince them to collaborate in a unique dance performance. Hard working, often carrying a second job, their lives are already full with work, family and dreams of their own. But some step forward, and after months of rehearsal, two dozen trash collectors and their trucks perform an extraordinary spectacle. On an abandoned airport runway, thousands of people show up to see how in the world a garbage truck can "dance."
The Austin Chronicle recommends this event in "Art as Acts of Subversion and Immersion: 'The Sheik and I,' 'Trash Dance,' and 'Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters'." Read the full feature here.






