SxSW 2013 – Film Notes

This was my first year @ SxSW and decided to go all in on it – Interactive, Film and Music.

I managed to catch 15 films this year; it wasn’t until I was paying attention to some previews on the last day that I realised I had only scratched the surface – there were still so many more films to go through! But since I had to divide my time between all 3 things plus more, I think I did the best I could. I hope some of the ones I’ve missed get some proper distribution, particularly to Australia if there’s the chance. I’ve got the guide as well so I think I’ll do some catching up once the dust settles a bit.

My film list:

• Downloaded
• Rewind This
• Punk Syndrome
• TPB: AFK
• Gus
• Imagine
• Who Taught You to Drive?
• Before You Know It
• Before Midnight
• Mr Angel
• Spark: A Burning Man Story
• x4 Short Film Programmes

The topics and content for the most part was awesome, but a lot had a few challenges putting it together in a good structure or narrative to really, REALLY make them stand out.

My picks from the festival:

Punk Syndrome – a documentary about a Finnish punk band. The members are mentally handicapped. Heart-breakingly sweet.

Mr Angel – a documentary about Buck Angel, a female-to-male transgender pornstar. It was fascinating and quite an eye-opener!

Spark: A Burning Man Story – titles says it all; the cinematography in this was amazing.

Before You Know It – This one topped the list for me; it was a documentary about 3 elderly gay men getting by in today’s contemporary society and their stories. Unfortunately there wasn’t a trailer for this online 😦 Keep an eye out for it; if people feel the same way about it as I do, it should be making a few festival rounds this year.