It's now day 3 that I've been in Austin for "South By" as they say. There is definitely a new way of doing things in this festival atmosphere. I've been surprised that it has not been more crowded - I guess I expected Airport-at-Thanksgiving, Rush-hour-traffic, type crowds, but it has been much easier.
After seeing some of the presentations, I realized that these were like continuing education and that the real benefit was the movies. My plan has been to see 2 each day, which doesn't sound like a lot, but when you combine picking a schedule that works, finding the locations, getting there, getting out and working around some semblance of an eating schedule, the day can go fast.
Here's some capsule reviews so far:
Uncle Kent 2 -
I'd say this was my favorite experience. Seeing it offsite at 10:15 p.m. made it like a midnight movie which it was. It was kind of Rocky-Horror-ish which worked well. Once the story got rolling (e.g. I figured out what was happening), it was a fun time. The filmmakers Kent Osborne was head writer for a show called Adverturetime which showed he knew a thing or two. The Cat Agent character really topped it well.
Breaking a Monster -
This documentary was about a teenaged band called Unlocking the Truth, which started as a Times Square busking, heavy metal band. Since they were black teenagers in a white world, they got attention. From a white Jewish producer Alan Sacks ("I was big with Welcome Back Kotter and the Jonas Brothers!") Conflict ensures. Calling them teenagers is a stretch - they're only 12 or 13 year old. Will their voices change? Soon? Ever? Please?
Finders Keepers -
Shannon is a Storage Wars type of person who buys the contents of a unit in Maiden, NC. In the contents, inside a smoker grill, is a human foot/lower leg. He reports it and publicity ensues. Turns out the person from whom the foot came, John, had it amputed, had kept it for a memory and now wants it back. But Shannon thought he had bought it fair and square. A modern day Hatfield/McCoy story.
This one was picked up by a distributor and should be on Netflix/PPV - worth watching.
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