Film Screenings Begin At SXSW At Various Austin Venues

AUSTIN, TX -- The third day of SXSW offers a rich abundance of sessions on topics ranging from film to technology.

The morning hours are heavy with panel discussions and book readings covering a wide swath of discussion. By early afternoon, film screenings will begin.

At 1:30 p.m., Honky Tonk Heaven: Legend of the Broken Spoke screens, detailing the history of an iconic music venue that’s hosted such artists as George Strait, Willie Nelson, Ernest Tubb, Bob Wills, George Jones, Roy Acuff and others. Later, another documentary, Alive and Kicking, details the culture of dedicated practitioners of swing dancing, a form that emerged from the otherwise grim days of the Great Depression.

Hit it Hard tells the story of bad boy golfer John Daly -- his ups and downs, his peak of play in sobriety and the depths of his addictions.

There are also community screenings comprising the work of up-and-coming filmmakers submitting their documentaries in competition. Films for the Forest is an annual international short film challenge created by Rainforest Partnership, aimed at bringing awareness to the importance of the rain forest in the global ecosystem. Another screening of shorts at the Marchesa theater highlights films by first-time filmmakers at the Austin School of Film ranging from the narrative and experimental to Super 8 and animation.

There are films to be screened offering mere escapism, too. Dark comedy The Trust tells the tale of Waters and Stone, two cops tediously working in the evidence room of the Las Vegas Police Department. They discover an alarmingly high bail receipt related to a drug bust, they decide to find the source of the money, hilarity ensues.

There are films to be screened today that are truly thought-provoking, not escapism but forcing one to engage in some critical thinking. The documentary Accidental Courtesy: Daryl Davis, Race & America tells the story of the titular protagonist -- an accomplished musician who’s played all over the world with legendary performers -- and his unusual hobby. A black man, Davis likes to meet and befriend members of the KKK to befriend them while breaking down the barriers of prejudice.

He befriends them to the point that he’s able to secure robes and hoods from them, which he adds to a growing collection in partaking of his hobby. Those are the tangible bits of his pasttime, but the real goal is to force others to answer the question: How can you hate me when you don’t even know me?

The narrative feature Slash yields a lesson of being true to oneself, even if others might not understand what motivates an individual. Neil likes erotica and is mortified when his writings on same are exposed in his high school. But then he meets the “effortlessly cool” and like-minded Julia, who comes to his defense against his bullying detractors. She encourages his writing. Will there also be romance between these two? Who knows; we do not engage in spoiler alerts.

Yarn documents the world of traditional crafts and crochet and knitting. Don’t laugh. This is no longer the low-key hobby it once was but “one of the hottest movements in modern art,” a synopsis explains. The doc follows a few international artist knitters as they take their yarn to the streets and into the consciousness of people who up to then were unfamiliar with the emotionally evocative nature the work can weave into one’s soul.

This is but a tiny sampling of what’s ahead at SXSW as it relates to film. The offerings are uber-abundant, the scale massive. For full schedules, click on the SXSW website.