1. South by Southwest started like all southern, 80 degree weekends should… on a Wednesday. But arriving into Austin that morning, it seemed as if the clouds were holding strong. Though I didn’t really care since my first stop of was going to be under a tent. My friend, and futon provider for the weekend, was working at the Fader Fort, so I started there where DOM kicked it off to the early crowd.

The latter half of SXSW is the most intense as thousands upon thousands of music fans descend upon Austin. The film portion of the festival is the only one that runs all nine days, which means we get to see/tolerate interactive geeks the first five days, followed by the grungy music hipsters the last 4 days. We film goers do stare and judge from the long screening lines.

The awards were announced midweek, and the winners left many scratching their heads. Most had neither seen nor heard much about these films (particularly Natural Selection which swept the awards with seven wins).

Roger Ebert was on the jury for Narrative Features, and Lisa Schwarzbaum was on the jury for documentary features. Both are people who know their stuff. So of course, I had to check these movies out. As it seems, the thousands of other South By film attendees did.

Photos by Daniel Boczarski and Words by Josh Antonuccio

As the over-crowded streets of Austin reached a near-fever pitch, SXSW ended today with a host of killer performances, secret shows, and mixed emotions.

The biggest news of the night, by far, was the unmistakable presence of hip-hop royalty for the final night of SXSW, with Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. music show at the Vevo power station commanding the most media attention and speculation. Unfortunately, nearly two-thirds of those who had RSVP’d were sent a text earlier in the day informing them that they wouldn’t be able to fit them all. For those who were able to gain access, the show didn’t disappoint with its star power, with the likes of Jay-Z, John Legend, Bon Iver, Mos Def, and Kid Cudi, as well as other members of Kanye’s label and the man himself, all making appearances on stage.

Any of my line-shyness is now gone. At the beginning of the week you have to work for an opening to talk to the person standing next to you in line. Now, with the end of the festival in sight, there’s a level of urgency. What movies haven’t you seen yet? What movies have you seen that were good that I haven’t seen? It’s protocol to now get in line and immediately ask, “So, what’s good?”. No superficial “How are you?” or “Where are you from?”, people just get right to it.

The first film announced in this year’s SXSW film line-up was The Beaver, “that Mel Gibson movie with the puppet” is the popular synopsis. There clearly was a high level of shared trepidation going into this screening on the part of the audience, the press, and even the director/star Jodie Foster.

This was the film’s world premiere and also highly unusual as it was the first time it was screened in front of an audience. Almost every film has test screenings. Foster said she felt like she needed to “keep it safe” until people were ready to see it, and even now she realizes not everyone is ready, or even willing to see it.

Photos: Daniel Boczarski and Words: Josh Antonuccio

With the weekend in full swing, South by Southwest is now exploding with activity, with Sixth Street and it’s immediate surroundings engulfed with people and an endless array of musicians, playing wherever they can, both on the streets and in the venues.

Day 3 started off with a fascinating interview with Yoko Ono held at the Convention Center. Starting with a 10-minute retrospective film, the interview covered her creative life through her work as an artist and her collaborations with John Lennon.  It was an emotional event for all involved as one of the closest people to the late Beatle shared personal stories of their work and relationship with one another, as well as her artistic journey after his death. She and Sean Lennon will both be performing tonight.