On Saturday, March 12, 2011 I attended the gala World Premiere of Attack the Block at the SXSW Film Festival. The sold-out screening took place at downtown Austin’s Alamo Ritz. The film was a selection in the Midnighters section.

Set in a “typical” working class neighborhood in gritty South London, this dark comedic drama features a diverse group of teens out to defend their neighborhood from a mysterious unseen force. In my requisite spoiler-free fashion, I can say little more regarding the plot although one can rest assured that this film is NOT what it appears to be at first glance. Executive producer (and accomplished director in his own right) Edgar Wright and writer/director Joe Cornish have teamed up to bring to the screen (finally) a totally unique take on life in hardscrabble London and the restless bands of kids who roam the streets at night.

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On Monday, March 14, 2011, I attended a gala screening of Win Win at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas. The event took place in the stunning 1200-seat Paramount Theatre, built in 1915.

The film was featured in the Headliners section. Directing from his own script, this sweet little American indie is the third feature for Tom McCarthy (The Station Agent, The Visitor). The movie stars Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, Bobby Cannavale, Jeffrey Tambor, and real-life champion high school wrestler Alex Shaffer as Kyle.

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While at the 2011 SXSW Film Festival I sat down with screenwriter Andrew Lanham, who’s won the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting for his script “The Jumper of Maine.” On March 26 the Austin, Texas native will be honored at “The Reading,” a staged reading of his screenplay at Ballroom Marfa, a contemporary cultural arts space in Marfa, Texas.

Lanham is in his final year of the University of Texas at Austin RTF (Radio, Television, and Film) Graduate MFP Program. His script also won the Drama Screenplay Competition and the Latitude Productions Screenplay Award at the 2010 Austin Film Festival.

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On Saturday, March 12, 2011, I attended the World Premiere of 96 Minutes at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas. The sold-out screening took place in the elegant neighbor to the Paramount, the State Theatre, a 298-seat venue being used for the first time this year at the festival.

The film was one of eight titles in the prestigious Narrative Feature Competition, selected from over 1000 entries. Directing from her own script, this American indie marks the feature debut for Aimee Lagos.

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Fourth of a five-part series

In Real Tips For Real People #1, I offered some general advice for travelers headed to the SXSW Film Festival, which begins Friday and runs through March 19. Yesterday, in Real Tips For Real People #2, I posted pointers on how to get to and around downtown Austin, Texas. Then in Real Tips For Real People #3 we went over some of the rules, etiquette, and secrets of what happens from the moment you enter the theater until you leave.

Now you’re ready to move on to the next screening. Hopefully you’ve allowed enough time, and that’s trickier than you may realize.

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Second of a five-part series

Yesterday, in Real Tips For Real People #1, I offered some general advice for travelers headed to the SXSW Film Festival, which begins Friday and runs through March 19. In this entry: how to get to and around downtown Austin, Texas.

You’ll probably be flying into Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, ranked best in North America in the Airport Service Quality Awards. Renting a car is always an option but isn’t really necessary to get from venue to venue — many are within walking distance of each other as well as the hotels and Convention Center.

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Competition selections have now been revealed for the prestigious 10th Annual Tribeca Film Festival in New York, which runs from April 20 – May 1. The lineup of films is being rolled out in two announcements.

The 2011 Festival will include a total of 88 feature-length films. The 44 announced today are selections in the World Narrative Feature Competition, World Documentary Feature Competition, and a new out-of-competition section titled Viewpoints.

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