SXSW.08: Wrap Up, "Burger Hut" Trailers, Yeast

Purposeful graffiti in the Epoch Coffeehouse, Austin, TX
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The city of Austin, TX has seen rapid growth and prosperity in the last few years. Part of that falls between March 7th and March 17th of each year. The South By Southwest Film, Interactive and Music Festival has seen the same exponential growth as the city itself. I remember last year's festival being amazingly jammed (especially when the film & interactive portions were fading into music). This year, however, has been a staunch increase. According to a local bartender, his restaurant has averaged one-thousand more dollars a day during the festival than last year.

Keeping that in mind, I've tried to stay off the beaten path these last few days. When the music guys come in--due to the extremely large influx of people--the whole vibe of the festival changes. The days seem to get hotter; the streets trashier; the venues louder.

In general, I did a lot less partying and gallivanting--and even movie going--in exchange for intimate discussions in relatively quiet atmospheres. I also spent a great deal of time walking. As many of you already know, I broke my collar bone while snowboarding in Keystone, so I couldn't drive to the festival. Instead, I flew one-way and have been experimenting with various forms of public transportation. All-in-all a positive for the environment, but not so much for convenience. Tomorrow, I'll be riding back to the Dallas-Fort Worth area with David, leaving this great city behind.

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Kent Osborne outside the Alamo Ritz

Mumblecore ruled SXSW this year; and it all started with the trailers. This year, SXSW brought back the Burger Hut trailers (originally from the 2002 festival), starring Kent Osborne. This year's mockery include: a "mumblecore" theme party (Kent confuses it with "Dumbledore" theme party), and spoofs of 300, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Glengarry Glen Ross.

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The art of filmmaking is convoluted and complex. The naked and unguarded rarely receive the accolades they deserve because mainstream cinema is far more concerned with feeling good. Call me masochistic, but I don't want to feel good after leaving a film. Sure, if it's a Sunday afternoon and I want a cheerful cry as I laze around the house in boxers, reminiscing my old high school days and eating ice-cream, I may want to pop in a feel good comedy. Alright, those feelings actually surface a great deal--I won't lie to you. But when I'm at a film festival, I want to view films that impact me, that send shivers down my spine. I want to cry because it hurts. I want to cringe and laugh and then cringe again. I want intensity and experimentation. I want to learn something. And I don't want everything to be happy-go-lucky.

Mary Bronstein's Yeast is an intense look at friendship human beings. At its core, Yeast tackles the juvenile nature within us all. You may not want to admit it, but there's often been times you've wanted to slug someone you care about because, at the moment, you feel nothing but loathsome disgust for them. When everything they say or do grates on your eyeballs.

Bronstein's character, an extremely selfish control freak is extremely unlikable and irritating to the core. Her "friends," Amy Judd, a stubborn, immature brat and Greta Gerwig, a gadfly obsessed with the need for attention, both show me new flavors of puke. Watching them should bring me to convulsions. But again, I'm strangely attracted...

Yeast is a claustrophobic rage of a film. Largely shot by filmmakers Sean Williams and (really nice guy) Michael Tully, the film stays close to its subjects--oftentimes too close for comfort. Bronstein totally trumps any film dealing with jealousy and obsession. It's real, it's nasty and it's uncomfortable. You won't necessarily enjoy the experience of watching the film, but you'll certainly appreciate it for its honesty.

But then again, you may prefer the sugar-coated blandness of Hollywood and you may care nothing for truth or genuineness. If that's the case, go watch "Friends" or something. And stop reading my blog.