SIDETRACK FILMS

Beyond the Multiplex

Two of the best films at the 2007 South by Southwest Film Festival are movies about musicians, one of them the dead godhead of indie rock and the other an almost forgotten (but still living) pop legend. That certainly befits this festival in the self-professed live music capital of America. But if this year's edition of SXSW's movie bash will be remembered for the Genesis-scale downpours that have washed out patio parties (in between the gorgeous days) and maxed out this city's modest fleet of taxicabs, it will also be remembered as a festival of surprises.

Austin always offers a strong showcase for quirky documentaries and low-budget genre movies (especially horror films), but the field in both categories seems especially broad and deep here this year. I could stay another week and not catch everything I want to see. Many of the most-discussed movies here have been low-budget affairs that arrived with little advance publicity. Meanwhile, some of the most anticipated premieres, including critical biopics about Michael Moore ("Manufacturing Dissent") and Arnold Schwarzenegger ("Running With Arnold"), along with the farcical New Zealand horror picture "Black Sheep" (from the special-effects workshop behind "Lord of the Rings") are widely seen as disappointments. – read more

From Salon.com – Posted on March 15 2007

KURT COBAIN ABOUT A SON

A Slipping Down Life

All of this screen-, panel-discussion- and party-hopping is beginning to take it out of me — and, I assume, many of my T/F-attending brethren and sistren — so I'll probably just incorporate my Day 2 recap into tomorrow's True/False Film Festival wrap-up.

For the moment, I'll leave you with the above image, provided by the Tribune's Gerry McCarthy, of the Pine Hill Haints as they perform this morning on the back of a bus — which was joined by two others, including one of the veggie-guzzling variety — en route to the Reel Gone Roundup at the old sale barn behind the Bull Pen Cafe.

One thing I do need to mention now is how much of a privilege it was to get a chance to experience AJ Schnack's "Kurt Cobain About a Son" this afternoon at The Blue Note.

Thanks to True/False these past two years, I've developed a strong rapport with my fellow University of Missouri journalism-school grad.

Putting that association aside, I think it's fair to say that Schnack, producer/wife Shirley Moyers, co-producer/provider-of-source-material Michael Azerrad and definitely director of photography Wyatt Troll, scorers Steve Fisk and Ben Gibbard and music supervisor Linda Cohen have lovingly handed us a singular, ambrosial 35 mm "death poem" — as Schnack related Troll saw it — giving us a better understanding of the depression-wracked life of one of the most significant artists of the late 20th century.

Beautifully done. – read more

From Columbia Tribune – Posted on March 04 2007

Low and Behold

'Low and Behold': A Post-Disaster New Orleans

The independent feature film Low and Behold is a portrait of New Orleans after a Katrina-like disaster. The movie debuted at the Sundance Film Festival last month.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7641956 – read more

From NPR – Posted on February 28 2007

Low and Behold

Review: "Low and Behold" (Sundance)

I’d seen New Orleans after Katrina. I’d watched it on CNN and Fox News. I’d seen the benefit concerts. I’d rented When the Levees Broke from Netflix.
But I hadn’t truly seen New Orleans.

I didn’t realize this until I saw Low and Behold at the Sundance Film Festival.

I guess you can’t truly appreciate the magnitude of the destruction unless you actually set foot in New Orleans, but Low and Behold helped me to imagine what it’s like. – read more

From CinemaATL Magazine – Posted on February 18 2007

Low and Behold

Sundance Wrap-Up: The Winners and The Overlooked

A day or two after I arrived in Park City for the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, I found myself chatting with a documentary director at a party. As he explained, he was taking a detour from a year-long festival tour promoting his second major doc, which had premiered last fall at the Toronto Film Festival, only to be overshadowed by some of the more star-studded projects on the program. "I mean, we got enough press," the director told me. "But Toronto is a festival where it's still possible to play under the radar. Unlike Sundance." – read more

From Netscape Blog – Posted on January 30 2007

Low and Behold

Beyond the Multiplex: Parsing the movies that took the prizes. Plus: Ten festival premieres that ought to make some noise!

Sundance always seems to come to a halt with a weird thud, handing out awards that muddy the issue of what this festival is actually about and make nobody happy. This year is no exception. By my count, 29 prizes were spread around among filmmakers, producers, writers and cinematographers at the ceremony in Park City, Utah, on Saturday night. This is still big news, dutifully reported in every newspaper in the country. Beyond the slack-jawed, autonomic response of the entire entertainment media to the festival's name -- which may indeed be the point -- I'm not completely sure why. – read more

From Salon.com – Posted on January 29 2007

				KURT COBAIN ABOUT A SON Beyond the Multiplex Two of the best films at the 2007 South by Southwest Film Festival are movies about musicians, one of them the dead godhead of indie rock and the other an almost forgotten (but still living) pop legend. That certainly befits this festival in the self-professed live music capital of America. But if this year's edition of SXSW's movie bash will be remembered for the Genesis-scale downpours that have washed out patio parties (in between the gorgeous days) and maxed out this city's modest fleet of taxicabs, it will also be remembered as a festival of surprises. Austin always offers a strong showcase for quirky documentaries and low-budget genre movies (especially horror films), but the field in both categories seems especially broad and deep here this year. I could stay another week and not catch everything I want to see. Many of the most-discussed movies here have been low-budget affairs that arrived with little advance publicity. Meanwhile, some of the most anticipated premieres, including critical biopics about Michael Moore ("Manufacturing Dissent") and Arnold Schwarzenegger ("Running With Arnold"), along with the farcical New Zealand horror picture "Black Sheep" (from the special-effects workshop behind "Lord of the Rings") are widely seen as disappointments. – read more From Salon.com – Posted on March 15 2007

				KURT COBAIN ABOUT A SON A Slipping Down Life All of this screen-, panel-discussion- and party-hopping is beginning to take it out of me — and, I assume, many of my T/F-attending brethren and sistren — so I'll probably just incorporate my Day 2 recap into tomorrow's True/False Film Festival wrap-up. For the moment, I'll leave you with the above image, provided by the Tribune's Gerry McCarthy, of the Pine Hill Haints as they perform this morning on the back of a bus — which was joined by two others, including one of the veggie-guzzling variety — en route to the Reel Gone Roundup at the old sale barn behind the Bull Pen Cafe. One thing I do need to mention now is how much of a privilege it was to get a chance to experience AJ Schnack's "Kurt Cobain About a Son" this afternoon at The Blue Note. Thanks to True/False these past two years, I've developed a strong rapport with my fellow University of Missouri journalism-school grad. Putting that association aside, I think it's fair to say that Schnack, producer/wife Shirley Moyers, co-producer/provider-of-source-material Michael Azerrad and definitely director of photography Wyatt Troll, scorers Steve Fisk and Ben Gibbard and music supervisor Linda Cohen have lovingly handed us a singular, ambrosial 35 mm "death poem" — as Schnack related Troll saw it — giving us a better understanding of the depression-wracked life of one of the most significant artists of the late 20th century. Beautifully done. – read more From Columbia Tribune – Posted on March 04 2007

				Low and Behold 'Low and Behold': A Post-Disaster New Orleans The independent feature film Low and Behold is a portrait of New Orleans after a Katrina-like disaster. The movie debuted at the Sundance Film Festival last month. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7641956 – read more From NPR – Posted on February 28 2007

				Low and Behold Review: "Low and Behold" (Sundance) I’d seen New Orleans after Katrina. I’d watched it on CNN and Fox News. I’d seen the benefit concerts. I’d rented When the Levees Broke from Netflix. But I hadn’t truly seen New Orleans. I didn’t realize this until I saw Low and Behold at the Sundance Film Festival. I guess you can’t truly appreciate the magnitude of the destruction unless you actually set foot in New Orleans, but Low and Behold helped me to imagine what it’s like. – read more From CinemaATL Magazine – Posted on February 18 2007

				Low and Behold Sundance Wrap-Up: The Winners and The Overlooked A day or two after I arrived in Park City for the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, I found myself chatting with a documentary director at a party. As he explained, he was taking a detour from a year-long festival tour promoting his second major doc, which had premiered last fall at the Toronto Film Festival, only to be overshadowed by some of the more star-studded projects on the program. "I mean, we got enough press," the director told me. "But Toronto is a festival where it's still possible to play under the radar. Unlike Sundance." – read more From Netscape Blog – Posted on January 30 2007

				Low and Behold Beyond the Multiplex: Parsing the movies that took the prizes. Plus: Ten festival premieres that ought to make some noise! Sundance always seems to come to a halt with a weird thud, handing out awards that muddy the issue of what this festival is actually about and make nobody happy. This year is no exception. By my count, 29 prizes were spread around among filmmakers, producers, writers and cinematographers at the ceremony in Park City, Utah, on Saturday night. This is still big news, dutifully reported in every newspaper in the country. Beyond the slack-jawed, autonomic response of the entire entertainment media to the festival's name -- which may indeed be the point -- I'm not completely sure why. – read more From Salon.com – Posted on January 29 2007