the candler blog

My Seventh SXSW

This is my seventh SXSW. If I were a wizard I’d be studying for the N.E.W.T.s. So, as a fourth year senior around these parts, some thoughts:

  • SXSW is, at this point, the only film festival attend. Back when I lived in New York City, Tribeca and the New York Film Festival were the other biggies on the calendar. Someday maybe I’ll make it back to Deadcenter. There are so many other fests I should check out as well.
  • Without taking the time to count up the films, this year’s slate feels really documentary heavy to me. I don’t think there are any more or less than in year’s past. My guess is that documentary publicists have proven the more tenacious bunch, and so the emails I’m most likely to read are for docs.
  • The President is speaking at SXSW. That’s bonkers.
  • I maintain that, while SXSW is one massive unified fest, complaints of it being a shit show are…not about the film festival. As big and crazy as downtown Austin gets, SXSW Film still feels like, well, a film festival. A bunch of people gathering to appreciate and discover new work. I don’t understand what actually happens at Interactive, although I love checking out the trade show floor and appreciate all the free, like, candy bars and stuff companies give out. And Music…Music is crazy.
  • I feel like I should take Mayor Adler’s warnings to stay the hell away from downtown tomorrow more seriously.
  • This map takes too long to read so I’m sure it’ll all be fine.
  • Aaron Draplin, creator of Field Notes (which I’m nutso about), will be in town. Cool.
  • The first film I ever saw at SXSW was Kick-Ass.
  • The last film I saw at SXSW was, I think, The Boy.
  • I can’t believe I just watched the third episode of the fifth season of Girls. The premiere of Tiny Furniture still feels like yesterday. Also a funny footnote: it was touted as the first feature shot entirely on a DSLR at the time.
  • For some reason the only photo from SXSW 2010 on my Flickr page is a of the team behind Annie Goes Boating, a 3D indie short that I said “feels like a painting, one you could get up and walk around in.”
  • VR in 2016 reminds me of 3D in 2010.
  • They say this is the 30th year of the fest, which means I’m older than SXSW. Ugh.

Anyway, I’m excited to take this fest on once more. I’ll be writing about it here and elsewhere. Don’t worry I’ll remind you.