2019 UT RTF Longhorn Denius Student Film Showcase at SXSW
The UT Department of Radio-Television-Film is thrilled to announce the 2019 UT RTF Longhorn Denius Student Film Showcase which will screen in partnership with the SXSW Film Festival. This showcase highlights a rich diversity of recent fiction and documentary student films.
Taking place as a SXSW Community Screening the evening of Sunday, March 10, the showcase will be free and open to the public. Badge holders will be allowed in first, followed by film pass/wristband holders, after which, the public will be invited to join. Seating is limited, so get there early! More details below.
See RTF at SXSW for more information about all of the UT RTF-affiliated filmmakers involved in this year's festival.
AFS Cinema
6406 N I-35 Suite 3100
9:00pm —11:00pm
Official SXSW page: https://schedule.sxsw.com/2019/films/2010874
2019 PROGRAM
Origin (Drama)
Directed by David Parella
An astronaut from an interstellar colony returns to Earth to discover why they lost contact.
13:06
Pray for Dottie (Drama)
Directed by John David DeVirgiliis and Kenya Gillespie
Two strangers share an unexpected prayer.
11:30
First Generation (Animation)
Directed by Aaron Chavez
Blending stop-motion and 2-D animation, 'First Generation' follows an astronaut on the first crewed spacecraft bound for Mars as she reflects on the significance of the mission, the cosmos, and the future of humanity.
5:00
At Arm's Length (Documentary)
Directed by Dana Reilly
As the one-year anniversary of a mass shooting in Sutherland Springs, TX, approaches, two journalists try to reconcile their relationships to the victims with the demands of their work.
14:42
Steeling the Show (Animated comedy)
Directed by Zachary McVey
A small robot does whatever it takes to partake in a notorious fighting competition.
5:17
Autopista Norte / North Highway (Drama)
Directed by Andrés Torres
Tired of pursuing the American dream, an undocumented teenager decides to quit and head back home.
12:19
Metamorphosis (Experimental Documentary)
Directed by Mariana Canales
A journey through cancer.
6:57
Robert Junior (Drama)
Directed by Thomas Raker
In a world where people cannot die of natural causes, Rob Jr. must navigate his father's 100th birthday party and decide whether or not he wants to carry out a grim age-old ritual.
15:45
The Bubbleman (Documentary)
Directed by Sachin Dheeraj
An ex-veteran who was deployed to Afghanistan as an electrician is now impacting university students' lives by blowing bubbles on campus every Monday. They call him "The Bubbleman."
9:03
Roles We Play (Comedy)
Directed by Brittney Shepherd
An older professor longing for motherhood must recalibrate her path to pregnancy when she realizes one of her favorite students is a potential sperm donor.
24:15
In addition to the films screening in this program, many of our faculty and alumni are involved in the festival, and three of our graduate student films, along with films by alumni, are official selections of this year's festival, all playing in this year's Texas Shorts program:
Chicle (Gum)
Director: Lizette Barrera, Screenwriters: Lizette Barrera, Renier Murillo, Vittoria Rodriguez, Katy Atkinson, Elyssa Chapa
An ill-tempered teenager attempts to find peaceful solitude on the day of her grandfather’s passing until an estranged friend pays her a visit.
I Am Mackenzie
Director: Artemis Anastasiadou, Screenwriter: Brittany Worthington
Caught among toxic masculinity, a sequin dress and a teenage crush, a teen skater, growing up in rural Texas, will have sex for the first time in the back of their dad’s truck.
Sweet Sweet Kink: A Collection of BDSM Stories
Director: Maggie M. Bailey
The animated film Sweet Sweet Kink takes a sweet, sweet peek into the kinky world of bondage, dominance, and sadomasochism through stories of intimate connection, consensual exploration, and deep self-reflection.
At the heart of the dynamic Austin film scene, UT RTF is the incubator of many of today’s most innovative independent and commercial media makers. Not only is UT RTF the only top-ranking university program to excel in both media production and media studies, we are also one of the most affordable among our peers. Our alumni go on to enjoy a wide range of careers, including directing, editing, producing, cinematography, special FX, game design, screenwriting, scholarship, and teaching.
Historically, RTF filmmakers have earned national and international prominence with the films included in the annual showcase.
In recent years, Huay-Bing Law's JUNE was a finalist for a 2018 Student Academy Award and BAFTA student film awards, won first place in the HBO APA Visionaries Short Film Competition, and was picked up by HBO. Juan Pablo González won best documentary short at Slamdance for his meditative THE SOLITUDE OF MEMORY. Alvaro Torres Crespo's THE UNDESIRED PLACE won best short documentary at the 2014 Costa Rican International Film Festival and Best Central American Short at the 2014 Icaro Central American Film Festival (Guatamala). Annie Silverstein's drama SKUNK won first place out of 1631 student films worldwide in the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, Cinéfondation section; Elizabeth Chatelain's MY SISTER SARAH won the prestigious International Documentary Association student film award; and the Texas Governor's office recognized John Spottswood Moore’s personal documentary ONCE AGAIN with the Barbara Jordan Media Award. In 2013, three of the showcase films went on to win regional Student Academy Awards, and one of them, Brian Schwarz's OL' DADDY, clinched the national Student Academy Award in the narrative category.
SPECIAL THANKS TO THE SUPPORT OF:
Paul Stekler, SXSW Film Festival, Moody College of Communication, The University of Texas at Austin.
