Longhorns at SXSW 2015

The 2015 SXSW Film Festival is coming to Austin, March 13th-21st. Selected from a record number of submissions, this year's lineup includes many films by Longhorns. Please check this page as we update it with RTF at SXSW activities.

Shorts • Features • Episodics • Special Events • Recognition 
Panels • Mentors • Workshops • Alumni Reunion Party • RTF @SXSW Schedule

SHORTS

	GUEST ROOM (NARRATIVE SHORTS) Director: Joshua Tate (BS '08) A young woman with Down Syndrome (Glee's Lauren Potter) grapples with intimacy, identity, and adulthood after an unplanned pregnancy with her boyfriend. (World Premiere)
	CALLS TO OKIES: THE PARK GRUBBS STORY (DOCUMENTARY SHORTS) Directors: Bradley Beesley, Ben Steinbauer (MFA '07) In the early 1980’s, a group of disenfranchised Oklahoma teenagers mastered the art of prank phone calls and became known as Park Grubbs. (World Premiere)
	+ / - (TEXAS SHORTS) Directors: Andy Irvine (MFA '14), Mark Smoot (MFA '08) A young couple examines their relationship as they await the result of a pregnancy test. (World Premiere)
	CARNE SECA (TEXAS SHORTS) Director: Jazmin Diaz (RTF Senior) Cinematographer: Jonathan Edward Cox (RTF Senior) Brothers David and Oscar Juarez have until sunset in rural Mexico to turn a profit on their father’s business, or face the consequences of his belligerence. (World Premiere)
	DETECTIVE CALZONE (TEXAS SHORTS) Director: Austin Tolin (BS '09) When a new piece of evidence arrives for an unsolved case, Detective Lenny Calzone decides to put in a late night at the crime lab. (World Premiere)
	THE SAMARITANS (TEXAS SHORTS) Director: John Bryant (BS '97) Editor: Don Swaynos (BS '02) A salesman faces the most difficult and important negotiation of his life. (World Premiere)
	A THIEF IN THE NIGHT (AUSTIN FILM SOCIETY SHORTCASE 2015) Co-directors: Kyle Seaquist (MFA student) and Caleb Kuntz (MFA student) An engagement party is interrupted with the arrival of a mysterious, unexpected guest.
	LEAVES ON TREES (AUSTIN FILM SOCIETY SHORTCASE 2015) Director: Nathan Duncan (MFA '14) A short coming-of-age narrative that follows 9-year-old Ira Harris as he navigates a new neighborhood, new peers, and his first set of prescription glasses.
	ONE HITTA QUITTA (AUSTIN FILM SOCIETY SHORTCASE 2015) Director: Ya'Ke Smith (MFA '06) A teenage boy's addiction to Internet violence, leads him to act out violently himself.
	ENVY (AUSTIN FILM SOCIETY SHORTCASE 2015) Director: Daniel Stuyck (MFA '10) 12 images in 3800 fragments. A hymn to the most universal of human emotions, in all its stroboscopic glory. Music by The Able Sea.
	SHOTGUN OF FAITH (AUSTIN FILM SOCIETY SHORTCASE 2015) Director: Brittney Shepherd (MFA student) This film chronicles a season with Barry Chinn, an ailing Texas cowboy pastor. As the number of literal cowboys in Texas dwindles, can he grow a church based on a way of life that hardly exists anymore? With an intimate observational style, this short film reflects the complexity of what it means to welcome inevitable change while attempting, in part, to stay the same.
	THE SOLITUDE OF MEMORY (AUSTIN FILM SOCIETY SHORTCASE 2015) Writer/Director: Juan Pablo González (MFA student) DP: James Hickox (MFA student) A meditative portrait about a Mexican father mourning the untimely death of his son. Cast: José Bolaños, Jesus Bolaños WINNER FOR BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY, SLAMDANCE 2015 *MA student Sean Malin recently interviewed González about his documentary; see story.

FEATURES

	6 YEARS (NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION) Director/Screenwriter: Hannah Fidell Producers: Kelly Williams (BS’ 99), Jonathan Duffy (BS ’00), Andrew Logan (BS '04) Executive Producers: Jay Duplass (UT alum, former RTF student) and Mark Duplass (UT alum, former RTF student) A young couple bound by a seemingly ideal love begins to unravel as unexpected opportunities spin them down a volatile and violent path and threaten the future they had always imagined. Cast: Taissa Farmiga, Ben Rosenfield, Lindsay Burdge, Joshua Leonard, Jennifer Lafleur, Peter Vack, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Molly McMichael, Jason Newman (World Premiere)
	A BRAVE HEART: THE LIZZIE VELASQUEZ STORY (DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION) Director: Sara Hirsh Bordo Editor: Christopher Roldan (Lecturer, BS '02) Born with a rare syndrome that prevents her from gaining weight, Elizabeth "Lizzie" Velasquez was first bullied as a child in school for looking different and, later online, as a teenager when she discovered a YouTube video labeling her "The World's Ugliest Woman." The film chronicles unheard stories and details of Lizzie’s physical and emotional journey up to her multi-million viewed TEDx talk, and follows her pursuit from a motivational speaker to Capitol Hill as she lobbies for the first federal anti-bullying Bill.
	KRISHA (NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION) Director/Screenwriter: Trey Edward Shults Cinematographer: Drew Daniels (BS '08) When Krisha returns for a holiday gathering, the only things standing in her way are family, dogs, and turkey. Cast: Krisha Fairchild, Robyn Fairchild, Bill Wise, Chris Doubek, Olivia Grace Applegate, Chase Joliet, Alex Dobrenko, Bryan Casserly, Augustine Frizzell, Trey Edward Shults. (World Premiere)
	MANSON FAMILY VACATION (NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION) Director/Screenwriter: J. Davis Executive Producers: Mark Duplass (UT alum, former RTF student) and Jay Duplass (UT alum, former RTF student) The story of two brothers: one who’s devoted to his family, the other who’s obsessed with the Manson Family. Cast: Jay Duplass, Linas Phillips, Leonora Pitts, Tobin Bell, Adam Chernick, Davie-Blue. (World Premiere)
	7 CHINESE BROTHERS (NARRATIVE SPOTLIGHT) Director/Screenwriter: Bob Byington [UT alum] A man unaccustomed to telling the truth learns to at least describe it. Cast: Jason Schwartzman, Tunde Adebimpe, Eleanore Pienta, Olympia Dukakis, Stephen Root (World Premiere)
	I DREAM TOO MUCH (NARRATIVE SPOTLIGHT) Director/Screenwriter: Katie Cokinos Editor/DP: Alex Rappoport (MA '91) Dora Welles is an imaginative college grad ready to experience all the excitement of life. Instead she finds herself in snowy upstate New York caring for her reclusive great aunt (who has lived a much more exciting life than anyone realizes). Cast: Eden Brolin, Diane Ladd, Danielle Brooks, James McCaffrey, Christina Rouner. (World Premiere)
	PETTING ZOO (Germany/USA/Greece) (VISIONS) Director/Screenwriter: Micah Magee (BS ’01) A story of love, sex and teen pregnancy in San Antonio, Texas. Petting Zoo is the portrait of a young woman coming into her own, in an environment that does not always present ideal circumstances. Cast: Devon Keller, Austin Reed, Deztiny Gonzales, Kiowa Tucker (North American Premiere)
	UNCLE KENT 2 (VISIONS) Director: Todd Rohal (former lecturer), Screenwriter: Kent Osborne In a desperate search to create a follow-up to Joe Swanberg's 2011 film Uncle Kent, Kent Osborne travels to a comic convention where he confronts the end of the world. Cast: Kent Osborne, Kate Herman, Lyndsay Hailey, Jennifer Prediger, Steve Little, Joe Swanberg (World Premiere)
	THE JONES FAMILY WILL MAKE A WAY (24 BEATS PER SECOND) Director/Screenwriter: Alan Berg (UT Moody College alum, Journalism) Executive Producers: Kristin Johansen-Berg (UT alum), Craig Parks, Erik Horn, Yuta Yamaguchi (BS '08) A rural, Pentecostal preacher and a jaded rock critic form an unlikely alliance that pushes them both in unexpected ways. (World Premiere)
	SIR DOUG AND THE GENUINE TEXAS COSMIC GROOVE (24 BEATS PER SECOND) Director: Joe Nick Patoski (former student), Screenwriters: Joe Nick Patoski, Jason Wehling (former student) Wild hippie cowboy musician with too much music inside, takes his talent from San Antonio to San Francisco to Austin and the world. (World Premiere)
	ENTERTAINMENT (FESTIVAL FAVORITES) Director: Rick Alverson, Screenwriters: Rick Alverson, Gregg Turkington Executive Producer Andrew Logan (BS '04) and Post-production Supervisor David Fabelo (’05) En route to meet his estranged daughter and attempt to revive his dwindling career, a broken, aging comedian plays a string of dead-end shows in the Mojave desert. Cast: Gregg Turkington, John C. Reilly, Tye Sheridan
	RESULTS (FESTIVAL FAVORITES) Director/Screenwriter: Andrew Bujalski (former lecturer) A take on self improvement culture in America – with all its promise and absurdity – stuffed into a peculiar romantic comedy. Cast: Guy Pearce, Cobie Smulders, Kevin Corrigan, Giovanni Ribisi, Anthony Michael Hall, Brooklyn Decker, Constance Zimmer *SXsports screening

EPISODICS

iZOMBIE (EPISODICS) Director: Rob Thomas (UT alum); Screenwriters: Rob Thomas, Diane Ruggiero-Wright Writers' Assistant, Executive Producer's Assistant, Freelance Writer: Bob Dearden* (MFA ’13);  Season One Writers' Assistant: John Bellina (MFA '13); Writers' Production Assistant: Phil Hoover (MFA '14) From Rob Thomas and based on the comic book, the CW Network’s iZOMBIE centers on Olivia “Liv” Moore, a bright young woman who’s also a newly turned zombie. She clings to her humanity by working in the city morgue and helping the police investigate unsolved murders. Cast: Rose McIver, Malcolm Goodwin, Rahul Kohli, Robert Buckley, David Anders (World Premiere) *Read interview with Bob Dearden.

SPECIAL EVENTS

JONATHAN DEMME PRESENTS MADE IN TEXAS Directors: Louis Black (MA ’80), Mark Rance The restoration of six films made in Austin in the early 1980s including David Boone's Invasion of the Aluminum People. The program was originally curated by Jonathan Demme and presented at the Collective for Living Cinema in NYC. (World Premiere)

NATURAL USER INTERFACE DESIGN FOR ENGAGING ART AND PERFORMANCE In this session new media artists Joao Beira (PhD student, UT Portugal program) and Jerome Morrison explore how new technologies for natural user interface design can engage participants in the visual and performing arts. Following a presentation of their own work, the artists will discuss the affordances and drawbacks to natural user interfaces in expressive performance design. The artists will detail how a number of different interface technologies work, such as the leap motion sensor, Kinect, infrared cameras, and discuss the pros and cons of each. Through joining this session, participants will gain an overview of current tools and techniques for embodied interface design and how they can used to create an engaging visual and performing arts experience.

RECOGNITION

Honoring Digital Do-Gooders: Dewey Winburne Community Service Awards
Sr. Lecturer Karen Kocher is bening honored for the 2015 Dewey Winburne Community Service Award at SXSW Interactive. The award is given to "10 community do-gooders ... for their use of digital technology to help others."

Dewey Awards Ceremony
7:00PM Thursday, March 12
St. David's Episcopal Church, Bethel Hall
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

PANELS

DIY THEATRICAL DISTRIBUTION FOR INDEPENDENT FILMS
Participate in this conversation with indie filmmakers such as directors RTF Assistant Professorl PJ Raval (BEFORE YOU KNOW IT), Andrew Matthews, and Katie Graham, and producers Sara Giustini (BS '03) and Annie Bush, about successfully releasing your independent film in theaters either partially or entirely DIY.

INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS ON WORKING WITH ACTORS
Independent directors have a special relationship with actors. They can be their neighbors, their peers, their friends, their family; sometimes directors are even actors themselves. Hear from four award-winning Austin directors: Andrew Bujalski (RESULTS, COMPUTER CHESS), Kat Candler (HELLION, CICADAS), Todd Rohal (RAT PACK RAT, THE CATECHISM CATACLYSM) & David Zellner (KUMIKO: THE TREASURE HUNTER, KID-THING) discuss working with actors. Topics include developing characters from script to screen; unconventional casting; directing non-actors vs. pros; collaboration, improvisation & surprises on set; tips for first time directors on getting the performances you want; how their own acting has influenced their directing; and the actor s/he most wants to direct. Presented by the SAG Foundation.

MEET THE INSIDERS I
Professor Ellen Spiro will moderate this panel.
Meet the Insiders offers an inside track on the industry with Morris Ruskin (Shoreline), and Inbal Weinberg (Production Designers Collective). These sessions allow the audience to connect with the film community, and gain insight into the industry from the insiders at the forefront of their respective fields.

MEET THE INSIDERS II
Professor Ellen Spiro will moderate this panel.
Meet the Insiders offers an inside track on the industry with Elsa Ramo (Ramo Law PC), Deena Kalai (Deena Kalai PLLC) and Michael Donaldson (Donaldson & Callif LLP). These sessions allow the audience to connect with the film community, and gain insight into the industry from the insiders at the forefront of their respective fields.

BILINGUAL MEDIA: LATINO ENTERTAINMENT IN THE XXI CENTURY
2015 has already proven to be a landmark year for Latinos in television. In this panel, you will hear from industry leaders and trailblazers who have made immense contributions to facilitate this positive and long overdue advancement. Hear from the industry leaders championing real representations and a new perspective on a wide-reaching community. Professor Charles Ramírez Berg is a presenter.

MENTORS

Mentors - Distribution II: Sara Giustini (Untitled Films)

Mentors - Producers/Production: Chris Ohlson (Producer)

Mentors - Screenwriting: Jason Cortlund

Mentors - Screenwriting: Cindy McCreery

Mentors - Sales and Acquisitions I: Deborah McIntosh (WME Entertainment)

WORKSHOPS/COMMUNITY EVENTS

For Those About to Lock: The Editing Workshop - with Christopher Roldan (Lecturer, BS'02)
Many mistakes are often made in the post-production process of a narrative or documentary feature. These mistakes cost time and money and are usually made because of a lack of understanding of the logical path from first cut to rough cut, fine cut to lock. My goal is to use my experiences and mistakes to teach filmmakers how to avoid common roadblocks and efficiently take a cut from its roughest inception all the way to a polished finish. This is not a panel about what buttons to push on the Avid. This is about creating the best finished work possible in the shortest amount of time possible.

SXSW Community Workshop: Austin School of Film Youth 3D Workshop - with Jeanne Stern (MFA '07 )