SXSW second day recap
Sorry for the late post, but I’ve been having a devil of a time getting and keeping a network connection here at the convention center.
Well, the second day was pretty interesting, I hit 5 panels and 3 movies. The panel highlights included “Turning Projects into Revenue Generating Businesses” and “Your Web Application as a Text Adventure”. The latter was a really interesting take on application development, with the premise that you should be able to approach your user interactivity the same way that Text adventures (i.e. Zork, Leather Goddesses of Phobos, or Hitchhikers Guide) used to interact. Pretty Interesting.
Saw three films yesterday:
Cat Dancers - This was a really seamlessly done, if a little long. Told the story of the Holliday’s Cat Dancers, a three person dance/magic/bigger-than-your-tabby-at-home act similar to Siegfried and Roy. The Editing and direction were capable and the story was evenly paced, although it ran a little long for the subject in my opinion. The director did a great job at presenting things as they were, not straying into the obvious territory making fun of the rather flamboyant people involved. There is a tragic turn to this story that I won’t spoil for everyone, except to say that this was well handled in the film, and the filmmaker again does a great job presenting things as they are without too much obvious judgement.
Election Day - This is probably my favorite film so far in the festival. Great little verite documentary following all of the activity on election day November 2, 2004. The directors/filmmakers did a fantastic job blending footage from multiple crews all across the country into a film with a seamless look, sound, and evenhanded treatment of characters (not an easy feat). There is alot to be interested in here, lots of great characters, including an ex-con voting for the first time, one of the Republican poll watcher in Chicago, Indians voting on the reservations in Oklahoma. Really an eye-opening look at the election process in this country and what a chaotic mess it really is. The director correctly shied away from too overt a political agenda here (unlike in Running with Arnold), and has pulled together a great documentary film in the process. Highly recommended.
Big Rig - Those of you who know me well know that I am a big fan of Doug Pray and the movies Hype and Scratch. Because of that, I was really looking forward to this 2007 SXSW film by Doug Pray about long haul truckers and how they fit in the fabric of this country. I liked the film overall, but there were some things that bothered me. The film was too long for the subject matter, it felt like it started to really drag in the middle, and I left the film with several of the characters not really standing out in my mind. I think this one was worth watching, but I don’t think I’ll be recommending it.
Best to everyone!
