One of the industry’s most important and influential conferences, Austin, Texas’ South By Southwest, is just over a month away from kicking off, with this year’s event seeing over 2,000 performers play at more than 90 different venues over a period of 10 days.
The music, film, and interactive conference takes place from March 8th – 17th, and already has some truly enviable features on its programme, including a keynote address from the ever-prolific Dave Grohl, with the Foo Fighter speaking about his many musical projects and his directorial debut – the Sound City documentary. Joining Grohl on the list of key speakers is label head, star headhunter, and all-around industry legend Clive Davis.
Most exciting for Australian fans is that 40 Aussie acts are already confirmed to be flying the flag for their country at the ten day music and media conference.
Now organisers have revealed the full programme for the film portion of the festival, which takes place a few days before the music programme kicks off. Among the list of films are 24 music-related films, including a number of high-profile premieres and special screenings.
SXSW will host the worldwide premiere of the highly-anticipated Downloaded, a film by Alex Winter – the actor best known for his role as the titular Bill of the cult 90s flicks – about Napster and the discussion surrounding the nature of illegal downloading and sharing, plus its residual impact on popular culture.
On a similar theme, TPB AFK: The Pirate Bay Away From Keyboard will make its North American debut at SXSW. The film is the inside story of three hacktivists who became cult heroes for the internet generation and persecuted criminals to the media industry for running the worlds largest file sharing site, The Pirate Bay.
But one of the biggest crowds is anticipated for Dave Grohl’s Sound City documentary which recently played at cinemas across Australia for one night only. A personal project for Grohl, the documentary follows the Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters frontman on a journey through interviews with musicians and producers who worked at recording studio, Sound City, and the writing and recording of new music.
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The film features an all-star cast including Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, REO Speedwagon’s Kevin Cronin, John Fogerty, Weezer’s River Cuomo, and more. It also boasts one of the best movie soundtracks of all time featuring music from Stevie Knicks, Corey Taylor, Paul McCartney, and Grohl himself.
The 2013 SXSW Film Festival runs March 8-16; find out more details at sxsw.com/film.
SXSW 2013 Film Festival, Music Programme
Los Wild Ones
Director: Elise Salomon
Wild Records is an indie label reminiscent of the early days of Sun Records. The label is based in LA and run by Reb Kennedy aka Mr. Wild Records and is comprised of young Latin musicians who write and perform 50s Rock n Roll.
(World Premiere)
We Always Lie To Strangers
Directors: AJ Schnack, David Wilson
A story of family, community, music and tradition set against the backdrop of Branson, Missouri, the remote Ozark Mountain town that is one of the biggest tourist destinations in America.
(World Premiere)
Downloaded
Director: Alex Winter
A documentary that explores the rise and fall of Napster and the birth of the digital revolution. It’s about the teens that helped start this revolution, and the artists and industries who continue to be impacted by it.
(World Premiere)
Good Ol’ Freda
Director: Ryan White
The story of Freda Kelly, a shy Liverpudlian teenager asked to work for a young local band hoping to make it big: The Beatles. Their loyal secretary from beginning to end, Freda tells her tales for the first time in 50 years.
(World Premiere)
Spark: A Burning Man Story
Directors: Steve Brown, Jessie Deeter
What happens when you allow yourself to act on your dreams? Spark takes us behind the curtain with organizers and participants of Burning Man, revealing a year of unprecedented challenges and growth.
(World Premiere)
Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction (Switzerland)
Director: Sophie Huber
An iconic actor and passionate musician in his intimate moments, with film clips from some of his 250 films and his own heart-breaking renditions of American folk songs.
(U.S. Premiere)
Snap
Directors: Youssef Delara, Victor Teran, Screenwriter: Victor Teran
A stylish psychological thriller set against the underground dubstep DJ scene that takes the audience on a dark and terrifying journey into the depths of the psychopathic mind as it threatens to explode into horrific violence.
Cast : Jake Hoffman, Nikki Reed, Thomas Dekker, Scott Bakula, Jason Priestley
(World Premiere)
All the Labor
Director: Doug Hawes-Davis
Intimate performances and behind-the-scenes footage convey the life, labor and brotherhood of the distinctive purveyors of original American music, The Gourds, as they defy genres, expectations, and career clichés over two decades of musical joy.
(World Premiere)
Artifact
Director: Bartholomew Cubbins
Telling harsh truths about the modern music business, Artifact gives intimate access to singer/actor Jared Leto and his band Thirty Seconds to Mars as they battle their label in a brutal lawsuit and record their album This Is War.
A Band Called Death
Directors: Mark Christopher Covino, Jeff Howlett
Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols and the Ramones, there was a band called Death.
Born in Chicago
Director: John Anderson
Passed down from musician to musician, the Chicago blues transcended the color lines of the 1960s as young, white Chicago musicians apprenticed themselves to legends such as Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf.
(World Premiere)
Broadway Idiot
Director: Doug Hamilton
Punk Rock meets Broadway – WTF!?! Go behind the curtain with Green Day lead singer, Billie Joe Armstrong, as he ventures into the strange new world of Broadway. Will Billie Joe – or Broadway – ever be the same?
(World Premiere)
Brothers Hypnotic
Director: Reuben Atlas
Eight brothers, extraordinary brass musicians from Chicago’s South Side, test their brotherhood and their father’s legacy against mounting mainstream success.
(World Premiere)
¡Cuatro!
Director: Tim Wheeler
The film takes you inside the world of Green Day, chronicling the conceptualizing and recording of their current musical trilogy (Green Day ¡Uno! Green Day ¡Dos! Green Day ¡Tré!) and featuring intimate live performances that took place along the way.
Finding the Funk
Director/Screenwriter: Nelson George
A look at Funk’s past, present and enduring influence on contemporary music.
(World Premiere)
Good Vibrations (UK, Ireland)
Directors: Lisa Barros D’sa, Glenn Leyburn, Screenwriters: Colin Carberry, Glenn Patterson
A chronicle of Terri Hooley’s life, a record-store owner instrumental in developing Belfast’s punk-rock scene.
Cast : Richard Dormer, Jodie Whittaker, Michael Colgan, Karl Johnson, Liam Cunningham
(North American Premiere)
The Punk Singer
Director: Sini Anderson
What happened to Kathleen Hanna? The Punk Singer – a feature-length documentary about the musician (Bikini Kill, Le Tigre) and feminist icon – tells the story of where she’s been, and where she is now.
(World Premiere)
Reincarnated
Director: Andy Capper
The film follows Snoop Dogg on an intimate, spiritual journey, depicting the life and times of a conflicted modern icon striving for light in a world of darkness.
(North American Premiere)
This Ain’t No Mouse Music!
Directors: Chris Simon, Maureen Gosling
Roots music icon Chris Strachwitz (Arhoolie Records) takes us on a hip-shaking stomp from Texas to New Orleans, Cajun country to Appalachia, searching for the musical soul of America.
(World Premiere)
Twenty Feet from Stardom
Director: Morgan Neville
The untold story of the backup singer in popular music. It is a celebration of the voices from the edge, which brought shape and style to the soundtracks of our lives.
The Punk Syndrome (Finland)
Directors: Jukka Kärkkäinen, J-P Passi
Meet Finland’s most kick-ass punk rock band with a handicap: Toni, Sami, Pertti and Kari. The film follows the band’s journey from rehearsals to success, showing the love and hate between the guys.
Sound City
Director: Dave Grohl
Through interviews with musicians and producers who worked at recording studio, Sound City, and the writing and recording of new music, we observe the human element of making music and the art of analog recording.
TPB AFK: The Pirate Bay Away From Keyboard (Sweden, Denmark, Norway)
Director: Simon Klose
The inside story of three hacktivists who became cult heroes for the internet generation and persecuted criminals to the media industry for running the worlds largest file sharing site.
(North American Premiere)
No More Road Trips?
Director: Rick Prelinger
A dream ride through 20th-century America made entirely from home movies, asks whether we’ve reached the end of the open road. The soundtrack for this fully participatory film is made fresh daily by audiences at each screening.
(World Premiere)
