Short Cuts

Not Enough Hours in the Day Dept.: With the bare-bones holiday season now behind us, there's a flood of new film-related panels, workshops, screenings, and whatnot on the local horizon. Without further ado... South by Southwest 2001 (March 9-18) is in search of volunteers to handle everything from registration duties, manning the ubiquitous info-kiosks, trade show and technical support, and taking flak from disgruntled media types who partied/woke up too late to catch that early show and now are in desperate need of a VHS screener to watch in time for their noon deadline. A thankless job you say? Hardly. "Volunteering offers opportunities to ... gain valuable contacts, business leads, and job experience," plus you're usually the first to know where all the cool parties are. Volunteer calls will be held Wednesday, Jan. 17, 5-9:30pm and Sunday, Jan. 21, from 1-5:30pm at the Hyatt Regency Hotel (208 Barton Springs Rd.). Call 467-7979 for more information... Also in SXSW news, Scott Smith's feature Rollercoaster, which took the Best Narrative Feature award at SXSW Film 2000, has been acquired for distribution by Panorama Entertainment and will be opening in Austin in February with other cities to follow... Butcher's 15, a mockumentary directed by local filmmaker Mike Akel and featuring an all-Austin cast and crew, will screen this evening, Thursday, Jan. 11, 9:30pm, at the Alamo Drafthouse. Described as a mix between Hands on a Hardbody and This Is Spinal Tap (sans guitars), the presentation will also feature a musical performance by local comic/punk rocker/bon vivant Jerm Pollett of Mr. Sinus Theater 3000 fame. Admission is $5. More info at 867-1839... Screenwriter Bonny Orr, Ph.D., has announced another round of her successful series of script workshops. The first, "Writing the Picture," will run Thursday from 7-9pm, Feb. 15-March 15, at GSD&M (828 W. 6th St.), and is "for writers wanting to write a professional film script or do a professional rewrite and polish." The second, "Spit and Polish: A Writer's Boot Camp," runs Thursday, 7-9 pm, March 22-April 19, also at GSD&M, and is aimed at "advanced screenwriters who want to kick their scripts up to the next level in a hurry." Both classes are $300, and early registration is advised as these tend to fill up quickly. Call 657-7820 or send e-mail to borr@jump.net for more information... I mentioned the bimonthly, Austin-based Flicker Film Festival in this column a while back, but to refresh, they feature short films by local filmmakers "and all other enthusiasts who dare to submit via e-mail." All films are 15 minutes in length and originate on film. They'll be having their first fest Thursday, Jan. 18, 8pm, at the Blue Theater (916 Springdale). Admission is $5. Not coincidentally, Wednesday, Jan. 17, is the deadline for filmmakers who wish to apply for the Flicker Film Grant (this is not restricted to those filmmakers screening at Flicker, only to local ones). Interested parties should submit a one-page idea for a short film to be shot on Super-8 or 16mm to: Flicker, 1602-B Summer Creek Court, Austin, TX 78704. Flicker's grant is "a whopping $100," which, as they note, isn't exactly the lottery, but it is a heckuva lot of Super-8. Directions to the Blue Theater and more information are available at www.flickeraustin.com or by calling 297-6224... Finally, congratulations are in order for Movies on MoPac producer Ryan Marquess and host Shelly Botkin, who have announced their engagement. The crazy-mad-in-love Marquess popped the question at the (real) Alamo last weekend, which, of course, resulted in much confusion for this column when it turned out Alamo Drafthouse Cinema owner Tim League had nothing to do with any of it. Go figure.