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South by Southwest is officially only one week away, with the SXSW Film Festival and Conference kicking off a week from this Friday and the Multimedia/Interactive Festival following right on its heels. It's not too late to register for the conference portions of the event; walk-up registration takes place at the Convention Center the weekend SXSW begins. The SXSW Film Festival is screening more than 60 programs over the course of nine days, including some regional and world premiere films. One film making its world premiere is Traveller, starring Texan Bill Paxton (Apollo 13, Twister), Julianna Margulies ("E.R."), and Mark Wahlberg (The Basketball Diaries), the story of which centers around an enclave of "travellers" ruled by Gypsy ways in the backwoods of the rural South who survive by pulling off scams and cons. A first directing credit for Academy Award-winning cinematographer Jack Green (Unforgiven), Traveller also has an impressive soundtrack, including songs by local musicians Jimmie Dale Gilmore and LouAnn Barton. Paxton, Margulies, Green, and others from the film will attend the screenings and conference. Passes for Film Festival screenings are $35 (including tax and service charge) and can still be purchased through Star Tickets (469-SHOW)... The Austin Cinemaker Coop is presenting their Reel of Fortune Super-8 film festival on Monday, March 3 at the Ritz Lounge on Sixth St. All films have a loose theme of "fortune" and utilize only in-camera edits. Admission is $3... The second of 11 films in the free Austin Film Society series Cinema Fist: The Films of Samuel Fuller, will show at 9pm on Tuesday, March 4, at the Texas Union Theatre. Shockproof (1949), written by Fuller and directed by Douglas Sirk, is a film noir that follows a parole officer who is seduced into a dangerous love affair with a paroled femme fatale... In celebration of International Women's Day, Austin's community media has organized the second annual International Women's Day Community Media Festival, which will broadcast 24 hours of women's programming on Saturday, March 8, featuring independently produced news, public affairs, and music. Listen in at KAZI-FM (88.7), or KOOP-FM (91.7); watch at Austin Community Access Center's cable channel 10; or log on to the Internet at Monsterbit Media's website (http://www.monsterbit.com/iwd/) for an all-day earful of women's voices. WATER (Women's Access to Electronic Resources), will be hosting an open house on the day of the festival for those who are interested in viewing via cable or the Internet. For hours, contact WATER at 444-1672... The Newton Boys, Richard Linklater's feature film-in-progress is casting "unique faces" as extras -- no acting experience necessary. The film is based on a true story of Texas bank robbers in the 1920s, so a short-haired look apropos of the era will do well to get you noticed. Send photos to: Newton Boys Casting,

PO Box 12607, Austin, TX 78711.