Split Screen

Three segments showcasing the work of Austin filmmakers will be featured on this week's episode of Split Screen, the half-hour-long magazine-format show about the world of independent film hosted and produced by John Pierson for the Independent Film Channel. The entertaining, informative, and irreverent show explores "the art, the heart, and the enterprise of the American independent film." And few know the ins and outs of the scene better than Pierson, who has served as a producer's representative and/or provided completion funds for at least a couple dozen key indie film projects, including She's Gotta Have It, Working Girls, The Thin Blue Line, Slacker, Roger & Me, Laws of Gravity, Go Fish, Clerks, and Crumb. He is also the executive producer of Chasing Amy and the author of Spike, Mike, Slackers & Dykes: A Guided Tour Across a Decade of Independent Cinema.

For Season 2 of Split Screen, Pierson and his compact crew climbed aboard an RV to take viewers on a "wild ride through the indie film world." The camper stopped in Austin to take a look around during the SXSW Film Conference and Festival. While here, Pierson also caught up with some of the filmmakers who are working on upcoming segments, interviewing them in the camper and looking at rough cuts.

The Austin-made segments include "Weekend With Larry" by Elisabeth Sikes, a video visit with actor Lawrence Tierney (the legendary actor who has had something of a career resurgence with Reservoir Dogs); "The Texas Union Massacre," by Kyle Henry and Spencer Parsons (described in the accompanying interview); and "Sweet Sweetroll's Baadasssss Spin" by Bob Ray, a Super-8 film made for a Cinemaker Coop festival which Pierson viewed last summer when he served as a judge for the Texas Filmmakers' Production Fund and decided to recognize with an unprecedented non-cash award of a screening slot on his show.

The Split Screen "Austin Show" airs on the Independent Film Channel Monday, May 11 at 7 & 10pm; the episode also repeats Saturday, May 16 at 6:30pm, and Sunday May 17 at 10:30am & 4:40pm. - Marjorie Baumgarten