The Austin Media Arts Committe is recently formed umbrella organization of Austin media groups, which will be hosting ancillary screenings during SXSW that showcase their members’ best short films. For the complete schedule see sxsw.com/film. The East Austin Stories project is an ongoing collaboration between University of Texas film students and community residents, business people, patrons, and passersby in East Austin. Each semester of the class student filmmakers meet people and find stories in East Austin to share in video. Brand new films and old favorites from the five years of the East Austin Stories project will be shown over the four nights of screenings, and each night will feature a different different program of 9-12 short films. Filmmakers and film subjects will attend the screenings, and Juan Valadez and Dr. Miguel Guajardo, two residents of East Austin and co-founders of the project along with Andy Garrison, will host question-and-answer sessions. (EAD: Sat-Mon, 9pm; Tuesday, 9:30pm) Of the 75 films submitted by Austin Film Society members, the following films were chosen to be a part of Monday’s 90-minute program: “Up” by Larry McMahan, “The Yard” by Kate Dawson, “Old Man” by Chris Howell, “A Smidge About Taryn” by Taryn Hall, “Waiting for Superman” by Sarah 0. Ware, “Revolutions Per Minute” by Thomas Burnes, “Tuber” by Iskra Valtcheva, “Crisis” by Rhitparna Basu, “Substitute” by Mike Akel, “Dress Code” by Mike Akel, and “Attack of the Bride Monster” by Leslie Belt and Vicky Boone. (AFS: Mon., 7pm) Films included in the Reel Women’s program on Saturday are “You Always Remember Your First Time” by Anastasia Veltri, “Dead On” by Carolyn Banks, “God Exposed” by Marci Winters Allen, “El Perdido” by Banning Lary, “Don’t Be Crude” by Nancy Schiesari & Raina James, “Snake Pit” by Brandy Rainey, “Turn of Events” by Mary Tucker, “Harmony in the Hills” by Susan Busa, “Chicken Ass” by Joe Weaver, “Grass Ceiling” by Kate Dawson, “Mohsin and Husna” by Erin Davies, and “Flatstockz” by Kara Philo. (Sat., 7pm) Other AMAC presentations at the Hideout Theater include the Austin School of Film & Media Arts Center (Sun., 7pm), Make a Film in a Weekend (Tue., 5pm), and Student Film Series TV (Tue., 7:30pm). Also on tap are screenings to celebrate the DVD release of Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt (Mon., 3pm; Fri. 3/17, 1pm) and the 30th anniversary DVD re-release of Heartworn Highways (Tue., 3pm; Sat. 3/18, 1pm).
This article appears in March 3 • 2006.