Texas Shorts

Shorts Programs
D: Various

SXSW Film isn’t all about world premieres of Hollywood blockbusters and festival darlings swallowing up awards. Each year, new names, unknowns, up-and-comers, prospects, first-timers, and simple lovers-of-brevity from the great state of Texas get to show the world what can be done with a camera in less than 10 minutes without stars or budgets. Allen E. Ho’s “Parachute Kids,” for one, is a small masterstroke of mood and displacement, complemented perfectly by Russell Oliver Bush’s cinematography. “Elevator Ride,” by John Venable, might feature one of the frankest, most unpretentious conversations about race ever put down on film. It’s like Crash if Crash had a sense of humor and wasn’t completely unbearable. And no self-respecting movie fan should miss “Jeremy Messersmith, ‘Tatooine,'” Eric Power’s surprisingly touching 2½-minute cut-paper animation distillation of the original Star Wars trilogy set to an indie-rock ballad.

Saturday, March 19, 5pm, Alamo Lamar C

This article appears in March 18 • 2011.

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