Folks,
For me, SXSW started with a chest infection, projection-malfunction fears, self-doubt, and snot-riddled lungs. The first couple of days involved postering, postcarding [verb post-card-ing: to hand out postcards], and eating BBQ brisket. Our nerves are on full display in VIDEO BLOG 1 and most of the rest of our experience is chronicled in VIDEO BLOG 2 and 3. Though I have to admitt, in the interest of full disclosure, we made a difficult editorial decision to keep my plentiful lung mucus out of the footage.
But allow me to blog about a couple of things we couldnt capture on camera: After the first screening there was the after party (spoiler alert: after the party there was no hotel lobby). There was some shittiness with peeps not being able to get in which was an unfortunate combination of fire codes and SXSW badge holder rules mondo apologies for that. Would that I could rule over film festivals with all-empowering dictatorial force. I would evilly get everyone into all parties like a dutiful, open-party, fascist despot.
Heres something else that might not be clear from the VIDEO BLOGS: guess whos the most easy-going hip hop legend ever? Prince Paul. For a guy that shattered booties on the dance floor, hes literally the most ridiculously cheerful and pleasant dude on hip hop record.
Then of course there was the Morgan Spurlock Slow Dance (MSSD). You may have noticed from VIDEO BLOG 3 that I had a giddy slow dance with Mr. Super Size Me himself which I soon learned is a right of passage for filmmakers. Spurlock had his MSSD with Michael Moore (MMSD) who in turn had his with Barbara Kopple (BKSD) and so on and so forth.
That is, of course, entirely untrue. The fact of the matter is that our associate editor (Torrey Townsend) was drunk, had a crazy idea to institute a prom king-style slow dance at our otherwise raucous party, and convinced Mr. Spurlock to provide an MSSD. What was he even doing at our party? Beneath that investigative filmmaker exterior, hes a nerd. Either that or he was posing as a nerd for 30 days for his show 30 Days.
Finally, I have to share one of the most completely ridiculous/strange/cool events Ive ever been involved in: Myself and Mr. Frontalot were invited to speak on a panel about documentary filmmakers and their subjects. We shared that panel with Steve James and his documentary subject, the Reverend Carroll Pickett. Our movie was on Nerdcore hip hop, their movie was on the death penalty. For an hour, we casually went back and forth between the unbelievably gripping and emotionally devastating accounts of the Reverends work on death row to unbelievably irreverent and emotionally neutral accounts of filming a band of nerdy boys in a tour van. By the end, both movies were one in the same and of course the Reverend busted out into some jammin rhymes.
Team Nerdcore Rising is off to AFI Dallas next, followed by Atlanta, and then Boston. Infos will come on those festivals later. If the mucus subsides by then, well even VIDEO BLOG about it.
Until then, Im signing off with dorky goodness and massive appreciation for the nerds of Austin,
Negin
