2008 South by Soutwest Film Conference and Festival (SXSW) Award Winners

There is a well known festival going on that I have been reading about but have not posted here, but today is a good day as any to check the fest feature film lineup with many programs scheduled from March 7 to 15 in Austin, Texas. These are the independent films in the main competition program. Awards winners are in RED.

NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION

Explicit Ills -Winner of the Special Jury Award for Cinematography
Director/writer: Mark Webber. Starring: Lou Taylor Pucci, Frankie Shaw, Tariq Trotter, Rosario Dawson, Noamie Harris, Paul Dano. Young love, drugs and poverty collide in the city of Philadelphia creating a beautiful tale of hope and the power of coming together. (World Premiere)

The Lost Coast
Director/writer: Gabriel Fleming. Starring: Ian Scott McGregor, Lucas Alifano, Lindsay Benner, Chris Yule. As a group of old high school friends wander through San Francisco on Halloween night, two of them are forced to confront their unspoken sexual history. (World Premiere)

My Effortless Brilliance
Director: Lynn Shelton. Writers: Lynn Shelton, Sean Nelson, Basil Harris. Starring: Sean Nelson, Basil Harris, Calvin Reeder, Jeanette Maus. Successful and self-involved novelist Eric Lambert Jones has been unceremoniously dumped by his life long buddy, Dylan. In an attempt to piece together the fractured friendship, Eric takes a side trip from his latest book tour to drop in on Dylan, newly settled in the picturesque backwoods of Washington State. (World Premiere)

Older Than America
Director: Georgina Lightning. Writers: Georgina Lightning, Christine Kunewa. Starring: Adam Beach, Tantoo Cardinal, Bradley Cooper, Georgina Lightning, Wes Studi. A woman's haunting visions reveal a Catholic priest's sinister plot to silence her mother from speaking the truth about atrocities that occurred at a Native Indian boarding school. (World Premiere)

Paper Covers Rock
Director/writer: Joe Maggio. Starring: Jeannine Kaspar, Sayra Player, Clint Jordan, Tom Brangle. The story of Sam, a troubled young woman who loses custody of her six year-old daughter in the wake of an unsuccessful suicide attempt. (World Premiere)

Up With Me - Winner of the Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble Cast
Director: Greg Takoudes. Writers: Maeve McQuillan, Greg Takoudes. Starring: Francisco Vicioso, Erika Rivera, Brandon Thorpe, Justin Coltrain. When Francisco, a teenager from Harlem, is admitted to an upstate boarding school on scholarship, he is torn between his life at home (his loyal girlfriend and his jealous best friend) and the new environment. (World Premiere)

Wellness - Winner of Grand Jury Award
Director/writer: Jake Mahaffy. Starring: Jeff Clark, Paul Mahaffy. The chaotic journey of one man trying to succeed in a business that doesn't exist. (North American Premiere)

Yeast
Director/writer: Mary Bronstein. Starring: Mary Bronstein, Amy Judd, Greta Gerwig, Sean Williams. A maddeningly oblivious, tyrannical and emotionally stunted young woman tries her best to negotiate two toxic friendships. (World Premiere

There are other interesting movies, docs and shorts that you can check the here.