The South by Southwest Film Festival takes place in Austin, Texas, every spring. The festival, which grew out of the SXSW Music Festival, one of the largest music festivals in the U.S., has become one of the world's premiere film festivals know for its selection of independent gems and up-and-coming first-time filmmakers. The festival screens about 150 - 200 of the best independent films produced during the previous year, as well as works from established directors who have inspired the latest generation of filmmakers.
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WOODPECKER-Alex Karpovsky
Highlights:
Fanatical birdwatchers have descended upon a small town in the Arkansas bayou in hopes of finding the celebrated Ivory Billed Woodpecker. Declared extinct in the 1940's, the bird has apparently been spotted by numerous experts over the past few months. The news is miraculous, yet concrete proof remains elusive. Increasingly, the small town becomes divided between believers and non-believers while rabid environmentalists, opportunistic small-town entrepreneurs, and disgruntled hunters vie for prominence in the ensuing chaos. Enter amateur birder and poet Johnny Neander, who has convinced his taciturn sidekick (and anyone else willing to listen) that he will be the one to find it. As he combs the bayou for clues and plunges deep into the community for leads, the hints of a very troubled soul begin to solidify - perhaps this desperate search is for something much more personal. Whatever it may be, Johnny is getting close, and what he is about to find will undermine everything he thought he knew about this Southern legend, and perhaps, himself. Much like the bird itself, WOODPECKER stylistically explores the twilight of uncertainty between fact and fiction and the ways expectation and context can manipulate our notion of 'reality'. From its documentary underpinnings to its narrative arc, all truth becomes subjective in this existential tragicomedy about hope, perception, and some very very strange birds.
Director Alex Karpovsky chats with us about the interesting subculture portrayed in his new film. Alex discusses the existential turmoil brewing within his main character, the challenge to inject a fictitious story and characters into a real situation, and the notions of faith and hope he explores.
Happenings:
Alex's debut feature film, The Hole Story, won numerous awards on the festival circuit before being released theatrically last year. Filmmaker Magazine selected Alex as one of the "25 New Faces of Independent Film 2006" and he was shortlisted for the "Someone to Watch" Independent Spirit Award. In addition to Woodpecker, Alex is also in post-production with a feature-length documentary called TJ & Dave, which focuses on America's most revered long-form comedy improvisers. Alex also enjoys acting, most recently playing the male lead in a new film by Andrew Bujalski as well as the voices of several characters in the upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV. Currently, Alex is finishing up a script for his next narrative feature, which he hopes to shoot this Fall.
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Stay tuned for interviews with Harmony Korine (MISTER LONELY, JULIEN DONEY-BOY), Jim Sturgess (21, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE), Brendan Sexton III (THE MARCONI BROS., WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE), Kevin Corrigan (THE TOE TACTIC, RSO, THE DEPARTED), Mark Webber (EXPLICIT ILLS, DEAR WENDY), Lou Taylor Pucci (EXPLICIT ILLLS, THUMBSUCKER), Greta Gerwig (YEAST, NIGHTS AND WEEKENDS, HANNAH TAKES THE STAIRS) and many, many more.
Also join us as we follows filmmaker Josh Weinstein at his first film festival with his first ...
Alex's debut feature film, The Hole Story, won numerous awards on the festival circuit before being released theatrically last year. Filmmaker Magazine selected Alex as one of the "25 New Faces of Independent Film 2006" and he was shortlisted for the "Someone to Watch" Independent Spirit Award. In addition to Woodpecker, Alex is also in post-production with a feature-length documentary called TJ & Dave, which focuses on America's most revered long-form comedy improvisers. Alex also enjoys acting, most recently playing the male lead in a new film by Andrew Bujalski as well as the voices of several characters in the upcoming Grand Theft Auto IV. Currently, Alex is finishing up a script for his next narrative feature, which he hopes to shoot this Fall.
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Stay tuned for interviews with Harmony Korine (MISTER LONELY, JULIEN DONEY-BOY), Jim Sturgess (21, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE), Brendan Sexton III (THE MARCONI BROS., WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE), Kevin Corrigan (THE TOE TACTIC, RSO, THE DEPARTED), Mark Webber (EXPLICIT ILLS, DEAR WENDY), Lou Taylor Pucci (EXPLICIT ILLLS, THUMBSUCKER), Greta Gerwig (YEAST, NIGHTS AND WEEKENDS, HANNAH TAKES THE STAIRS) and many, many more.
Also join us as we follows filmmaker Josh Weinstein at his first film festival with his first feature documentary, Flying On One Engine. We'll be with the young New Yorker as he navigates Austin, Texas, attempts to rally a posse around the film and, of course, take South by Southwest by storm. Will he survive the festival madness? Will he fill seats? Will he sell the film? FIND OUT HERE DAILY.
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