From The Bryan/College Station Eagle:
This Friday marks the start of the 2009 South by Southwest Music, Film and Interactive Conference and Festival in Austin.
While the festival's concert series may be the oldest and more anticipated of the weeklong event's activities, film buffs know that the SXSW Film Festival is one of the best places to catch the next year's hottest films first.
Running from March 13 to the 21, the film festival will spotlight over 50 world premieres, sneak peaks at some of Hollywood's most anticipated blockbusters, and a wide selection of panels, lectures and roundtable discussions featuring some of film's most celebrated artists.
There are a lot of great movies being shown in Austin during SXSW.
From blockbuster comedies such as I Love You, Man and Observe and Report to a work in progress version of Sam Rami's return to horror Drag Me To Hell, Hollywood is bringing it's biggest movies to preview during the festival.
But these star-studded films are only half the fun at SXSW. While you will eventually get a chance to watch all of the Hollywood movies shown in the festival at your local cineplex, this next week may be your only chance to watch a lot of the smaller, independent movies screened such as Pulling John, a documentary about an international arm wrestling competition; Best Worst Movie, a film exploring the cult appeal of classic horror stinker Troll 2; and True Adolescents, a film co-staring Oscar nominee Melissa Leo about an aging rock star that takes two teens camping.
Besides the films, the festival will also offer a wide selection of panels to sit in on. Speakers this year include Robert Rodriguez, Henry Selick, Richard Linklater, Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen and B.J. Novak.
So how do you get in?
The best way to watch movies at the SXSW Film Festival is to buy a film badge. This badge will not only serve as a ticket to every film, panel and party during SXSW, it will automatically put you in the front of the line to every event.
In today's economic environment, there's a lot of penny pinching and purse string holding. With a video showing recipes for depression-era cooking burning it up on YouTube, it's no surprise that there are some people unwilling to plop down the $450 it will cost to buy a film badge.
This doesn't mean you can't still catch some films at SXSW in Austin though. In addition to selling film badges, the festival will also have a limited number of film passes for sale. These passes can be bought at any Alamo Drafthouse box office in Austin for $70 and will grant you attendance to any film during the festival.
You won't be able to use your pass to see any of the film panels and you'll have to wait in line behind the badge holders at the screenings, but the pass is still a great deal for anybody looking to catch some movies in Austin during the next week.
In addition, individual tickets will be sold for $10 as long as they are available for every screening.
Seating, as is the case in any movie theater, is limited. The best way to guarantee a spot in the theater is to get there early and wait in line. Badge holders are advised to get to the theater at least 30 minutes early. Pass holders should show up 45 minutes early. Patrons looking to buy individual tickets need to be in line at least an hour before the film starts -- and even then, depending on the popularity of the film and the size of the theater, seating is not guaranteed. If you are without a badge or pass, your best bet is to catch some of the films showing early in the morning and afternoon -- when most of the festival goers will still be passed out from the midnight screenings the night before.
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