[Press Release by South by Southwest]
In its 16th year, the South by Southwest Film Conference & Festival is pleased to announce eight films chosen from 60 submitted by Australian filmmakers for the prestigious film event in Austin, Texas March 13-21. The seven features and one short, which will have multiple showings in a special ‘Discoveries from Down Under’ series are:
LAKE MUNGO-Written and Directed by Joel Anderson
THE SQUARE-Written by Joel Edgerton and Matthew Dabner, Directed by Nash Edgerton
THREE BLIND MICE-Written and Directed by Matthew Newton
RATS AND CATS-Written by Jason Gann and Adam Zwar, Directed by Tony Rogers
INTANGIBLE ASSET NUMBER 82-Written and Directed by Emma Franz
THE HORSEMAN-Written and Directed by Steven Kastrissios
Short: CHILDREN OF THE ECLIPSE-Produced by Nick Heydon
It’s the fifth year that SxSW Film has had a significant Australian ‘sidebar event’ showcase which have included films as diverse as "Kenny" (Regional Premiere), Black Sheep (US Premiere) and "The Devil Made Me Do" (World Premiere) most recently, and in previous years "Puppy", "Somersault", "Thunderstruck", "Josh Jarman", "Alexandra’s Project," "Black and White", "Undead" and "Welcome to the Waks Family".
The SXSW FILM CONFERENCE & FESTIVAL started as an annual event in 1994 and explores all aspects of the art and business of independent filmmaking. The Conference hosts a five-day adventure in the latest filmmaking trends and new technology, featuring distinguished speakers and mentors. The internationally-acclaimed, nine-day Festival boasts some of the most wide-ranging programming of any US event of its kind, from provocative documentaries to subversive Hollywood comedies, with a special focus on emerging talents.
SXSW is ranked #6 on the list of the top 10 film festivals in the world in Chris Gore’s recently released Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide (3rd Edition). In addition, SXSW is listed as the #2 U.S. film festival for American independents. It attracts close to 7000 film professionals and 875 media from 47 countries.
Its sister event, South by Southwest Music Festival and Conference, has grown immensely in its 23 years and has been a major event for Australian bands to showcase in front of 15,000 industry pros, competing with 1800 other bands from around the world in 70 venues over five nights. From a humble start with five bands and only 20 delegates from Australia in 2002, this year will see 33 artists (of 70 invited) perform, accompanied by over 250 delegates. These artists include:
Gabriella Cilmi
Anthony Snape
Josh Pyke
The Resignators
The Fumes
My Disco
Hell City Glamours
Birds Of Tokyo
The Boat People
The Temper Trap
Kid Confucius
Dappled Cities
Andy Bull
The Chevelles
The Hot Kicks
Red Riders
Blue King Brown
The Drones
Youth Group
Naked On the Vague
The Grates
Angus & Julia Stone
Kara Grainger
Loene Carmen
Infusion
Lenka
An Horse
Closure In Moscow
Miami Horror
The Lovetones
Andy White
The Kin